Max Gonzalez, founder of Garden Street Bistro, began his culinary journey at 15, bussing tables, washing dishes and doing prep work for the first restaurant where he worked— an Italian one. Max then became a pizza chef, with a dream to open his own pizza place. As he followed this dream, he was led to the Island. Max found a great location and started planning the buildout needed to serve pizza. As the plan developed, the timeframe for completion kept getting longer and longer. During construction, customers kept piling in asking for pancakes, and he soon realized he had a real opportunity on hand… so he quickly built a breakfast kitchen. Within a month Max was open for business at what we now know as Garden Street Bistro!
Starting with pancakes and eggs in January 2020, patrons now enjoy all sorts of delicious breakfast, lunch and brunch foods at Garden Street Bistro. The kitchen is famous for its French toast (crafted from brioche made by Max himself), Southerninspired biscuits and gravy, and fresh takes on omelets, like ones with Hawaiian and Caprese flair. Most notably, in 2023, Max’s dream of serving pizza has now come to life through the addition of the pizza kitchen at Garden Street Bistro, where guests can savor delicious, freshly made pizzas! When you go, you’ll enjoy the beachy, relaxed atmosphere in historic Fernandina with charm galore and flowers everywhere. Max and his team look forward to having you there!
