German restaurateur, noted as one of The Eitel Brothers, a family of four brothers (Emil, Karl, Robert and Max Eitel), originating from Stuttgart in Germany, who operated since 1894 in Chicago as hoteliers and restaurateurs. They are well known for the luxury Bismarck Hotel and restaurants such as the Marigold Gardens and the Old Heidelberg Inn.
Max Eitel was the tenth child of Emil and Charlotte Eitel. In 1901, he emigrated to Chicago. He went into the accounting department of the Bismarck Hotel Company, owned by his brothers Emil and Karl. He returned to Europe, studying the hotel and restaurant industries of England, France, and the Netherlands. In 1904, he took a position in the newly built luxury Hotel Astor on Times Square in New York, which was founded in the same year by the German emigrants William C. Muschenheim (1855–1918) and Frederick A. Muschenheim. There he volunteered for two consecutive years in various departments of the hotel. In 1906, he took over responsibility for the import business of his brothers, and soon thereafter the management of the beer garden Marigold Gardens, which also belonged to his brothers.
Following the closure of the beer garden due to Prohibition, in 1923 he and his brother Robert Eitel, founded the restaurant company Eitel Incorporated, with Robert as President and himself as Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. When Robert died in 1948, Max took over the presidency, which he held until his death.
Max Eitel married twice and had four children. He died on 5 June 1954 in Chicago at age 71.
Link to Wikipedia biography