View source for Max's Restaurant

{{Short description|Philippine restaurant chain}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox brand
| name           = Max's Restaurant
| logo           = Max's Restaurant logo.svg
| logo_upright   = 
| logo_alt       = 
| logo_caption   = 
| image          = 
| image_upright  = 
| alt            = 
| caption        = 
| producttype    = [[Restaurants|Restaurant chain]]
| currentowner   = [[Max's Group]]
| producedby     = 
| country        = [[Philippines]]
| introduced     = {{start date and age|1945}}
| discontinued   = 
| related        = 
| markets        = [[Philippines]], [[Middle East]], [[North America]]
| previousowners = 
| trademarkregistrations = 
| ambassadors    = 
| tagline        = 
| website        ={{URL|www.maxschicken.com}}
| module         = {{Infobox company
  | embed        = yes
  | founders     = Maximo Gimenez<br>Mercedes Gimenez<br>Ruby Trota<br>Claro Trota<br>Felipa Sanvictores
  | hq_location_city = [[Makati]], [[Metro Manila]]
  | hq_location_country = [[Philippines]]
 }}
}}
'''Max's Restaurant''', sometimes known as '''Max's of Manila''' or simply '''Max's''' ({{IPA|tl|ˈmaksɪs|local}}), is a [[Philippines|Philippine]]-based multinational restaurant chain which serves fried chicken and other [[Philippine cuisine|Filipino dishes]]. It is owned and operated by the [[Max's Group]].<ref name="rocky2-founder">{{cite news|url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/money/article/0,2777,DRMN_23908_4419636,00.html |title=Founder shines as shares hit $45.1&nbsp;million |date=January 27, 2006 |newspaper=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |access-date=December 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705192336/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/money/article/0%2C2777%2CDRMN_23908_4419636%2C00.html |archive-date=July 5, 2007 |url-status=dead |first=Janet |last=Forgrieve }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Malolos Max's Restaurant 01.jpg|thumb|left|Max's Restaurant in [[Malolos]], [[Bulacan]]]]
Max's Restaurant was first established in 1945, [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines#End of the occupation|shortly after]] [[World War II]], by Maximo Gimenez, a [[Stanford University|Stanford]]-educated teacher. Gimenez befriended the American occupation troops stationed in [[Quezon City]], 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/46464/top-10-oldest-restaurants-in-manila/2|title=Top 10 Oldest Restaurants in Manila}}</ref>

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 [[G.I.]]s 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]], [[Cebu]] and to the United States, Canada, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with plans of opening branches in other countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Max's Restaurant – About Us|url=http://www.maxschicken.com/index.php?/about_us|website=Max's Chicken Online|access-date=August 25, 2014}}</ref>

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 Pizza|Yellow Cab]], Singkit, and The Chicken Rice Shop.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investor.maxsgroupinc.com/corporate-profile/|title=Corporate Profile - Max's Group|website=investor.maxsgroupinc.com}}</ref>

==Locations==
{{update|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Maxsrestaurant.jpg|thumb|Max's Restaurant at [[SM City Pampanga]]]]
[[File:Cultural Center Complex of the Philippines in Roxas Boulevard SJasminum 25.jpg|thumb|Max's Restaurant in [[Manila]]]]

Max's Restaurant has over 170 branches in the Philippines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.maxsrestaurantme.com/our-story|website=Max's Restaurant|accessdate=May 31, 2022| title=-Our Story }}</ref> The chain also has branches in the U.S. states of [[California]], [[Hawaii]], [[New Jersey]], [[Nevada]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Illinois]], [[Texas]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. It has five locations in Canada in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], [[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], and [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]]. In 2016, Max's opened in [[Salmiya]], [[Kuwait]]; a new location was opened in [[Woodside, New York]] in May 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://queenspost.com/filipino-chicken-giant-to-open-franchise-location-in-woodside|title=Filipino Chicken Giant to Open Franchise Location in Woodside|date=February 25, 2022}}</ref>

==Products==
[[File:MaxFriedChicken.jpg|thumb|right|Max fried chicken served with sweet potato fries]]

The restaurant's signature dish is its [[fried chicken]]. Max's Chicken also offers traditional [[Philippine cuisine|Filipino]] dishes such as ''[[kare-kare]]'', ''[[sinigang]]'', ''[[lumpia]]'', ''[[lechon]]'', ''[[pancit]]'', and ''[[silog]]''.<ref name="Honolulu">Kam, Nadine. (April 9, 2006).[http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/04/09/features/eater.html "To the Max"]. ''[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]]''.</ref><ref>[http://www.maxschicken.com/index.php?/menus Max's Restaurant – Menu].</ref><ref>Bernardino, Minnie. (September 27, 1990). [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-27-fo-1900-story.html "Breakfast – 8 Places Off the Beaten-Egg Track – Ethnic fare: Breakfast is many things to many peoples, as L.A.'s restaurants prove. A sampling from the variety available to a.m. adventurers. – Filipino"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>

==Marketing==
In earlier television and cinema advertisements, Max's Restaurant usually marketed itself as a place for Filipino families to get together. In 1993, it also established its slogan "{{lang|fil|Sarap}} to the bones!" ({{translation|"Delicious to the bones!"|literal=yes}}).

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]], their endorser from 2002 to 2011. 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]], the model who played the employee.<ref>[http://www.igma.tv/profile/isabel-oli Profile – Isabel Oli]. [[GMA Network]]. Retrieved September 23, 2010.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mb.com.ph/node/20865|title=Why Isabel Oli is blooming these days|date=June 20, 2007|work=[[Manila Bulletin]]|access-date=September 23, 2010}}</ref>

Aside from its advertising, the story of how Max's Restaurant started has entered into popular culture. It was portrayed in the episode "{{lang|fil|Sino si Max?}}" ({{translation|"Who is Max?"|literal=yes}}) of the long-running Filipino drama anthology ''[[Maalaala Mo Kaya]]''.<ref>Lorenzo, Alfie. (November 17, 2005) (in Filipino). [http://telebisyon.net/balita/Pasalamatan-natin-si-George-Canseco/artikulo/17775/ Pasalamatan natin si George Canseco...] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325132313/http://telebisyon.net/balita/Pasalamatan-natin-si-George-Canseco/artikulo/17775/ |date=March 25, 2012 }} (Let's thank George Canseco...). ''Abante''. Retrieved September 23, 2010, from telebisyon.net.</ref> Some of their other celebrity endorsers were [[Gary Valenciano]] (1996–1999) and [[Coco Martin]] (2012–2014).

==See also==
* [[List of fast-food chicken restaurants]]
* [[List of Filipino restaurants]]
* [[List of Philippine restaurant chains]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.maxschicken.com}}
* {{Commons-inline}}

{{Food chains in the Philippines}}
{{Establishments serving chicken}}
{{Fast-food chains of the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Max's Of Manila}}
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1945]]
[[Category:Restaurant chains in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Fast-food poultry restaurants]]
[[Category:Fast-food franchises]]
[[Category:Philippine companies established in 1945]]
[[Category:Filipino restaurants]]
[[Category:Companies based in Makati]]