Restaurateurs Burt Rapoport & Dennis Max to Launch New Concept, Burt And Max’s, Coming Fall

June 21, 2012 - PRLog -- Boca Raton, FL - Burt Rapoport and Dennis Max have made quite a name for themselves in the South Florida restaurant scene over the last three decades. This culinary duo have been opening restaurants together since 1979 and are combining their years of hospitality experience, culinary expertise, and savvy business knowledge once again. Burt and Max’s, a modernized, updated version of their popular Max’s Grille in Mizner Park, is slated to open this November at the highly anticipated launch of Delray’s newest entertainment and shopping plaza, Delray Marketplace.
Rapoport and Max began their relationship in 1972, when the two young adults started work at the relatively new restaurant chain, Victoria Station. After five years of working together, the company expanded to 100 locations. Both advanced within the company over the years and eventually Rapoport was appointed in charge of Victoria Station’s East Coast operations and Max the South.
In 1979, they were presented with an opportunity to become partners in Miami and rose to the occasion. They named their first venture Raffles and it became an overnight success. After opening six Raffles Bar and Grille locations they sold the company and decided to go their separate ways in the mid 1980’s.
Reuniting in 1989, they continued increasing their culinary mark on South Florida. With the opening of Prezzo in Boca Raton, they began to build their restaurant empire, Unique Restaurant Concepts, to 13 restaurants that extended from Miami to Orlando. By 2000, they had sold all but Max’s Grille in Mizner Park, which they still co-own today.
In addition to their numerous successful restaurants over their 32-year partnership, it was Rapoport and Max’s culinary innovations and steadfast introduction of the latest food trends that put their names on the map in South Florida. In 1987, Max was first to familiarize California cuisine to the dining scene at Café Max and Max’s Place in Miami. Notable contributions to the industry are the ever-popular chopped salad first introduced to South Florida at Max’s Grill in 1992 and Rapoport and Max launched the first wood-burning oven at Prezzo in South Florida in 1989.
“It’s an exciting new endeavor,” says Burt Rapoport, co-owner of highly anticipated Burt and Max’s Restaurant. “We’re coming full circle with the introduction of Burt and Max’s in Delray and we will be celebrating Max and my 32-year culinary chronicle here in South Florida where we hope to evoke our mantra of great food, beverage, and service in a unique environment at reasonable prices.”
Burt and Max’s Restaurant is slated to launch in November of 2012 at Delray Marketplace located at 9025 West Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33446.
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