New sausage bar and biergarten aims to be new gathering spot for Durham diners
On Joe Schwartz’s arm is a tattoo of his grandfather wearing a tuxedo with a long cigar in his mouth. The ink memorial is Max Meyer Jr., who owned and ran the Meyer’s Super Market in Enfield, east of Rocky Mount, for three decades — and who, according to Schwartz, loved to drink bourbon and play poker.
As a tribute to his grandfather and anyone else who loves good food and drinks and unpretentious vibes, Schwartz is opening Max Jr’s, a sausage bar and biergarten, on Main Street in Durham later this year.
For Max Jr’s, Schwartz has teamed up with The Federal owners Fergus Bradley and Josh Wittman. The project will be built in shipping containers in the parking lot space behind The Living Room bar, with a companion market named Max Jr. Jr’s.
Opening in the redeveloping Brightleaf District, Schwartz said he hopes Max Jr’s can bring a bit of old school funk.
“I want to build this as a ‘hell yes’ to old Durham,” Schwartz said. “A lot of people moved here who are 25 and younger and I want them to have a taste of what Durham was like. We have something really special here, a culture of artists and food that I feel like isn’t present in a lot of cities.”
This is the first restaurant for Schwartz, who grew up in Durham and whose food education came from some of the city’s most famous restaurants — like Magnolia Grill, where his family would order different dishes and pass them clockwise around the table.
“The whole farm to table thing inspired me,” Schwartz said. “I have a Magnolia Grill menu signed by Ben (Barker). I’ve always loved to eat. My family never let one meal get in the way of planning the next one.”
His path to restaurants veered through writing and journalism, including a time as editor-in-chief of the Daily Tar Heel while at UNC-Chapel Hill. During the pandemic he started working in restaurants, including The Federal in Durham and the Saxapahaw General Store.
Sausage stars
Sausages will be the specialty at Max Jr’s, Schwartz said, with a core of bratwurst, knockwurst and currywurst, and rotating features like alligator boudin and duck with duck gravy.
“I think sausages are unique in that you can take any flavor profile you like and stuff it in a tube,” Schwartz said. “Everyone should be able to afford to eat at Max’s. A brat and a beer should be something everyone can afford.”
The aesthetic of Max’s will be era-bending, calling on antique supermarket ads and signs from Coca Cola and Del Monte and a register from the early 1900s, mixed with the tap-and-go tech of a Square tablet pay system.
Other dishes to look for are calzones, handpies, loaded latkes, and a version of a bahn mi sandwich with chopped liver standing in for pate.
“I’m looking to get weird and fun,” Schwartz said.
The restaurant space will have room for about 50 or 60 people, with room for another 100 in an outdoor area with artificial turf.
A food truck first
The restaurant looks to open as early as the spring or summer, Schwartz said, but a food truck preview called Meyer’s Fine Foods & Good Times will hit the road in March or April. With the truck Schwartz will try out dishes like stuffed hushpuppies, a Brunswick Stew with matzoh balls and Jewish burrito made with corned beef or pastrami inside a rye tortilla.
Like The Fed, Schwartz hopes Max’s will find many intersection points for Durham diners, be it drinks before dinner or late night meet-ups.
“People just want to gather and see friends and family,” Schwartz said. “We see Max’s as a gathering place, where people can meet up at Max’s, where it can be a central hub.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2023 at 10:00 AM with the headline "New sausage bar and biergarten aims to be new gathering spot for Durham diners."
