Cafe Max Grows Up with Addition of Liquor License

If the dimly lit midcentury modern design isn't what draws you in, it'll be the drinks, warm dishes and even warmer prattling on between patrons.

Cafe Max, a timeless Euro-inspired gathering place that fuses food and fashion, opened its doors back in early 2013, and has officially received its liquor license as of this spring. Along with the piece of paper, owner Max Hopewell-Arizmendi and his partner Yuki Koyama plan to reorient the space (2412 East Colfax Avenue) with slight tweaks, such as a beautiful wraparound bar with raw steel for a few people to cozy up to by early July.

The beverage program will include a succinct menu, with classics such as the Manhattan, gin martini, and three options with lyrical local love: the Kerouak, Schuyler Colfax and a Molly Brown.

"We're going to start small," Max says. "We're not a coffee shop, a tea house, or a wine bar. We're a neighborhood place, and we know that dropping too much new stuff on our customers is not good. People are creatures of habit – so we just want good service and food that is consistently good."

The layout will remain familiar, however, events will shift downstairs as will the computer-clad crown in the evenings. The food menu will continue to include favorites such as the delicate charcuterie platter, European-inspired pressed sandwich with Brie, prosciutto and fig spread on Grateful Bread's levain. Tomato soup is a menu staple, and a generous selection of buttery shortbread cookies, a velvety soft, buttery sweet almond cake, and other desserts are placed perfectly beneath glass cases.