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!