The recipe behind the top selling Max’s branch

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-three years after it was established, the Max’s in SM North Edsa is still the company’s top-earner.

“I don’t know what it is with that area, but there’s magic there,” mused Max’s Restaurant vice president Sharon Fuentebella regarding the branch on the mall’s second floor.

Tracing its beginnings after World War II, Max’s Restaurant originated from the home of its founder Maximo Gimenez, a teacher who studied in Stanford. Maximo befriended American GIs who were stationed in Quezon City, often welcoming them at his home with drinks.

The influx of visitors and their insistence on paying for their drinks compelled Maximo to open a café and serve more meals, including the house specialty: fried chicken, whose tightly guarded recipe was concocted by his niece and first cook, Ruby. 

The rest, as they say, is history, with Maximo’s café growing to a full-fledged restaurant chain with 135 branches throughout the Philippines and some areas of the United States. Max’s restaurant has also become a staple in almost all SM malls.

But the idea of moving into a shopping mall didn’t occur to its founders until it was introduced by an entrepreneur named Henry Sy Sr. “The first time we branched out, it was in SM North Edsa. It was tatang himself who showed the space to us,” Sharon said, adding that it was a 400-square-meter exhibit area beside a café. “He said he thought that this was a great opportunity for Max’s.”

Sharon said her father first heard of SM North in one of his regular meetings with Sy and other businessmen in Makati. “He [Sy] said he was building in EDSA, but at that time we didn’t join because we were not ready,” she said. “Max’s was really freestanding and we didn’t know how we were going to fit in. It was unheard of at the time.” When they finally went inside SM in 1987, the branch immediately became a hit.

“It was smack in the middle of EDSA,” Sharon recalled. “Back then neon signs were still being used and ours was the first thing you’d see.” She said the success of Max’s first and most successful mall outing prompted the company to join virtually all SM developments thereafter. “Being in an SM mall makes you part of a community’s lifestyle. His vision was right.”

Sharon said the company has kept in step with how SM is growing. “You can feel that they are there to take care of that partnership and business you started together,” she said, adding that she’s glad that she has been talking to the same people from the beginning. “There’s really ownership. “

“Just as how we were small at the beginning, it was the same for them,” she said, adding that she still remembers SM North Edsa’s small office at the ground floor near the car park. “It’s nice to see we remained valued partners until today.”