sources . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message for the hong kong catering chain see maxim s caterers limited . the fa ade of maxim s restaurant maxim s is a restaurant in paris france located at no. 3 rue royale in the 8th arrondissement . it is known for its art nouveau interior decor . contents 1 history 2 today 3 popular culture 4 see also 5 external links history edit maxim s was founded as a bistro in 1893 by maxime gaillard formerly a waiter . it became one of the most popular and fashionable restaurants in paris under its next owner eugene cornuch . cornuch gave the dining room its art nouveau decor and made sure that it was always filled with beautiful women . cornuch was accustomed to say an empty room ... never i always have a beauty sitting by the window in view from the sidewalk . it was so famous that the third act of franz lehar s operetta the merry widow was set there . in 1913 jean cocteau said of maxim s it was an accumulation of velvet lace ribbons diamonds and what all else i couldn t describe . to undress one of these women is like an outing that calls for three weeks advance notice it s like moving house . in 1932 octave vaudable owner of the restaurant noel peters bought maxim s. he started selecting his clients favouring the regulars preferably famous or rich beginning a new era of prestigious catering under the famous vaudable family which lasted more than half a century . famous guests of the 1930s included edward viii and jean cocteau a close friend and neighbor of the vaudables . the playwright georges feydeau wrote a popular comedy called la dame de chez maxim the lady from maxim s . maxim s was also immensely popular with the international celebrities of the 1950s with guests such as aristotle onassis maria callas the duke of windsor and his wife wallis simpson porfirio rubirosa max oph ls and barbara hutton . when the restaurant was renovated at the end of the decade workmen discovered a treasure trove of lost coins and jewelry that had slipped out of the pockets of the wealthy and been trapped between the cushions of the banquettes . in the 1970s brigitte bardot caused a scandal when she entered the restaurant barefoot . other guests of this time period were sylvie vartan john travolta jeanne moreau barbra streisand and kiri te kanawa . it was during the fifties sixties and seventies that maxim s under the management of octave vaudable s son louis vaudable became the most famous restaurant in the world but one of the most expensive ones as well . with his wife magguy louis vaudable assured maxim s international reputation . fran ois vaudable who had been directing the restaurant by his father s side for years pursued the work of his family which gave maxim s its era of glory . in 1981 more attracted by the scientific field than by the jet set the vaudables offered to sell maxim s to fashion designer pierre cardin . a rich arab had offered to buy the restaurant but they were upset at the idea of it falling into foreign hands . cardin eventually accepted the offer . under his management an art nouveau museum was later created on three floors of the building and a cabaret was established which cardin filled each night with songs from the beginning of the 20th century . the chefs who worked at maxim s included a young wolfgang puck . a new york location was opened in 1985 but it closed in 2000 . today edit today the restaurant and the maxim s brand belongs to pierre cardin . other maxim s restaurants have been opened in tokyo london shanghai beijing monaco geneva brussels and doha . the maxim s brand has been extended to a wide range of goods and services . popular culture edit maxim s is featured in lehar s opera the merry widow . maxim s is featured in the woody allen film midnight in paris . maxim s is rumored to be the restaurant which inspired the 1983 video game for the videopac video game system the european equivalent of the magnavox odyssey 2 chez maxime released in france . see also edit maxim s art nouveau collection 1900 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to maxim s. maxim s de paris official website art nouveau museum official website pierre cardin official website maxim s restaurant in brussels s grand place coordinates 48 52 03 n 02 19 21 e 48.86750 n 2.32250 e 48.86750 ; 2.32250 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title maxim % 27s & oldid 737610963 categories restaurants in parisbuildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of parisart nouveau architecture in parisart nouveau restaurants1893 establishments in francehidden categories use dmy dates from august 2012articles lacking sources from january 2015all articles lacking sourcescommons category with local link same as on wikidataofficial website different in wikidata and wikipediacoordinates on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages e tinadeutschespa olfran aisitaliano latinanederlandsportugu s suomiti ng vi t edit links this page was last modified on 3 september 2016 at 23 38 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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