Early history Maxim's was founded as a
bistro in 1893 by Maxime Gaillard, formerly a waiter, at 3
Rue Royale in Paris. The location had previously been an ice-cream parlor. In that era, it became known as a "place to take ladies but never one's wife," as said in
Franz Lehar's music about the location. It became one of the most popular and fashionable restaurants in Paris under its next owner, Eugene Cornuché. He gave the dining room its
Art Nouveau decor, installed a
piano, and made sure that it was always filled with beautiful women. Cornuché was accustomed to say: "An empty room... Never! I always have a beauty sitting by the window, in view from the sidewalk." It was so famous that the third act of
Franz Lehár's 1905 operetta
The Merry Widow was set there. In 1913,
Jean Cocteau said of Maxim's clientele: "It was an accumulation of velvet, lace, ribbons, diamonds and what all else I couldn't describe. To undress one of these women is like an outing that calls for three weeks' advance notice, it's like moving house." After the restaurant fell on hard times, in 1932, After the war, the Vaudables restored the restaurant and began expanding internationally as well, with the restaurants in Istanbul, Chicago, Tokyo and Mexico City using Maxim's name but operating under different management. In the late 1950s,
Pan Am had Maxim's de Paris food catered in-flight, including their famous beef entree, as the
Boeing 377 Stratocruisers "had their own ovens, and there was usually a beef tenderloin cooked on board and sliced in front of you." Maxim's was also immensely popular with the international celebrities of the 1950s, with guests such as
Aristotle Onassis,
Maria Callas, The Chicago Maxim's de Paris was sold in 2022 from the City of Chicago, to local residents Victoria and Adam Bilter, to have the interior restored and re-opened as a private members social-club.
Brigitte Bardot caused a scandal when she entered the restaurant barefoot. when he wore a turtleneck instead of a dress shirt and bow tie. Other guests of this time period were
Jeanne Moreau,
Barbra Streisand,
Kiri Te Kanawa,
John Travolta and
Sylvie Vartan. 600 guests dined over five and a half hours in the longest and most lavish official banquet in modern history as recorded in successive editions of the
Guinness Book of World Records. Cardin Enterprises began lending their name to the owners, Louis and Maggie Vaudable, in 1978. Louis and Francois Vaudable were expected to train a successor chosen by Cardin and then leave the business, with decor and ambiance expected to remain the same. Around 1985, the restaurants in Brussels and Rio de Janeiro were scuttled over management issues, and the Palm Springs hotel, opened in February 1986, also encountered occupancy issues. Cardin had a Maxim's boutique, selling evening clothes, and Maxim's Minim's at the Paris location selling gourmet snacks within blocks of the restaurant. By 2023, Maxim's was open mainly for private events. In March 2023,
Laurent de Gourcuff, CEO of Paris Society, announced that his company had been selected to revive the restaurant, and that a cocktail bar and terrace would be created on the upper floors. Daily bookings resumed in November 2023. ==In media==