In the early 1970's, before the Columbus reformation of German Village began, there was a sleepy and slightly funky bar run by a guy named Max Visocnik and his wife Erma. Entrepreneur Barry Zacks, who along with Todd Barnum operated another restaurant a few blocks away, bought it. After going through a list of 200 new names, they finally decided the old name was the best. They redecorated the place with antiques and quirky artifacts that looked like leftovers from a Cheech and Chong garage sale, and Max & Erma's opened on December 28, 1972. Over the past 25 years, the original location has become something of a German Village landmark and more than two million people will walk through the doors of a Max & Erma's restaurant this year. Many people think of Max & Erma's as an institution, others simply as their "neighborhood gathering place."

The overall effect is a chummy, fun sort of place where service is friendly, relaxed and personable and where the food is the biggest and the best around. Max & Erma's started with an All-American menu of hot dogs, fresh-squeezed juices, homemade French fries and onion rings, hot apple pie, build-your-own sundae bar and giant 10-ounce gourmet hamburgers including one topped with a little bit of everything known as the "garbage burger." The emphasis at Max & Erma's was on quality - the fresh, hand-pattied burgers are still cooked to order, and remain the mainstay of the menu.

Each Max & Erma's is different and has a unique personality of its own. Even though there are now over 60 Max & Erma's locations in 12 states, each one remains a "neighborhood gathering place" where people can relax and enjoy themselves amidst friends.

The second location was a freestanding "warehouse style" building on the East side of Columbus which opened in April 1975. Designed to be a family dining spot until 8:30 p.m. and then a disco later at night, it had a dance floor over the bar, a telephone system for calling table to table, a game room and even a drive-thru window (Of course, if you forgot to call in and just pulled up and ordered a well-done garbage burger, you had to wait at the window for 25 minutes!) We found that some ideas are better in theory than in practice!

There was always something novel to look at and discover. Servers were known to roll up on skates to deliver your order or challenge one another on how many glasses they could carry back to the kitchen. The big beers built up many a bicep, the bar tap was always a topic of conversation, and selecting which restroom to enter was even a challenge sometimes.

Promotions were plentiful. The "Great Hamburger Eat-Off" offered free burgers for a year to the person who could eat the most giant 10-ounce burgers. Legend has it that the record set in the first contest (still unbeaten for obvious reasons) stands at seven and a quarter burgers - that's over four and a half pounds! Then there was the famous "Beard Growing Contest." The top prize was a pair of free tickets and transportation to the Rose Bowl. Of course, times being what they were, the only transportation in the budget was a $150 pink Ford Thunderbird badly in need of a brake job. Every night was different. Monday was "Ladies Night" and featured 10-cent drinks for women; and Wednesday was "Max's Night Out" where the bartender would spin a wheel of fortune hourly to determine drink prices. "Sure Happy it's Thursday" (don't even ask about the acronym!) featured a surprise happy hour sometime during the night when all drinks were only 25 cents, and on Tuesday, dance instructors were on hand for disco lessons. Again, some ideas are better in theory.

This same brand of excitement spread to Dayton in December 1975, Indianapolis in April 1977, and Lexington in September 1978. The tradition of the summer menu began at this time as well to feature light and refreshing summer treats.

However, the demise of disco (may it rest in peace) didn't diminish the appeal of great burgers served in a casual, relaxed environment. In 1980, Max & Erma's moved eastward to Pittsburgh to open in a downtown department store. In 1981, a private disco club in northwest Columbus became the third Columbus location. It had the first pasta bar, the first Victorian lounge, and the first raw bar. In 1982, Max & Erma's opened in the Columbus Convention Center and was also recognized as the Best Hamburger in Columbus. It was also at this time that Max & Erma's became a publicly held company with an initial stock offering of 300,000 shares which sold out in only two days. As a public company, Max & Erma's made headlines in the Wall Street Journal when the first annual report featured satiric cartoons of auditors "cooking the books." Through good times and bad, the Company has maintained a sense of humor and fun.

Then in 1983, Max & Erma's moved to Michigan. At that time, the Company began a program of renovation and remodeling of older locations which has proven to be quite successful. But no matter how "updated" it becomes, Max & Erma's has resisted the temptation to become "upscale." How "upscale" can you be when you serve a 10-ounce "garbage burger?"

Just as the appearance of our restaurants has changed over the years, the menu has also evolved to a broader and wider appeal. Between 1980 and 1985, the Max & Erma's menu expanded to include a broader range of menu choices. Fresh, made-from-scratch pasta was introduced in 1981 and eventually became a staple chainwide in 1985. Entrees were introduced in 1982 and added more appeal for dinner. More than 17 years later, growth in entrees has included the best in contemporary cuisine while still focusing on familiar food with high appeal. Despite this growth, the menu remains focused on guest favorites. If it's not terribly trendy, that's because it was founded on a simple philosophy, "give our guests what they want." Somehow, it seems, people still want familiar food, prepared from scratch with quality ingredients and pride.

In 1986, co-founder Barry Zacks retired to pursue other entrepreneurial interests. Todd Barnum assumed his titles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board when he, Bill Niegsch and Mark Emerson purchased a major interest in the Company. But change in management control doesn't constitute a change in the concept. With a collective 50 years invested in Max & Erma's, current management shares the original vision of "a neighborhood gathering place" where guests may relax and enjoy high quality food in a warm and friendly environment.

Today, Max & Erma's is 60+ restaurants strong in 15 markets, including our heritage city Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor, Michigan; Erie and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana; Atlanta, Georgia; and Charlotte, North Carolina. We're even growing through franchises. Max & Erma's has eight franchised locations (Sandusky, Ohio, Crowne Plaza/Columbus, Ohio, Port Columbus International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Dayton International Airport, downtown St. Louis and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

We continue to be committed to creating a fun experience for our guests and employees. One of our most successful, quirky promotions, the Max & Erma's Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis, "runs" in four markets during the holiday season. More than six hundred runners total run in holiday costumes through the streets of Columbus, Dayton, Ann Arbor and Indianapolis in December to raise money for the local Arthritis Foundation.

In the past, Max & Erma's Summer T-shirt promotion involved each and every guest who walks through our doors. First, guests purchased a limited-time-only Summer T-shirt and then we encouraged people to dress up in the T-shirt and take pictures of themselves (one guest actually photographed himself jumping from a plane -- with a parachute on, of course!) Guests then sent their photos to us for entry into the "Max & Erma's What-I-Did-On-My-Summer-Vacation" photo contest to win a free trip to the Pepsi-sponsored destination of their choice.

Our most recent summer promotion involved our "Name the Dog" contest. We asked guests to come up with a name for the cute, little dog featured in many of our fun Max & Erma's cartoons. The winning entry receives a vacation to a Pepsi-sponsored resort.

But, fun is only part of Max & Erma's success for the past 29 years. We're still committed to giving our guests what they want - a place they can call their Hometown Favorite. Our focus has been on delivering the best possible guest experience, and we're committed to carrying on that tradition in each restaurant we open.

Our purpose at Max & Erma's is to help our guests enjoy their total dining experience so they can't wait to come back!!!