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Community Corner

Bottom's Up: Max Mitchell Was a Cranford Icon

Many describe Mark "Max" Mitchell as a great bartender, and an even better friend.

There is a recurring character in Americana folklore: the all-knowing bartender. The  man who holds all his patrons' secrets yet divulges none; the man who knows everyone's name; the man who has your favorite drink waiting on the bar the moment you walk through the door. For many years, and for many people, that man was Mark Mitchell.

Mitchell, known to friends and bar-goers as "Max," died Saturday of a heart attack. The 49-year-old tended bar at The Riverside Inn, known affectionately among locals as, "The Dive," for 26 years. In that time, he became a Cranford icon. Newly twenty-one youths, mayors and baseball coaches all went to see Max. 

"When you grow in Cranford and turn 21, the first thing you do is go see Max," resident John McCarthy said. 

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Matt Lubin, a longtime Cranford resident and Riverside regular, has been patroning The Dive since the moment he became legal. Even on a bustling Saturday night, Max never kept him waiting long.

"I always went when he was working," he said. "Whether it was mobbed or there was nobody in the place, you never waited long for a beer. It was so funny to see the place packed and you only had one bartender working, and he's getting beers, he's cleaning up, he's running recycle and no one waited for anything."

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"I got along with him, and he turned out to be a great guy," resident Paul Starkey said. "We would talk about the river and what I was doing for work, and not much else. I usually sat there silently. When it would get real crowded and people would start to get on his nerves, he would come over and say things like, 'I wish everyone was as quiet as you, I'd have a better night.'"

If Max ever became irritated with a bar-goer, he rarely let it show, friends said. Rather, he used his humor and personality to endear himself to everyone.

"This fancy-schmancy group of guys in suits came in one night and ordered a bunch of complicated shots," Heather Force, another Riverside bartender, said. "Max put the shot glasses out and said, 'Eight tequilas, 50 bucks.'"  

Max, who was living in Manasquan at the time of his death, was a man about Cranford long before his post at The Dive. In his youth, Max was an exceptional athlete, winning awards for baseball, football, and sportsmanship. When he migrated south 10 years ago, he threw away his trophies in a dumpster behind Dive.

"He didn't want to take them with him," Riverside owner and longtime friend Peter "Jake" Jacobs said. "I took them all out, cleaned them up, fixed them, and said one day, when he got married and bought a house, he was going to get a big box of these trophies back. He was an outstanding athlete, but he never had a big head."

Jacobs and Max had been friends since childhood, competing for rivaled school teams Saturday afternoon and making mischief on Saturday night. When Jacobs bought the bar in 1995, Max was part of the package deal. Jacobs jokingly asked Max for a copy of his keys.

"He was a friend to many, he was a brother and everybody loved him," Jacobs said. "People who didn't even know him loved him. He was a Cranford icon. His whole entire life. He's been my friend forever. The place will never be the same without him."

Max was also known for his carefree attitude. Friends called him, "Cool Hand Luke." When the New York Rangers won the 1994 Stanley Cup, Max managed to maneuver his way onto the ice to join the celebrations.

"Max was at the game," director at KPMG LLP and a longtime Dive patron Joe Zanko said. "At the end, when the Rangers won, he's walking on the ice. He figured out a way to get down there and hug the Rangers." 

"That was his personality," Jacobs added. "He went to the Rangers-Flyers, and the next thing you know, he just snuck his way down. He got on the ice and was actually shaking people's hands. He got up to one of the Flyers and the guys said, 'Who are you?' and Max answered, 'I'm Max!'"

Above all else, Max was a friend. He was the person you called at three in the morning when your wife had a baby, or when you caught a foul at a Yankee game. Max was always happy to push out a chair, pour a beer and listen to your stories.

"If there was only one guy here, he'd never leave the back of the bar. He'd sit there until someone else came in to talk to them," Jacobs said.

"And he'd wait until two on the dot to close,"  Force added.

The Riverside is collecting donations to help fund funeral expenses. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the O'Brien Funeral Home in Brick. Those who wish to leave fond memories of Max may do so through the online tribute page dedicated to him. Knowing Max, good memories won't be in short supply.

"We went there for New Years a year and a half ago" Starkey shared. "I walked in there about 10:00 and there was nobody in the bar. He was the only one there and we just hung out for a few hours. It was just four friends."

"Max epitomized the small-town bartender," Lubin said. "He was a no-nonsense guy who knew you and your drink, whether you were a daily regular or an occasional visitor. The Dive is a place of unmatched character, and Max was a huge part of that."

Correction: A previous draft of this article stated Joe Zanko was retired. He is a director at KPMG LLP.

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