Partners

Born in Providence, RI, Steven grew up in his family’s retail business. It was there that he learned the importance of successful customer service. Steven attended Bentley College in Waltham, MA, which he credits for giving him the business strategies that have been instrumental in his success. A few years after college, Steven left his family business for the restaurant industry. After a two-year stint with Tatou Restaurants first in Manhattan and then Aspen, CO, he teamed up with his college roommate, Richard Rosenthal. Steven joined the Max Group as an assistant manager at Max on Main. In 1996, he became a partner and opened Max Downtown in Hartford. Steven is also a partner in Max’s Oyster Bar and Trumbull Kitchen. Steven feels his entrepreneurial skills and business practices have earned him a reputation as a leader and innovative manager. He strives daily to exceed his customer’s expectations and motivate his staff to excellence.

‍

Bob Cooke developed a great passion for seafood while growing up on the Connecticut shore.  He started lobstering in the “Sound” at the age of fifteen after realizing it was a great way to get a delicacy easily and inexpensively.

‍

Bob received degrees in hotel and restaurant management from New York’s Paul Smith College and Florida International University in Miami.  His professional career began with Howard Johnson’s and later Hilton Hotels.

‍

With years of experience in the hotel hospitality industry, Bob joined Boston’s famous Legal Seafood Restaurant Group.  During his 12 years as a General Manager, Bob helped open four restaurants, including the highly successful new concept, Logan Airport Oyster Bar.  He credits Legal Seafood Restaurant for introducing him to the world of high volume.

‍

Bob has brought his extraordinary knowledge of seafood and sophisticated restaurant operations to Max’s Oyster Bar as Partner and General Manager.

Hunter Morton has been working in professional kitchens since the age of 18. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and worked with celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse at his NOLA Restaurant in New Orleans. Looking to expand his cooking horizons, Hunter worked at restaurants in Oregon and Napa Valley and moved east to Connecticut where he joined the Max Restaurant Group in 2005 as Executive Chef at Max Downtown. After a successful run of 10 years, helping win numerous awards for the restaurant, he moved over to Max’s Oyster Bar, where he stayed for 3 years. In the summer of 2019, he was promoted to his current position as Culinary Director for the Max Restaurant Group. He now oversees all of the Max chefs and helps guide their culinary visions with a focus on utilizing high-quality seasonal and local foods.

‍

PHOTO BY CHEYNEY BARRIEAU

Liz's passion for hospitality and restaurants began when she started part-time as a host at Texas Roadhouse during her college years. After climbing the ranks there and graduating with a Bachelor's degree in History Education, Liz transitioned to a local restaurant group as a member of the management team. Driven by a passion for the hospitality world, she found her way to Max Hospitality. After years as GM at Max Fish in Glastonbury, Liz has moved over to Max a Mia Ristorante and will continue to channel her passion into extraordinary dining experiences, private events and the inner workings of the hospitality business.

‍

As Managing Partner of Max Fish, Brian Costa has accomplished his childhood dream. Growing up in the kitchen of his mother and grandmother, fine food and the love that goes into it has been engrained since early on. Brian began in casual dining as a high school student. In college, he continued working part time in dining while pursuing his Entrepreneurship Degree at Johnson & Wales. His Bachelors Degree in Communications and Advertising came from the University of Connecticut. After some time in corporate America, Brian returned to the restaurant business as Manager of The U.S.S. Chowder Pot IV in Hartford Connecticut. The fine dining of the Max Group called to him and brought him to management at Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford Connecticut. His understanding of staff issues, food quality and outstanding customer service gave him the opportunity of a lifetime;  Partner of the new seafood restaurant and the seventh jewel in the Max Restaurant Group.

For the past two decades, Megan Smallidge has devoted much of her life to working in the service industry. She spent nearly 5 years working in some of the most iconic restaurants in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans. After the devastation brought on from Hurricane Katrina, she focused on helping to rebuild and restore the communities in which she lived and worked. In 2008 she returned home to Connecticut, joining the MAX family as “the happy hour girl” at Max Fish in Glastonbury. She spent over 10 years at that location, working almost every position in the front of house before joining the management team in 2019. A few years later, after spending some time at the flagship restaurant Max Downtown, she took on the role of general manager at Max’s Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford. Megan carries with her an unrelenting enthusiasm and infectious positivity and is dedicated to workforce development, hospitality, staff education and training, and support to all her team members and guests alike.

‍

Chris Torla attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.  A scholarship brought him to the School for American Chefs at Beringer Vineyards in Napa Valley.  He began his career in New Hampshire with a stop in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Later, he returned to the San Francisco Bay area to further refine his culinary skills at some of Northern California’s premiere restaurants, including Mustard’s and Fog City Diner.

‍

In 1998, a nationwide search brought Chris to Connecticut where he joined Max Restaurant Group as the executive chef at Max Downtown. With Chef Torla at the helm, Max Downtown earned 3-stars from CT Magazine and a 26 rating from Zagat’s Restaurant Survey.

‍

Those successes led to a partnership with Richard Rosenthal in the new Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford.  In addition to the challenges of being an executive chef, he now has the added responsibilities of owning and managing a hip, new restaurant.

‍

Chris is active in his community as well.  He has made several appearances on local cooking shows and been showcased at charity cooking events.  His recipes and menu ideas have also been featured in national trade publications.

John was just 19 years old when he was first introduced to the Max Restaurant Group at the Avon location, Max A Mia. He made a quick transition from making pizzas to becoming a Sous Chef. John learned the back of house operations inside and out before setting his sights on becoming a floor manager.  He managed the front of the house for Brad Karsky for a short time before taking a position with Mark Conley’s management team at Max Amore.  Soaking up knowledge at each location John soon became the “rounds man” of the Max Restaurant Group.  His next stop was working with Bob Cooke at the Oyster Bar as a floor manager and also as Chef. To round out his education, John worked in a floor management position with Steven Abrams at Max Downtown before ascending to become the General Manager of Max’s Tavern in Springfield, MA.

A Connecticut native, Chelsea Lozier began in the industry as a server at the age of 16 and continued through college while she obtained degrees in Business, Marketing and shortly thereafter, Nursing. It was during her time in nursing school that she quickly accelerated into the roles of bar and restaurant management. Here she found a vast array of similarities between the two fields. “One needs to be able to read a guest from the moment they open the front door, much like triaging a patient, everyone has a story and everyone wants to feel good”. Growing up with a mother who loves to cook, Chelsea recalls dancing around the kitchen while cooking dinner. “We’d put on the local classic rock station and just sing, dance and cook! It’s rather nostalgic, to walk around and see guests singing, dancing and those purely enjoying their meal and surroundings. It’s humbling”. Coming from restaurants of award-winning chefs and years of exposure to different restaurant cultures, Chelsea started her journey with Max Hospitality in 2019, quickly transitioning to Savoy Pizzeria in 2021. She attributes a lot of her professional success to her guests, teammates and passionate mentors. “We take on each day with the determination to make every guest’s dining experience memorable. Be it good days, bad days, or those in-between, you can walk into our restaurant and be assured you’ll leave feeling good.”

‍

Bob has been perfecting his culinary craft within Max Hospitality since joining Max Fish as Sous Chef in 2011. In 2018, he moved to Max’ Oyster Bar and took over as Executive Chef. Now, as the Executive Chef at Max a Mia Ristorante, Bob brings his passion for Italian food to the restaurant.

‍

Jill Waller started her HR career in San Francisco in 1997 in one of the largest law firms in California before returning to Connecticut in 1999. In 2001, she began working in the hospitality field as a bartender on the weekends as a second job. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with Albertus Magnus in 2006 and holds several HR Certifications. During this time, she worked for several local Hartford spots before starting Connecticut Culinary School in 2007, where she completed her Pastry Chef Certification. She was introduced to baking at an early age through her Italian grandmother, Nana, who made everything from scratch and was her biggest fan. Jill was called back to HR and worked towards building her career with multiple businesses including The Hartford Courant, The Hartford Insurance Company, and United Health Group before starting with Max’s in 2018.

Jill is an avid runner, completing 6 half marathons, is a breast cancer survivor and resides with her husband Scott and two children, Parker and Hudson. “It is an honor to combine hospitality with my HR background and be a true HR representation for Max’s and their employees”.

Born and raised in Coventry, Connecticut, Matthew Burrill first found his love for cooking early in life when his mother taught him the basics of sauce making. When she would make a roast or a meal for the family, Matthew was in charge of making the sauce for it. As time went on, Matthew found that cooking was what he enjoyed most, so he enrolled at the Connecticut Culinary Institute and upon graduating, started working at Foxwoods Casino and

eventually with Max Hospitality. Since then, Matthew has spent years working with many talented chefs at various Max restaurants before being given the reigns at Max’s Oyster Bar.

‍

Shawn Jones grew up in East Hartford, CT and fell in love with food early on in life from spending time in his family kitchen with his mother and especially his "Nanny". As he grew older, learning about wine became a passion that he now enjoys sharing that knowledge with co-workers and guests. Shawn was a longtime partner for Outback Steakhouse in New London, CT (and was even named 2007 Partner of the Year) and worked at Bonefish Grill in South Windsor, CT before joining the Max Restaurant Group. When he's not working at Max's Oyster Bar, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children. And in his house, football is life!

‍

Born in Manchester, CT., Christopher Sheehan didn’t while away childhood afternoons building forts or pretending to be Superman. He spent them happily cooking over a hot stove in his grandparent’s kitchen. “My grandmother would immediately put me to work when I came over,” Sheehan recalls. “She taught me to love and respect food. It was never to be wasted.” Upon graduating from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., Sheehan joined Max Downtown, where he sharpened his culinary skills under the tutelage of executive chef Hunter Morton. In 2013, Sheehan received critical acclaim when Max Downtown was named both “Best American Restaurant” by Connecticut Magazine’s Expert Picks, and “Upscale Restaurant of the Year” by the Connecticut Restaurant Association. Sheehan has made two appearances at the prestigious James Beard House, and his seasonally inspired cooking has garnered high praise from fellow chefs and the top brass for his meticulously executed dishes. “Chris has a quiet intensity that has been a huge part of getting Max Downtown through sales days and weeks, which makes the rest of us sit back and marvel,” says Scott Smith, President/CEO of Max Hospitality. “Not only is Chris a rock star on the line, his food is simply brilliant.”

Steve has been the driving force behind the food of Max Catering & Events for nearly ten years, upholding our standards for fresh food made from quality local ingredients. Steve personally cooks and plates most of the food that we serve to ensure that everything is served at the appropriate temperature and that every dish is something that every host is proud to serve at their event.

‍