Take your dining to The Max
We visited the Saved By the Bell diner in L.A.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Ah, the tastes of the early ’90s, and the sounds of … was that Hot Sundae?
Indeed, it was the Saved By the Bell girl group I heard when I was the first diner at Los Angeles’ new squigglygraphic-festooned pop-up Saved By the Max. The restaurant is made to look and feel exactly like the California-set TV show, which aired on NBC from 1989 to 1992 and spawned several sequels. And specifically, like Zack, Slater, Screech, Lisa, Kelly and Jessie’s favorite hangout, The Max.
The diner, which had an earlier stint in Chicago as part of a national tour, has limited tickets available through the end of this year and will open a “second semester” of reservations Friday on SavedByTheMax.com. The $40 ticket gives Bayside Tigers an appetizer and an entree with a clever name.
My order? AC Sliders (saucy pulled pork sandwiches) and a Bayside Burger (the diner classic on a sesame seed English muffin; a vegetarian version is also offered). Though the food from Brian Fisher, a chef from Michelinstarred restaurant Entente, is modern, it somehow tastes retro.
For an instant, I’m unaware social media exists and almost forget to snap a photo of my meal. It’s a fleeting moment when I’m feeling that I’m so excited, I’m
so excited. I almost consider ordering the I’m So Excited drink, which, inspired by Jessie Spano’s infamous caffeine-pill overdose, contains Red Bull. Then I remember it’s 2018 and I have responsibilities that don’t involve Zack Morris manipulating my friend group.
A quick tour of the diner shows some “deep cuts,” as Saved By the Max coowner Derek Berry describes jokes that only die-hard fans will appreciate. There’s a pay phone that says “for advice call 1-900-CRUSH,” a reference from an episode where the gang gives teen dating tips. Crutches in a Lisa Turtle locker are a callback to the time she broke her leg.
A drink named Eric recalls Jessie’s rarely seen stepbrother. And there’s a replica of Principal Belding’s office with framed photos and books.
Berry, a Saved By the Bell superfan, says the the throwback restaurant was inspired by a ’ 90s night he helped host at Beauty Bar in Chicago.
“We literally were like, ‘ Our friends are gonna appreciate this.’ We weren’t in it for money. Then NBC reached out and wanted to partner, and we got national news,” he says. Berry has since relocated his family from Chicago to Los Angeles.
And I understand why the idea caught on: Saved By the Max takes patrons on a nostalgia trip that makes them feel as though they’re a part of their own technicolor teen show with a funky ’90s soundtrack.
But there’s one major change from the TV series: This Max has a bar.