Max's Restaurant, sometimes known as Max's of Manila or simply Max's, is a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

-based multinational restaurant chain which serves fried chicken and other Filipino dishes. It is owned and operated by the Max's Group.

History

Max's Restaurant was first established in 1945, shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, by Maximo Gimenez, a

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

-educated teacher. Gimenez befriended the American occupation troops stationed in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was foun ...

, who regularly paid visits to Maximo's home for drinks; the troops later insisted that they pay for the food and beverages being served, prompting Maximo to open a café where the servicemen could be served meals. It opened its first restaurant at 21 South F Street (now Scout Tuason), Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City. Gimenez decided to open a café which initially consisted of chicken, steak and drinks. He was joined by his wife Mercedes, sister-in-law Felipa Serrano Sanvictores, his niece Ruby who managed the kitchen, and her husband Claro. Ruby managed the kitchen and created a chicken recipe which proved to be popular to the GIs stationed in the city and later to the public who have heard of Ruby's recipe. Max's Restaurant later expanded in Metro Manila, Luzon and Cebu and to the United States, Canada, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with plans of opening branches in other countries. The company that manages Max's Restaurant, Max's Group, also currently operates Pancake House, Dencio's, Kabisera, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzlin' Steak, Le Coeur De France, Maple,

Yellow Cab Yellow cab taxicab operators exist all around the world (some with common heritage, some without). The original Yellow Cab Company, based in Chicago, Illinois, was one of the largest taxicab companies in the United States. History Yellow ca ...

, Singkit, and The Chicken Rice Shop.

Locations

Max's Restaurant currently has over 170 branches in the Philippines. The chain also has branches in the U.S. states of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It has five locations in Canada in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, and

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

. In a September 2014 press event, it was announced that more branches would be opened by 2015 in: Sydney, Australia;

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

; and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. In 2016, Max's was also opened in

Salmiya Salmiya (Arabic السالمية; transliterated As-Sālmīya(h)) is a city in Hawalli Governorate in Kuwait. Salmiya is administratively divided into 12 blocks. The blocks located closer to the interior of the district tend to be mostly resid ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

. In May 2022, Max's opened a new location in

Woodside, New York Woodside is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the western portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, and on the east by Elmhurst, J ...

. File:7836Max's Restaurant 05.jpg, Max's Restaurant in

Pulilan Pulilan, officially the Municipality of Pulilan ( tgl, Bayan ng Pulilan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 108,836 people. The town is famous for its Cara ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Me ...

File:Malolos Max's Restaurant 01.jpg, Max's Restaurant in

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to th ...

File:Maxsrestaurant.jpg, Max's Restaurant at

SM City Pampanga SM City Pampanga is a shopping mall owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. It is located along the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (formerly Olongapo-Gapan Road) in San Fernando and Mexico in the province of Pampanga. It has a land area of and a tot ...

File:Max's Restaurant Festival Supermall exterior.jpg, Max's Restaurant at

Festival Supermall Festival Mall Alabang, formerly known as Festival Supermall and colloquially known as Festi, is a shopping mall owned and operated by Filinvest Land, Inc.The mall is located at Filinvest City (formerly Filinvest Corporate City) in Alabang, Mu ...

File:Maxjf2.JPG, Max's Corner Bakery

Products

The restaurant's signature dish is its fried chicken. Aside from this, Max's Chicken also offers traditional

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

dishes such as, ''

kare-kare Kare-kare is a Philippine stew (''kare'' derives from "curry") that features a thick savory peanut sauce. It is generally made from a base of stewed oxtail, beef tripe, pork hocks, calves' feet, pig's feet or trotters, various cuts of pork, ...

'', ''nilagang báka'', ''

sinigang ''Sinigang'' is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour and savory taste. It is most often associated with tamarind (Filipino: ''sampalok''), although it can use other sour fruits and leaves as the souring agent. It is one of the more ...

'', ''

crispy pata Crispy pata is a Filipino dish consisting of deep fried pig trotters or knuckles served with a soy-vinegar dip. It can be served as party fare or an everyday dish. Many restaurants serve ''boneless pata'' as a specialty. The dish is quite simi ...

'', '' tapsilog'', ''lóngsilog'', and ''litsón kawalî''.Kam, Nadine. (April 9, 2006
"To the Max"
''

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolu ...

''.

Marketing

In earlier television and cinema advertisements, the restaurant usually marketed itself as a place for Filipino families to get together. In 1993, it also established its slogan "''Sarap'' to the bones!" ("Delicious to the bones!"). From April to June 2004, a popular series of television advertisements, entitled "Forever Yours" told the story of a Max's employee who was the childhood love of a popular TV celebrity, played by

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino film and television actor, singer, model, and producer. Early life Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual was born on January 12, 1977, in Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center located in Mala ...

, their endorser from 2002 to 2011 (who currently endorses Andok's and

Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by William Rosenberg, Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Mas ...

). The series showed the two characters as children, then as adults accidentally meeting at Max's. The denouement of the story is when the celebrity recognizes the employee from their childhood. This commercial became so popular that it launched the showbiz career of

Isabel Oli Maria Olivia Daytia-Prats (born October 20, 1981), better known by the screen name Isabel Oli, is a Filipina model and actress. Background Oli is the youngest of seven children to a Filipino father of Chinese descent and a Filipina mother of ...

, the model who played the employee. Oli was married to

John Prats John Paulo Quiambao Prats (born February 14, 1984) is a Filipino comedian, actor, dancer, TV host, director, model and entrepreneur. He started as a child star in year 1992. He is the older brother of actress and former child-star Camille Prats ...

a 90s child actor. Aside from its advertising, the story of how Max's Restaurant started has entered into popular culture. It was portrayed in the episode "''Sino si'' Max?" ("Who is Max?") of the long-running Filipino drama anthology ''

Maalaala Mo Kaya ''Maalaala Mo Kaya'' (; formerly written as ''Maala-ala Mo Kaya...''; abbreviated as ''MMK''), also known as ''Memories'', is a Philippine television drama anthology show broadcast by Kapamilya Channel under ABS-CBN Entertainment. Hosted by Cha ...

''.Lorenzo, Alfie. (November 17, 2005) (in Filipino)
Pasalamatan natin si George Canseco...
(Let's thank George Canseco...). ''Abante''. Retrieved September 23, 2010 from telebisyon.net. Some of their other celebrity endorsers were

Gary Valenciano Edgardo Jose Santiago Valenciano (, born August 6, 1964), also known as Gary V., is a Filipino singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, actor, music producer and television host. Valenciano has released 39 albums, and won the Awit Award for "Bes ...

(1996–1999, endorsed

Jollibee Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of December 2021, JFC had a total of about 1,500 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East As ...

again in 2018),

Carla Abellana Carla Angeline Reyes Abellana (; born June 12, 1986) is a Filipino actress and model who played the lead role in the Philippine adaptation of the Mexican telenovela '' Rosalinda'' in 2009. She is also known for her lead role in ''Sine Novela: ...

(2002) and

Coco Martin Rodel Pacheco Nacianceno (born November 1, 1981), known professionally by his stage name Coco Martin (), is a Filipino actor, director, and film producer. He is best known for playing the lead roles in ''Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin'', '' Walang H ...

(2012–2014, who also switched to

via

Mang Inasal Mang Inasal Philippines, Inc., also known as Mang Inasal, ( Hiligaynon for "Mr. Barbecue") is a barbecue fast food restaurant chain in the Philippines, established in Iloilo City in 2003. History The company was started by Edgar "Injap" Sia ...

in 2016).

References

External links