Brenner’s New Love

"The Chocolate and Coffee Love Affair"

Oded Brenner is fighting for his new coffee shop, and he’s fighting for his customers– personally. Founder of Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man, and owner of 60 establishments worldwide, this restauranteur has not let his significant fame change the way he does business.

In September, my boyfriend and I filed a complaint on the website of Little Brown, a coffee shop on 85th St and Lexington Ave. We had been there a couple times and were disappointed with the service. Not really expecting a response, we sent some feedback through the website’s “Contact Us” link. An hour later I received an email and a text message directly from Oded Brenner apologizing profusely.

“Little Brown is my new baby,” he wrote. “A true feedback like you sent me makes me very upset!” Brenner invited us to re-experience Little Brown with him– on the house. So we agreed to meet him at the coffee shop. (Who turns down chocolate from the Bald Man?)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Brenner’s story, I’ll catch you up: The chocolate pioneer learned his craft working with world-renowned pastry and chocolate experts throughout Europe. He took these newfound talents back to Israel and opened up his first chocolate shop in the mid-nineties. Since then, Brenner’s work has spread worldwide. And somehow this chocolate extraordinaire found time to read our complaint and respond personally. Being a Max Brenner enthusiast, I couldn’t help but giggle like a star-struck teenager.

But Brenner was far from a stereotypical star. Wearing checkered shorts and a casual button-down shirt, he was sitting on a stool when we walked in. He introduced himself and started us off with three chocolatey drinks and a few edibles as he talked about Little Brown, which opened this February. “I spend all my free time working on it,” he said. While we tasted Brenner’s freshly-baked creations, he watched us eagerly. Beaming after every positive response, he’d say, “It’s incredible!”

Though Brenner already owns 60 restaurants worldwide– including Max Brenners Chocolate by the Bald Man in Union Square–  he doesn’t want to use Max Brenner publicity to draw attention to his new endeavor. “It’s a different experience,” he says.  “Max Brenner is a place people come for a celebration, but I want people to come here for their coffee every morning.”

The goal is a casual, relaxed coffee shop. “It’s about the experience,” says Brenner. So even though Little Brown is located directly across the street from a Starbucks, he hopes that the retro decor, cool ambiance, and trendy baristas will draw in customers seeking a less corporate experience. And it seems that Brenner is a true embodiment of the cool, casual culture of his coffee shop. No work is below him. As we chatted he kept a close eye on the ebb and flow of customers, jumping up every once in a while to straighten chairs, clean off table tops, and make sure things were running smoothly.

I’ve seen Brenner several times since then. Little Brown became our regular Saturday morning treat, and “Oded” waves to us each time he’s there. The Bald Man is still ironing out the kinks in his new business, but the delightful chocolate concoctions will keep me coming back for more.

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