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
Max's Group, Inc., formerly the Max's Group of Companies, is a restaurant company in the Philippines.
History
The Max's Group foundation is linked to the establishment of Max's of Manila in 1945 by couple Maximo Jimenez and Ruby Trota in their ho ...
.
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 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 considere ...
-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 List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
, 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
Max's Group, Inc., formerly the Max's Group of Companies, is a restaurant company in the Philippines.
History
The Max's Group foundation is linked to the establishment of Max's of Manila in 1945 by couple Maximo Jimenez and Ruby Trota in their ho ...
, also currently operates Pancake House,
Dencio's
Dencio's Bar and Grill, simply referred to as Dencio's, is a group of restaurants based in the Philippines.
History
Dennis Nakpil and Dennis Mariano Jr. thought of creating a restaurant that emphasizes certain Philippine traditions. Their prin ...
, 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
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 stat ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, 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. N ...
,
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 U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
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 Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
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 Ca ...
,
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
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 ancho ...
,
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 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, 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, makin ...
,
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 ...
. In a September 2014 press event, it was announced that more branches would be opened by 2015 in:
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
;
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 of ...
,
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 th ...
; 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 List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. 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 nort ...
. 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 Metr ...
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 ...
, 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 Metr ...
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, Mun ...
File:Maxjf2.JPG, Max's Corner Bakery
Products
![MaxFriedChicken](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/MaxFriedChicken.jpg)
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 s ...
'', ''
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, 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 ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...
''.
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 Malate ...
, 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 Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...
). 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 S ...
, 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 Pra ...
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 Philippines, Philippine television drama anthology show broadcast by Kapamilya Channel under ABS-CBN Entertainment. ...
''.
[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 Asia ...
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
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 Asia ...
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).
See also
*
List of fast-food chicken restaurants
This is a list of notable chicken restaurants. This list includes casual dining, fast casual and fast food restaurants which typically specialize in chicken dishes such as fried chicken, chicken and waffles, Chicken sandwiches or chicken and ...
*
List of Philippine restaurant chains
This is a list of notable restaurant chains in the Philippines. A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants with the same name in many different locations that are either under shared corporate ownership (e.g., McDonald's in the United St ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Max's Of Manila
Restaurants established in 1945
Restaurant chains in the Philippines
Fast-food poultry restaurants
Philippine companies established in 1945