By Casey Kaplan
Max Tucci - restaurateur extraordinaire! Max’s new restaurant, TUCCI, at 643 Broadway on the corner of Broadway and Bleecker, is a masterpiece! …And the restoration of his family’s Manhattan mainstay, Delmonico’s, resets the standard for steak in downtown Manhattan.
“My father’s father and mother, Oscar and Sesta, came to New York from Florence, Italy, the land of the Medicis,” Max starts the tale. “Oscar wanted the American Dream and was interested in real estate. He bought the 56 Beaver Street building in 1925, and in 1926 he reopened the venerable Delmonico’s, which was first established in 1827, with an illegal speakeasy in the basement. Oscar ran Delmonico’s with a passion and flair like no other. He created a way of providing service known as ‘the Delmonico way’. At the height of his career, Oscar was operating over 65,000 square feet of restaurant space and serving over 1,000 lunches a day. When he died in 1969, my father, Mario, and my aunt, Mary, took the blazing Delmonico’s torch. …I’ve written all about my family’s decades upon decades run at Delmonico’s in the book I authored, titled The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining & Legendary Recipes from the Restaurant that Made New York, published by Rizzoli.”
Max says proudly, “Delmonico’s was America’s first fine-dining restaurant! It’s older than the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and New York City’s public running water. It’s older than Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier. Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain dined at Delmonico’s. On April 20th 1868, Delmonico’s was the first restaurant to welcome women unaccompanied by men. It was the place to be seen! Imagine, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson at a table in the main dining room, while Ralph Burns and his orchestra were entertaining. Or Marilyn Monroe and Gypsy Rose Lee flirting with guys, while Lena Horne serenaded the private VIP dining room. Delmonico’s was purely magical!”
My wonderful childhood was sadly interrupted on the night of my 8th birthday…
“My wonderful childhood was sadly interrupted on the night of my 8th birthday - when my father died of a massive stroke at our home in Greenwich,” Max describes his own history. “My aunt Mary - like my own ‘Auntie Mame’ - took over at Delmonico’s - where she was known as ‘the iron fist with a lace glove’ eyes-in-the-back-of-her-head businesswoman. My mother, Gina, also remained associated with Delmonico’s for some time - and was for a time a beloved Front of House Maitre d’ - but, being a young widow, my mother was determined to move on with her life - mostly in Europe, at our villa in Firenze or sailing the Greek Islands. My sister Nicoletta and I grew up in Greenwich, Manhattan, and Florence. We had an unconventional education, sometimes with private tutors. I was enrolled as the youngest dorm resident when I attended Harvey. Then I went to school in Florence. Then I came back to go to St. Luke’s. I was raised by amazing nannies. And I had a lot of interesting friends. We were neighbors with the Trumps so Don Jr. and Eric were my buddies growing up.”
“In some ways, my father’s death gave me my life,” Max reveals.
“Although my aunt had me do some work at Delmonico’s as a child in order to give me a taste - the New York Times noted that I was ‘cleaning ashtrays, checking for chips on the glassware and looking for burnt out lightbulbs’ when they wrote about Delmonico’s in the 1980s - at the time I wasn’t interested in going into the family business. I was a kid who loved riding his horse and enjoyed fishing with my mates. …And then I became interested in photography and fashion. I took an internship with Beth Boldt, who discovered Naomi Campbell. I was a free-spirited teenager, driving around town in a bright red Mercedes Benz convertible, smoking Cartier menthol cigarettes. I put on a fashion show of my own collection of women’s attire for my senior project at St. Luke’s. …And I was ready to get started with my life right out of high school. College was not for me, nor I for it. At 18 I headed to Berlin, and by 22 I was living in Florence.”
“I’ve been very happy and grateful being Max Tucci! I just turned 46 and I have a blessed life! For 17 years and counting I’ve been hosting a talk radio show called ‘Max & Friends’ in L.A., I appear regularly on shows such as GMA3, Good Day New York, the Tamron Hall Show and the Sherri Show, I’m a contributing writer for Appetito Magazine, and I’m a best-selling author!” Max touches on his professional career as a socialite, personality, and influencer. “…But Delmonico’s - and fine dining - are in my DNA!”
“In 2019, I threw a party at Delmonico’s for my pal Whoopi Goldberg to celebrate her book, The Unqualified Hostess, that Rizzoli had just published. Whoopi introduced me to Charles Miers, the longtime Rizzoli publisher, and I told him about how I’d spent fifteen years working on a book all about Delmonico’s,” Max recalls. “Charles was interested and when I met with him a week later, he gave me the book deal - conditioned on my adding my personal perspective and stories. …The book was published on November 1, 2020, and immediately became a #1 Bestseller.”
“At just about the same time, covid caused the group who were operating Delmonico’s to shut down and, because of a clause my Aunt Mary put in the contract when she’d sold the building, all the Delmonico’s intellectual property reverted to us Tuccis!” Max exclaims. “I took it all as a sign from my ancestors, Oscar, Sesta, Mario, and Mary. …I had a great house in Laurel Canyon, close to my radio studio, but Los Angeles was suffering during the pandemic, and New York was calling. I decided it was time to move back…and I got to work on reimagining Delmonico’s. We held a soft opening on August 21, 2023 - my Aunt Mary’s birthday - and the official opening on September 15, 2023. My mother flew in from Italy and cut the ribbon with the Mayor of New York, while I stood on the same steps my father and my grandfather did, welcoming New York and the World back to Delmonico’s! …And, very fortunately, it’s been a success from the moment we reopened the doors!”
“Less than six months after reopening Delmonico’s, on December 28, 2023, I was at my good friend and mentor Clive Davis’ house in Miami Beach for New Years. Clive had chartered a yacht to take his select group of friends out for the New Year’s eve fireworks,” Max sets the scene. “I received a call that the space at 643 Broadway was available, and I had to break the news to Clive that I might have to miss New Year’s Eve in order to rush back to New York to see the space. But in typical Clive fashion, he encouraged me to follow my passion, and practically instructed me to get back to Manhattan to get the space locked-up. He said ‘If you don’t fall in love with the space - don’t do it…and make sure you’re back for my New Year’s gathering!’ …Needless to say I made it back, but we took over the lease on January 3… and I rolled up my sleeves with my design partner Jimmy and went to work. We added the ‘Tucci touch’ and some signature Gucci to the space that resembles my villa in Florence, Italy. We had the soft opening on March 13, 2024 - just before my mother’s birthday on St. Patrick’s Day! And I’m pleased to say we’ve been packed ever since! From stars such as Cardi B and Lindsay Lohan to Taraji P. Henson and Clive Davis, to a cadre of locals who are already regulars, to epicureans from all over the planet. My name is finally on Broadway!”
…And it’s TUCCI… no apostrophe, no ‘s’…like Gucci and Pucci…TUCCI!
…In the year or so since Max reopened Delmonico’s and launched TUCCI, he has emerged as a restaurateur extraordinaire! In this age of famous chefs fronting chains of restaurants spread all over the globe, Max is a throwback to the restaurateur of old - a restaurant proprietor who acts as the host of the establishment, often with a notable chef behind the scenes. …In the footsteps of his grandfather and father at Delmonico’s, and in the style of the legendary Sirio Maccioni - whose first job in New York was at Delmonico’s - who presided - with Chef Daniel Boulud, among others, working in the kitchen - over Le Cirque’s 40+ year run at the pinnacle of fine dining in Manhattan. Max is a master of hospitality!
“It’s my stage and I have a new audience every night! If I’m not there, it’s just not as much fun…or so I’ve been told!” Max declares. “We have a renowned Executive Chef, Edward Hong, overseeing the menu at Delmonico’s and at TUCCI, and a line cook who has a massive pedigree of culinary talent, Valentino Pace, turning out the very genuine Italian food at TUCCI. The New York Post headline reviewing TUCCI read ‘Move over, Carbone - this new NYC Italian hotspot has the best meatballs’ - they’re my Nonna Sesta’s recipe! But while the excellent food is the ultimate draw, I’m there to make sure every aspect of each guest’s dining experience is completely perfect! The Delmonico Way! The Tucci touch!”
We arrived at TUCCI to shoot this B&NC MAG feature just before the restaurant opened on a weekday night in January. The professional staff was going about their business, like steaming glasses to remove any waterspots, with calm precision. Max was wearing a Barabas suit with a pocket scarf, which went with the restaurant’s decor but helped Max to stand out as the impresario at the same time. He was primped for our photos - but he’s always dressed-up. He was high energy as usual.
We couldn’t help but notice the formal tableware, and Max explained that he’d wanted to put the TUCCI logo on the Bernardaud china, but that the embossing couldn’t withstand the extreme heat in the dishwashers. He ordered some colorful drinks for photos at our table - and then took a quiet moment aside with the bartender to discuss why one of the raspberries garnishing one of the drinks had an imperfection, and emphasizing how important it is in making the right impression on a guest that every single raspberry needed to be perfect. When Max noticed that a little old lady seated at the table next to us, waiting with wrapped gifts for two others to arrive, was unhappy with her table, he went over and found out that the woman was celebrating an important birthday and very much wanted Table #18, a specific table in the corner that would make it easier for her friends to talk…and then Max persuaded the couple seated at the table the lady wanted to exchange tables, awarding them a comped dinner for being accommodating! It’s Max’s party…and it’s like everyone in the restaurant is an honored cousin visiting from Italy!
We had Nonna Sesta’s famous Meatballs and her Caesar Salad for starters, the Kimchi Lasagne, Chicken Parmigiana made with a smoked vodka sauce, and my personal favorite Cacio e Pepe with truffles for mains, and then enjoyed a taste of each of the desserts on the menu, including a really special Bomboloni. All the food was delicious, but I have to report that the Cacio e Pepe is really the best I’ve ever had!!
We talked about what’s next, and Max said, “Next year my family, with me at the helm, will celebrate 100 years since my grandfather opened Delmonico’s! …I have exquisite menus from when Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy dined at Delmonico’s. Once I finish my Delmonico’s cocktail book, I’m going to write a cookbook on Presidential Dinners at Delmonico’s. …I have so much ephemera, so many items from Delmonico’s past, I’d like to do something with it all that honors my family - maybe donate some of the archives to a museum, or do something on TV. …I recently released an extraordinary chocolate collaboration with ‘Chocolatier To The Stars’ Fritz Knipschildt, which is available on Goldbelly, and I’ll probably come out with a TUCCI pasta sauce sometime soon. …And I’ve recently been added as a new judge on Beat Bobby Flay, and I’m getting a big kick out of doing that! …Maybe someday we’ll do a Delmonico’s speakeasy or I’ll open a TUCCI in Vegas, or on the Upper East Side, but for now I’m content with the success we’re having at Delmonico’s and TUCCI, and I’m grateful to be walking down this illustrious yellow brick road my ancestors paved for me!”
“You know, my grandfather and my father always had a table available to feed the homeless during dark hours,” Max reflects. “I have the same belief that ‘all are welcome to the table’. I’m a Food Council Member for City Harvest, but as we move forward I’d like to do even more to address hunger and homelessness in our City and our Nation. I also serve on the Board of the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in The Bronx and on the Board of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and have over the years volunteered for The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in The Bronx, the Unicorn Children’s Foundation in Boca Raton, The American Ballet, SOS Children’s Villages, The American Diabetes Association - who gave me their Young Leader in Philanthropy Award, and at Adopt-A-Dog in Greenwich.”
One regret of my overwhelming schedule is that I don’t get to spend as much time at my home in North Salem.
“One regret of my overwhelming schedule is that I don’t get to spend as much time at my home in North Salem. And I haven’t been to my villa in Florence or my Boulder, Colorado mountain home in quite some time,” Max says with mild chagrin. “I purchased in North Salem in 2021. I was immediately drawn to the unique history of the property. Valerie Clarebout, who designed the angels that surround Rockefeller Center during Christmas, once used the barn as her studio. As did American architectural photographer Ezra Stoller, and portraitist Daniel Greene. And then the barn was used as an art school. The fresco in the dining room was done by Dan Greene’s brother, Jeff Greene, of EverGreene Architectural Arts - a premier specialty contractor for historic restoration and conservation of the highest quality decorative interior finishes. …And I’ve really leaned into the quirkiness of the property, from the main residences converted from a 1920s carriage house, to the 6,000 square foot barn, to the guest cottage that was once a store selling dairy from the farm.
I love huge-scale pieces and I’m a real collector, and this house is like a big museum for me to decorate however I like! …I even purchased an old Defender just to complete the picture!”
North Salem has the charm of a quaint Norman Rockwell town ⎯ only it’s one hour or so from Manhattan.
Max Tucci
“North Salem has the charm of a quaint Norman Rockwell town ⎯ only it’s one hour or so from Manhattan,” Max expounds. “It feels like our own private playground and it’s definitely still my decompression zone whenever I can get there. …I’m at TUCCI and Delmonico’s just about every night, and usually stay in my Upper East Side apartment.”
Max Tucci, a Prince of the City, has taken his rightful position - at TUCCI and at his family’s Delmonico’s - as one of New York’s ‘Restaurant Royalty’!
As featured in the March/April 2025 issue of Bedford & New Canaan Magazine