Max's Best Ice Cream, Glover Park - An Institution on Wisconsin Avenue and Calvert Street - Closed Oct 31, 2013

[monsterriffs]

I searched for a thread for Max's but was unable to find one, so went ahead and created it. Unfortunately, the occasion for the thread is an unhappy one"”Max's, which is a 30-year (I believe) institution of Glover Park, has just learned that its lease will not be renewed. This is incredibly unfortunate because thousands of kids have been weaned on Max's ice cream for years, and it is even Joe Biden-approved. As far as I am concerned, Max's is right up there with Old Europe for staying power, so to lose the shop would be to lose part of the neighborhood's soul itself.

More distressing is the speculation by the owner himself that the reason the lease is not being renewed is because Rocklands wishes to expand into his space. To replace Max's with a higher output of woefully bad BBQ (I mean this is one step above slop, again, a far as I am concerned...) is a perplexing thought.

[Joe H]

Max's was originally Bob's opening in the early to mid '70's. Their "Super Chocolate" was the flavor that was their signature for many years. I'm not sure when it was actually sold but this was a D. C. institution for many, many years before it became Max's. I believe that it is more like 40 years that it has been there.

[hillvalley]

We are in worse shape than we thought if neighborhood businesses now turn on each other.

[monsterriffs]

Confirmed by Rocklands—they are taking over the Max's space. Hillvalley's lament is sadly coming true...

(I won't speak to the irony contained within their link...)

[Joe H]

I believe it was 1973 or 1974 when I first stopped in Bob's Famous Ice Cream (now Max's). Whichever year it was, my visit was on their second or third day of operation and I fell in love with the place. I probably stopped an average of once a week for the next five or six years. Bob Weiss opened this which I believe was modelled after the original Steve's in Boston where he went to law school.

Forty years later and the store is closing.

I won't be stopping at Rocklands anytime soon. Sorry but the original Bob's gave the original Gifford's a real run for their money.

[DonRocks]

Hillvalley's lament is sadly coming true...

I remain unconvinced that John Snedden is the root cause of all this. Yes, he had consistently expressed interest in the space, but something else may have happened that made the space become available (in which case his lament for Max's may be genuine). Does anyone know for sure that Max's was paying their rent on time, or living up to various other aspects of their lease? I have no knowledge here, but for 20 years to pass, and then for the landlord to decide to do something, hints at there possibly being several sides to this story.

All I would ask is that people look into the situation more before painting Mr. Snedden a cold-hearted opportunist. It might indeed be the case, but it also might not be - let's get some more information.

[monsterriffs]

All I would ask is that people look into the situation more before painting Mr. Snedden a cold-hearted opportunist. It might indeed be the case, but it also might not be - let's get some more information.

That's true, and the storyline (David v. Goliath lite) is emerging from the neighborhood listserv as part of an advocacy campaign for Max's.

[hillvalley]

According to to the Georgetown Patch the landlord, who would not comment on the issue, tried to raise the rent $1,200 dollars a month.

http://georgetown.patch.com/articles/max-s-ice-cream-lease-being-terminated

[RWBooneJr]

According to the Georgetown Patch the landlord, who would not comment on the issue, tried to raise the rent $1,200 dollars a month.

Good for him, if he can get it. Too bad for Max's that the demand isn't there to support the business in its current location at market rates, but the landlord presumably isn't running a charity. And good for Rocklands that they do have the demand to support expansion into the space.

It's sad to lose neighborhood "institutions" like Max's, but the fault lies in the community itself for not buying enough ice cream to warrant an ice cream shop in the neighborhood. Or, possibly, to Max's for not offering attractive, higher profit items that would have enabled the business to continue where it is.

Sorry, but it's the truth.

[DonRocks]

I heard back from Rockland's:

Thanks for writing us, Don -- it's great to hear from you, and yes, you're right, there are missing pieces of information.

As I've mentioned to several folks -- and you probably know this first-hand! -- the single most-repeated desire from our fans over the years has been to have more space to sit and eat. So for 20 years, at least twice per year, I've written a letter to our landlord saying that if space became available we would love to be able to expand. When we were contacted by the landlord to ask if we were still interested, I said yes. Honestly, I thought Max might be retiring until I heard otherwise over the weekend. I'm not privy to what's behind the landlord's decision to not renew Max's lease in the first place -- that's their decision. We don't have the power to "allow Max to stay in his current location."

The elephant in the room here is that the landlord has chosen not to renew with Max's Best. If you understand that Max's Best won't be there, I would be asleep at the wheel if I did not opt into the lease. I'm sure the neighbors would be even less happy if another national chain moved into Glover Park.

Given that Max's Best has two months to find a new space, I'm hoping that we -- the whole community -- can help him take a look at some of the empty storefronts in Glover Park and make his move. Sounds like from the Washingtonian piece that a new landlord has already come forward with a space across the street, which would be great as Max's Best Ice Cream could remain as part of the Glover Park community with us.

Thank you again for your thoughtful note.

Debbie Silverstein on behalf of John Snedden
ROCKLANDS Barbeque and Grilling Company
2418 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007

[zoramargolis]

I am not among those who diss Rocklands. A couple of years ago, I did a bbq crawl with Jim Shahin. the Smoke Signals columnist at the Post, and of the three large bbq purveyors in the DC area that I tasted that day, Rocklands (Arlington) was my favorite. I've always liked their brisket, and the ribs are good, too. Chacon your own gout.

[DonRocks]

I am not among those who diss Rocklands. A couple of years ago, I did a bbq crawl with Jim Shahin. the Smoke Signals columnist at the Post, and of the three large bbq purveyors in the DC area that I tasted that day, Rocklands (Arlington) was my favorite. I've always liked their brisket, and the ribs are good, too. Chacon your own gout.

Was it butt-kickin'?

[JBag57]

I have no idea what the commercial real estate market is like currently in Glover Park, but it seems there is possibly a chance that, if the root cause is a substantial proposed increase in rent, the landlord was, at this point, emboldened to make such a demand based on Rocklands' statement that, "for 20 years, at least twice per year, I've written a letter to our landlord saying that if space became available we would love to be able to expand".

Not throwing stones, but the thought crossed my mind, and I would guess that I am not the first to have thought that. If this is the case, to the landlord's credit, twenty years is a long time to have resisted the siren song.

[weezy]

most commercial leases run on a base term with 1, 2 or 3 five-year options of renewal with rent based on a yearly percentage increase (maybe 3%) over the original rent rate. At 20 years, it seems likely that the options had expired and the landlord decided not to renew under the same terms for business reasons. Sounds like Max's was offered a new lease at current market rates and turned it down for business reasons.

[DonRocks]

I have no idea what the commercial real estate market is like currently in Glover Park, but it seems there is possibly a chance that, if the root cause is a substantial proposed increase in rent, the landlord was, at this point, emboldened to make such a demand based on Rocklands' statement that, "for 20 years, at least twice per year, I've written a letter to our landlord saying that if space became available we would love to be able to expand".

Not throwing stones, but the thought crossed my mind, and I would guess that I am not the first to have thought that. If this is the case, to the landlord's credit, twenty years is a long time to have resisted the siren song.

I've now heard from several people about this issue who wish to remain anonymous. My sharing of Rockland's response should not be construed as an endorsement; rather, it's simply passing along "their version of the story."

[zoramargolis]

Was it butt-kickin'?

My sauce recipe is in the new Washington Post cookbook.

[smithhemb]

Lease extended through October 31st.

From the Save Max's Best Ice Cream Facebook Page: