The Observation Deck

I've heard that Max's is scouting several Lakewood locations, including the old Hollywood Video.

Meanwhile, this is going into their old spot...

http://sweetmels.net

Didn't I get laughed at when I suggested Hollywood Video? hmmmm

Don't feel lonesome about being laughed at for suggestions.

How about my roller rink? You watch some will see my brilliant idea and run with it.

It's even more retro and cool than fondue stuff.

Shawn-

I didn't laugh. I thought it was a perfect spot!

Well thank you.

Does any one else think Sweet Mel's sounds a lot like Max's?

maybe it's going to be run by ex-Max's employees?

c. dawson wrote:maybe it's going to be run by ex-Max's employees?

If that's the case hope they stay there and don't follow into a location in Lakewood.

In my few visits to Max's Deli I encountered generally slow, rude, incompetent service. One time, when we went for dessert only and were berated by the waitstaff for doing so, one of the members of my party had a piece of plastic spoon or something in their cheesecake and had a hard time returning the piece of cheesecake. Apparently rigid plastic bits are to be expected in cheesecake.

I'll have to say, my experiences are very old because I never bothered to return but from what others have told me it never changed much. I don't quite get what the fuss is about having them come here.

well, I never had rude service ... but I had glacial service. There seemed to be plenty of waitstaff there, but the idea of actually going out to the tables, finding out what people wanted to eat, getting it for them, and then checking back in frequently to see if they were enjoying the food or needed anything else was utterly alien to them. The food wasn't bad, though it wasn't as good as people raved about, and the desserts weren't anything to write home about. But I'd be fine with that if just the service wasn't so indifferent and slow. Maybe the owners were lax with supervision, or maybe they didn't want to annoy their waitstaff, but if you want to have a good restaurant, part of the good experience comes from good service.

Max's failed on that each time we were there, and we gave up after a few tries.

If they do relocate to Lakewood, maybe we'd give them one more try ... but I wouldn't have my hopes up for even inferior service, because that would be a stretch for Max's former employees.

I can't speak for people who've had bad service there, each time we ate there the service was fine.

One has to bear in mind, that Max's does not really exist right now. The entire staff has either moved to other jobs or might be unemployed. The former owner might start a new place and call it Max's, I suppose.

I've heard some of these complaints before. I've always enjoyed Max's. Nothing beats a huge deli sandwich at lunchtime and it had a bright, hip atmosphere. I wonder what will happen if Lakewood actually adds a restaurant that doesn't have a bar that takes up half their space. Such a under represented characteristic for this area.

I don't think Sweet Melissa's has any connection to Max's. The owner, as I understand it, was a chef at Brio...

I probably only ate at Max's once or twice, and not recently. I don't remember anything about the service, but I had heard years ago from 2 former employees that Max's had pretty severe pest problems. I don't usually put much stock in those tales, but they were independent sources. I've never heard that from anyone else though.

We really enjoyed Max's. In fact my kids really liked it there. I can't ever remember getting bad service. Even if we were coming in late at night to split a dessert 4 ways. They are kind of huge.

They had great food and lots of vegetarian options. And the desserts were pretty incredible. We have also had them cater for us and they did a great job of making up beautiful trays.

I hope they do relocate to Lakewood.

Shawn Juris wrote: I wonder what will happen if Lakewood actually adds a restaurant that doesn't have a bar that takes up half their space. Such a under represented characteristic for this area.

I totally agree. I was racking my brains trying to recall if Max's Deli served any alcohol.

I would love to see more places in Lakewood where teens and young adults can hang out and eat affordable food. I was hoping someone would turn the old Lakewood Lanes into a Pizza Bowl, but alas, another bar.

Max's did serve alcohol. I ditto the poor service comments. The funny part about Max's was that they were supposed to be a "deli". They had tons of yummy looking salads and cheeses and desserts in their front counter. But if you are like me and ever tried to purchase a pound of this or that, you understand what a tough time that was. They hardly ever had anyone actually working back there, and if they did, they were making salads or something and couldn't help customers!