Lighting the Fire on Main Street

Story by Dawn Nolan | Photography by Erin Hurst Photography

A third-generation restaurateur steps out of his comfort zone to build something new in the heart of White Sulphur Springs, blending family legacy, wood-fired tradition, and a deep commitment to community.

The restaurant business is part of who he is. Ken Santmyer spent his childhood behind the counters of one of West Virginia’s most successful and well-known pizza chains, getting a first-hand education in how to run a business and watching a family legacy take shape in real time.

“It’s what I grew up around,” Santmyer says. “I got to see how the sausage was made, if you will.”

Santmyer’s grandfather, the late William Kenneth “Kenney” Grant, founded Gino’s Pizza and Spaghetti House in 1961. His father, Frank Santmyer, has owned and operated his Elkins location since 1973. Several other family members are involved in the business, and today there are more than three dozen Gino’s locations across the state. Santmyer credits both men as mentors.

“My grandfather was more of an entrepreneur, and my father is more of a businessman,” he describes. “I learned a great deal from both of them about the restaurant industry, especially from my grandfather. I was born in 1972, and he’d already had Gino’s for nine years by then.”

With that background, it’s hardly surprising that Santmyer followed in their footsteps, becoming a third-generation restaurateur.

“I don’t know if it was inspiration or desperation,” he responds with a chuckle. “I needed to make a living. This is what I was good at. And I already owned the building in White Sulphur Springs, which is right in the middle of town with parking, a quarter mile from The Greenbrier. It seemed like a great opportunity to start something new, and I felt that there was a need.”

Santmyer still honored the family connection with the restaurant’s name.

“Maxwell is a family name, but it sounded a little too formal,” he explains. “So, I shortened it to Max.”

His partner, Elizabeth Bradley, suggested the addition of “on Main” to anchor the location, which Santmyer agreed was a good idea. Thus, Max on Main was born.

Located at 789 Main Street East, the building dates back to 1925 and has lived many lives, including stints as a grocery store, an arcade and other restaurants. From business plan to opening in September 2024, the process took nearly two years.

“The entire building was gutted, so we had a blank canvas to work with. I kind of wanted a relaxed, industrial feel to the space,” Santmyer explains.

Eight-foot ceilings were opened to cathedral heights, original floors were preserved, and nearly 25-foot-long wormy chestnut beams stretch overhead. Exposed brick, concrete countertops, subway tile, and oversized light fixtures sourced from Black Dog Salvage give the space the ambiance Santmyer was aiming for.

“Everything kind of flows,” Santmyer says. “I think it’s comfortable. It’s casual. It’s not upscale, it’s relaxed. We spent a lot of time tying things together. It was a lot of work, but it turned out exactly how I wanted it.”

And then there’s the infamous wallpaper.

Discovered by Santmyer’s partner, Elizabeth Bradley, the “drunk monkey” wallpaper on the bar’s accent wall has become the restaurant’s most recognizable and talked about design element.

“There’s a lot of adult material on it,” Santmyer laughs. “The birds are smoking. There’s a monkey chugging a bottle of vodka. There are bras hanging from the trees. There’s a monkey with a cigar hanging out of its mouth.”

“The monkey theme kind of ties in with the original man and monkey logo from Gino’s, and we use that drunk monkey wallpaper for a lot of marketing. People get their pictures taken in front. They know when you see that wallpaper, you think of the Max name. It is probably one of the main attractions.”

The menu at Max fits the laid-back vibe of the space: fresh, creative dishes with familiar flavors carefully crafted with locally sourced ingredients, including Mountain Steer beef, Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage, Swift Level Fine Meats, and bread from Brunetti’s Bakery.

“I support local business, and I try to use as many West Virginia products as I can because they’re also really good,” Santmyer says. “It’s important to showcase what we have, especially for people coming in from out of town. Anywhere you go, you want to experience what’s local and the local food, so I want to highlight what I can.”

Fan favorites include the Adult Max & Cheese—cavatappi pasta tossed with gruyere, gouda, and fontina, finished with bacon, candied jalapeños, a parmesan crust, and hot honey, with the option to add chicken, the Mountain Steer Steak Philly with marinated sirloin, sautéed mushrooms and onions, provolone, lettuce, Roma tomatoes, and mayonnaise on a hoagie roll, and the Max Pizza, topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, a mozzarella-provolone blend, pepperoni, Angelo’s sausage, mushrooms, Oliverio banana peppers, caramelized onions, and green peppers. The Honeybee pizza, featuring San Marzano sauce, mozzarella-provolone, pepperoni, fresh jalapeños, and house-made hot honey, has also emerged as a popular pie. The menu is rounded out with pastas, sandwiches, steak and salmon, and salads.

Unlike the pizza Santmyer grew up on, Max on Main focuses on wood-fired pies, which Santmyer says was an intentional choice.

“I’ve been in the pizza business all my life, but I wanted to challenge myself,” he explains. “I’d never made wood-fired pizza before. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to try my hand at it. It’s completely different to work with than other dough I’ve used in the past, but I think it makes a great pizza, and I think we have a great product.”

Drink options range from typical sodas to a unique, non-alcoholic root beer from Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company, Mountain Folk Coffee, a rotating selection of beverages from local breweries and distilleries. specialty seasonal cocktails and mocktails. Martinis are especially popular.

“We have Martini Monday, with $8 martinis all day long, but we also sell a lot of them throughout the week,” Santmyer says.

Along with Martini Mondays, the Max offers other weekly specials such as Two-for-Tuesday pizzas, Pasta Thursdays and a weekday happy hour.

“Those have all been good, and they get people out,” Santmyer says.

Max on Main is open for lunch and dinner on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and lunch only on Sundays. Brunch was offered for a while, but Santmyer found that people preferred the regular menu.

“We update the menu all the time to tailor it to what our customers want—what’s selling,” Santmyer says. “We listen to both the positive and the negative feedback because we always want to improve the experience.”

That responsiveness to customer feedback has led to the addition of catering and delivery options as well.

“We’re really trying to get into catering, and we’re delivering now,” Santmyer says. “We have a delivery vehicle that is max’d out with the monkeys, so people recognize it.”

Community involvement has become a really big part of Max on Main’s identity.

One of the most visible examples is Max Out on Reading, a partnership with White Sulphur Springs Elementary School. Modeled after Pizza Hut’s Book It program, the initiative rewards students who read eight or more books in a month with a wood-fired pizza and a lemonade or a Shirley Temple. Santmyer estimates that more than 300 pizzas have already been given out.

“It’s about celebrating a child’s accomplishment and doing it as a family,” he says. “We’ve been more than happy to do that and be involved in the school. I want to be a business that the community relies on, you know, for good times and not so good times.”

Case in point: when SNAP benefits were temporarily paused, Max on Main partnered with local churches to provide meals.

“We donate time and food to different organizations, whether that’s in celebration or necessity,” Santmyer explains.

Staff members regularly donate their time to community causes, often insisting on being directly involved.

“They want to be part of it,” Santmyer says. “That says a lot about the people we have here.”

Those people range from front-of-house anchors Sharianna and Alauren to Mary, who has made dough every morning since day one; from Josh and Cam in the kitchen—Cam even helped gut and rebuild the space—to Jimmy, a longtime fixture on the pizza line who worked for Santmyer for years.

“...I want to be a business that the community relies on, you know, for good times and not so good times... We donate time and food to different organizations, whether that’s in celebration or necessity”

“I am lucky to have a low turnover rate with my employees, and I think that speaks volumes about the people I’m hiring,” Santmyer says. “Our employees really add to the experience of Max. They represent who we are. It’s amazing to walk in and have customers say hello like you’ve known each other forever. That says a lot about our staff, and about us. I’m grateful for that.”

He’s also grateful for Elizabeth for being his steady foundation.

“If it wasn’t for her,” he says simply, “there’s no way I could have done this. Not then. Not now.”

Living just a quarter mile from the restaurant, Santmyer spends his money locally whenever possible and is outspoken about wanting to see White Sulphur Springs flourish. More restaurants, more businesses, and more reasons for people to linger, he believes, only strengthen the community as a whole.

“White Sulphur is growing, and it needs to continue to grow,” he says. “You cannot make it on your own. I don’t care what business you’re in. We need other restaurants. We need The Greenbrier to be successful. We need other hotels to be successful. That’s not a bad thing, and I think competition makes you better. I would love more restaurants to come to White Sulphur Springs. It will bring more business. It will bring more people down.”