With splashy posters plastered earlier this month on the windows and doors of the former Ritz Camera shop on Bethesda Row, it’s no secret that Max Brenner Chocolate Bar is coming to town.
With full-service restaurants in Israel, New York City, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Boston, Max Brenner’s Bethesda location will be its first sweets-only restaurant in the U.S., similar to the ones it operates in Australia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Three more sweets-only shops are in the works here in the U.S. (in Paramus, N.J., New York City and a Boston suburb), but we get the first one, slated to open in mid-June.
In an exclusive interview, Sam Borgese, CEO of the company, told Table Talk that Bethesda was chosen because Max Brenner “is a global brand and the fact is that DC is a global city with people from all over the world. So there’s brand recognition.”
Borgese, who said that he has a background in urban planning, added that Bethesda has been a favorite of his for awhile. “I love Bethesda Row. It has a pedestrian friendly street scape, it feels more like a community. Max Brenner as a brand enjoys those type of urban environments,” he said.
The company was founded as a retail shop in Israel in 1996 by Max Fichtman and Oded Brenner; there are now more than 40 Chocolate Bars internationally.
In restaurants in Israel and thus far in the U.S., savory food is also served. But Borgese said it actually “distracts from the chocolate experience. We’re going back to the basics.”
The Bethesda location, at 2217 square feet, will seat about 70 or 80 patrons and also include a retail shop. It’ll be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Chocolate lovers will order from a counter, but wait staff will bring out the dishes. Borgese said that in the evening, full service may be added.
The menu will serve most of the dessert options available at the other locations—hot and cold chocolate drinks, hot and cold coffee drinks, pastries, fudge cake, chocolate pizza, and the best-seller—fondue. A select number of items called Fast Max, will be available for carryout. And there will be some new dishes as well, such as additional varieties of crepes and waffles, said Borgese.
The retail shop will house Max Brenner’s internationally known chocolates, with packaging that changes four or five times a year. “It’s not an inexpensive thing to do,” says Borgese of the packaging redesigns. “But that’s how we have fun and like to play.”
And the interior will have the same whimsical look as other Max Brenner restaurants, with wall graphics of sayings and quotes, and large cauldrons filled with melted chocolate.
Borgese is enthusiastic about introducing Bethesda area diners to Max Brenner’s chocolate culture, which the company describes in a press release as “a holistic sensual experience.” After all, says Borgese (and as every chocoholic knows), chocolate is not just for special events, but for every day.
