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July 10, 2009
Max's Deli celebrating 60 years
Quality food and a warm welcome have contributed to the establishment's success.
BLAIR KAPLAN
Sixty years of top customer service, delicious deserts and scrumptious sandwiches puts Max's Deli and Bakery on the map as a well-known establishment. Marketing themselves as "quality since 1949," it's what they stand for, but there is also a component of love and community that has helped the business flourish.
According to its website (maxsdeli.ca), Max's Deli was established in 1949 by Max Prosterman. Prosterman's friend, Dave Shafran, took over the store, which was then in a much smaller premise across the street from its present location on Oak Street, until about 1975. Shafran then turned the store over to his son, Zevie, who again relocated Max's – to its current location at 3105 Oak St. – and operated it until 1981. The reigns were handed to Bruce Redpath at that time and business has grown. In 1986, a second location opened, at 521 West 8th Ave., near Cambie.
Shortly after that, head baker David Greeley came on board, adding to a unique tradition at Max's: finding love amid the leaveners.
"I met my second wife here, our chef met his wife here ... there is a good chance you are going to meet your mate here," said Redpath, even though he is no longer married.
Greeley, long since married with children, left the bakery at one point, but he returned in April 2005. His bond with Redpath evolved over time, from coworker to friend to business partner. Redpath is the president and Greeley the managing partner of Max's, as well as both Stuart's Bakery locations, at Granville Island, where the bakery has been for 28 years, and inside Oakridge Mall, where it's been since 2008.
At one time, the business was fully kosher, but they now offer an extensive menu on both the deli and bakery side. When asked what menu item is most loved by customers, Redpath said, "The most popular sandwich is our turkey sandwich. It is all fresh and we roast about four turkeys a day. All of the bakery items are also very popular."
Greeley added, "An awful lot of people copy us about a lot of things because our products are unique. We have great food and great staff. We make everything here from scratch and we care about the quality. We are certainly not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for. This is a different kind of deli and we change all the time and there is definitely something for everyone."
Max's deli is the kind of place where you can count on being welcomed at the counter with a warm smile. Some of the staff have been there for 20 years and they have adopted the other staff and the management as their second family. Also, "several celebrities have eaten [there] like Goldie Hawn and Kristin Kreuk from Smallville," said Greeley.
"To celebrate 60 years, we had great specials for our customers. We had 60 percent off of sandwiches. There were many things that we had special pricing on," said Greeley.
While the celebrations may be over for now, there are big plans for Max's. Greeley said that they "have been approached by several of the supermarkets and are considering doing wholesale." He added that they are doing renovations on the Cambie and 8th location: "It will be bigger than the Oak location and have more room. There is a lot more seating and more of a menu than [the Oak location] because of all of the expansion. This is what we are going to spend a lot of time on in the next six months."
Max's Deli and Bakery also offers a catering service and, especially popular, are its corporate lunches. Greeley said, "We want to continue to do what we do and really make quality food that people will remember us by."
When asked if there is a secret ingredient used in the food that make people remember it, Redpath said, "Love."
Blair Kaplan is a freelance journalist from Vancouver who has a diverse background in communications.
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