Pulaski’s downtown sees growth, new international-inspired coffee shop opens

PULASKI, Va. (WDBJ) - ‘Max on Main’ is one of the only coffee shops in Pulaski mixing European cuisine and a special blend of roasted coffee.

The owner, Max Collignon, says the shop is family-inspired—based on memories with his grandparents and native home Belgium.

“And they spend the majority of their life hanging out in coffee shops. And so we kind of dedicated opening to the coffee shop in their honor for that. So, we used to join them. As a kid it was kind of funny to see how the dynamic always worked with grandma looking out the window gasping, everybody walking by with a friend,” said Collignon.

“But it was a place with people, you know, where she came together with all of her friends, and I hope on the inside that we’ve created an atmosphere where you can come together with friends; you can come to sit on your laptop and get on the Wi-Fi and do some work or just to relax by yourself.”

Pulaski’s planner and economic developer said the business is more than another coffee shop – it’s adding to downtown’s growth.

“A local thriving coffee shop is extremely important to the development of downtown. It is a place where people can gather in the morning, before work, during work, at odd hours. It’s where people can have professional meetings,” said Brady Deal, the planner and economic development zoning administrator for the Town of Pulaski.

The space can sit more than three dozen people who can order coffee, paninis or Belgian waffles.

“And often, the conversation and that conversation is extremely important, and helping your community learn about other people in the community and grow those relationships,” said Deal.

Max says the town has welcomed him with open arms-- just as they did when he and his twin brother moved to Pulaski when they were 16 with their family.

“In Belgium where we’re from, most other countries in Europe, that won’t be the case either. It will be a lot more difficult, but just because of how open everybody was and how the community opened their doors to us. That’s the main reason why we want to open the coffee shop, so now, just like the community opened their doors to us, we can open our doors to the community,” said Collignon.

Max credit’s “Chef T” as being the brains behind everything on the menu.

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