The man behind Max's

Dennis Berkowitz describes how he ended up in the food service industry with the Hebrew word bashert, which he said means "destiny.” It was meant to be, he said.

If Berkowitz hadn't followed his bashert, his life might have been very different. The 72-year-old began and now owns the Max's Restaurant company, which operates 14 locations around the Bay Area, including ones at the airports.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., Berkowitz started on this career path early by helping his father, who was also in the restaurant business.

"I was dipping ice cream by the time I could reach the cabinets,” Berkowitz said. "I got that infection.”

But Berkowitz's ambitions didn't end with ice cream. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1961 with a degree in restaurant management, and then served in the military as a lieutenant and managed the Fort McNair officer's club in Washington, D.C.

Hotels were the next phase of Berkowitz's career. He worked in Boston at the Hotel Corporation of America (now the Sonesta International Hotels Corporation) and, in 1967, he was recruited across the country by Richard Swig, the chairman of the Fairmont Hotel Management Company in San Francisco. After five years as the food and beverage director at the Fairmont, Berkowitz caught the eye of the Hyatt Corporation and became vice president of food and beverages at 29.

Though Berkowitz said he became pretty well known nationally in the industry and won a lot of awards (he was awarded the IFMA Silver Plate Award in 1974), he doesn't take all the credit for himself. His success was more due to luck, he said.

"I was doing nice things, and people recognized it,” Berkowitz said. "It was being in the right place at the right time ... I've had a lot of lucky breaks.”

It wasn't until 1978 that Berkowitz switched gears and opened the first Max's restaurant, Max's Son, in Daly City. He'd been successful at his job at Hyatt, he said, and so he thought he might as well be successful for himself.

This restaurant was named after himself, Berkowitz said, but was also a tribute to his father and "had a nice ring to it.” Owning a restaurant was a huge shift for Berkowitz from his job at Hyatt. He said the biggest difference was during the holidays.

"At Christmas time when I worked at Hyatt, my office was full of presents,” Berkowitz said. "When I was in business for myself, there wasn't one present.”

The company took off once the second Max's restaurant, Max's Opera Cafe, opened in San Francisco, Berkowitz said. The restaurant featured singing servers and high-end delicatessen bistro food, he said, which was unique for the time and place.

"That's what put us on the map,” Berkowitz said. "It was a very edgy restaurant at that time ... it fit a niche that wasn't in San Francisco.”

Max's restaurants were intended to offer customers large portions of high-quality comfort food for reasonable prices, Berkowitz said, and the fare is delicatessen-based but done in style. And the restaurants also serve as a fun, casual atmosphere, he said.

Berkowitz has even left an impact on the Max's menu itself by having items named after family, friends and even his doctors over the years. There's one sandwich named for U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, a family friend who also officiated his son's wedding.

The toughest thing for someone in Berkowitz's position is making sure not to get too confident, he said, and added running a restaurant company takes a lot of luck.

"The most challenging thing is when you think that you've got a pot of gold, you've got another thing coming,” Berkowitz said. "There's a lot of pitfalls in the restaurant business ... you make a lot of mistakes in this business.”

But Max's Restaurants has made a lot of people happy over the years, Berkowitz said, and also supported his family.

"I've sent my whole family through college, law school, graduate school,” Berkowitz said. "I spent a fortune educating them. Hopefully they'll reciprocate when I'm in the home ... they'll come visit me every once in a while.”

As if owning a successful restaurant franchise wasn't enough, Berkowitz, who lives in Hillsborough, recently opened a new restaurant called Vault 164 in downtown San Mateo in the historic former Crocker Bank building on B Street at Second Avenue. This restaurant is totally different and separate from Max's, Berkowitz said, because it's a more upscale and modern atmosphere. Vault 164 also fills a niche too, Berkowitz said, because with customers don't need to travel to San Francisco for a restaurant with a big-city feel.

"It gives them a nice option, because it is a classy joint,” Berkowitz said.

Berkowitz is no stranger to treating customers right. To be in the restaurant business "you need to be out there,” Berkowitz said, and added that he's not bashful. He still makes a point to interact with customers and gives away a lot of food, he said. That goes a long way to make people smile, he said.

"It doesn't take much to make people smile,” Berkowitz said. "You have to give a little to get back.”

The advice Berkowitz would give to someone going into the restaurant business today is "don't do it,” but he also said it's important to make sure you have enough capital or your dream will be over before it starts. The competition between restaurants is also more intense today, he said.

Nevertheless, Berkowitz is happy with the path that he chose. This business was bashert for him.

"I don't know how to do anything else,” he said.