# In Conversation with Max Block of CARVINGBLOCK We sat down with Max to talk about growing up in LA’s restaurant world, building a 360 agency, the future of hospitality, and the spots across the city that have him most excited right now. - Canonical URL: https://www.opulist.co/articles/in-conversation-with-max-block-of-carvingblock - Markdown URL: https://www.opulist.co/articles/in-conversation-with-max-block-of-carvingblock.md - Published: Thu Nov 05 2026 13:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) - Updated: Thu Nov 05 2026 01:16:06 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) ## Categories - Design ## Tags - None listed ## Venues Mentioned - [Vandell](https://www.opulist.co/location/vandell) - Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California - [Muse](https://www.opulist.co/location/muse-santa-monica) - Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, California - [Santo](https://www.opulist.co/location/santo) - Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California - [Alba LA](https://www.opulist.co/location/alba-la) - Central LA, Los Angeles, California ## Related Collections - None listed ## Article Some people find their way into hospitality. Max Block was born into it. A fourth-generation Angeleno raised in a family long tenured in the restaurant world, he grew up on Saturday mornings at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, post-vacation stops at Tito’s Tacos, and nightly dinners where everyone had a job in the kitchen. It’s no surprise that the table became the center of his universe, and eventually his life’s work. After studying sociology and media at Pitzer College and a stint in entertainment, Max launched CARVINGBLOCK in 2019, a full-service hospitality experience agency that has quietly become one of the most influential forces shaping how we eat, drink, and gather in Los Angeles. Through its Communications, Studios, and Atelier teams, CARVINGBLOCK represents some of the city’s most beloved concepts, from The LINE Hotels and Petit Trois to Alba and Caviar Kaspa, while producing one-night-only experiences for the likes of DIOR, LOEWE, and Nike. Now, with his partner Cam, he’s preparing to formally unveil Maison Citrus, a private “culinary creative estate” and homestead for the next generation of hospitality creatives, where the team gathers every week for a family meal. At Opulist, we have a special appreciation for Max and the CARVINGBLOCK team. Many of the places we love to feature carry their fingerprints, and their belief that “good design defines good experiences” is one we share wholeheartedly. When a room, a menu, and a story all feel like they belong together, there’s often someone like Max behind the scenes making it happen. We sat down with Max to talk about growing up in LA’s restaurant world, building a 360 agency, the future of hospitality, and the spots across the city that have him most excited right now. Opulist: You're a fourth-generation Angeleno from a family long tenured in the restaurant community. What's your earliest memory of hospitality, and what did growing up around it teach you that you still carry into your work today? Max Block: My family both works within the hospitality industry as well as was one who made the kitchen the center of our universe, so hospitality has been coursing through my conscience for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are going to Titos Tacos nearly every time we returned from a family vacation, sitting around the kitchen table while my parents opened unread mail; hitting the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market with my dad every Saturday perusing the stands and gathering ingredients to cook that week; and cooking as a family nearly every night with both me and my brother given small kitchen tasks to complete so we could feel part of the experience. What they all instilled in me and that continues in our work at CARVINGBLOCK today is that food and culinary art is the ultimate connector, bringing a sense of purpose and community into every action. O: You started out in entertainment before launching CARVINGBLOCK in 2019. What made you leave, and what from that world has shaped how you approach hospitality? MB: To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever truly left ‘entertainment’, even if the job title or focus might have shifted a bit through the foundation of CARVINGBLOCK. At the core of what we do is entertain - whether that is directing brand experiences and experiential dinners or strategizing the communications plan for a major music festival, by definition what we do is still by and large ‘entertainment’. Food inherently is entertaining and what we aim to do every day is build worlds that drive excitement, set culture and work with brands and talent who understand the art of proper hospitality.  Photo: Muse O: You set out to build a true 360 hospitality experience agency rather than a traditional PR shop. What was missing in how hospitality brands were being represented, and what does "full-service" actually look like for a client day to day? MB: We recognized early that the cultural shifts of communications were changing and that the mechanisms which rooted hospitality brands in the past no longer functioned with the same level of impact. We have a saying across the company that we align our work with ‘brands who understand good hospitality and hospitality that creates brand affinity’, and that's true to the core of how we operate. In today’s landscape our Communications team acts as strategists rather than publicists for our clients, cultivating the acumen to understand what likeminded synergy will foster immediacy and advocacy. And by integrating our Studios team, we manage the brand presence of our clients from the way they show up in the world, to the way they are communicating, to the way a guest will experience what they have to offer. That centralized thinking then allowed us to apply the same principles to the brands we produce experiences for across our Atelier team, where we are in essence creating a one-night-only restaurant for some of the globe’s most lauded fashion houses, household brands and cult-cool innovators, each rooted with the same intentional understanding of creating moments that set the cultural pulse for today and tomorrow. O: Tell us about Maison Citrus and the idea of a "culinary creative estate." Why was having your own physical space important, and what do the weekly family meals mean to you and your community? MB: When my partner Cam and I began analyzing where CARVINGBLOCK existed within the vastness of the hospitality landscape, we kept returning to a feeling of ‘home’ - somewhere where not only our work and our team could return to but that set the framework for all that we have and will continue to create together. Maison Citrus is the physical manifestation of all of the tenets that define what we do at CARVINGBLOCK and we’re excited to formally unveil it to the world at the top of the year. It’s a think tank, a lab and most importantly it’s a homestead for hospitality creatives to find inspiration and for us in turn as well. As the world continues to fracture, we see Maison as an important asset in the company’s growth, establishing a series of properties around the globe that celebrate hospitality as an ever-changing art form. There’s also a sense of intimacy that a home cooked meal provides and for our team, having a family meal together every week creates bonds while showcasing exciting things young and established chefs are doing, how they’re progressing the craft we all feel so passionate about.  Photo: Gavin Carter O: Opulist is all about places where design and atmosphere are part of the experience. In your work with brands like Caviar Kaspa, Alba, Petit Trois, The LINE Hotels, and many more, how much does the physical space shape the story you tell? What makes a place feel special beyond the food or the room? MB: Good design defines good experiences. Every experience our team directs is first built around the way we want the room to make a guest feel. Cam and I are as passionate about design as we are about hospitality because when fused together perfectly, it’s an unmatched orchestra. A great room has the power to communicate as much about the experience as the food on the plate and one without the other is an unequal balancing act that rarely accomplishes the goal. For us, we’re enamored with the way lighting design, audio and art all play a part in creating something larger than the sum of its parts. Photo: Alba LA O: How do you see the way people discover restaurants, bars, and hotels changing, and what does that mean for the brands you represent? Is there anything about how venues are being marketed right now that you'd push back on? MB: At the end of the day, people trust people and they hopefully trust people with good authority to discover where to dine, drink and sleep at night. With the upsurgence of niche communities across Substack and even to an extent micro creators, we are moving away from the era of big media defining how and where we eat and travel and it’s exciting to see the paradigm shift.  O: From your position between brands, venues, and media, where do you see hospitality going in the next five years, in Los Angeles and beyond? MB: First off, we owe it to the industry to make it easier to open a restaurant, hard stop. The astronomical governance, especially here in Los Angeles, makes the pursuit of opening any concept an incredible feat and anyone that is successful in opening deserves a tout of gratitude. So I hope we see in the next five years more opportunity and more accessibility. I think hospitality at large will continue to be a vested interest for brands both in producing culinary-first experiences and acquisitions, driving owned properties in an ever-changing AI-led world. Ultimately, I hope we as a collective recognize that these moments of breaking bread are fundamentally what makes and keeps us human. O: As someone whose family has been here for four generations, what are a few LA spots, old or new, that you think capture the city's spirit right now, and why? MB: A few standouts across LA that are relatively new and spark excitement for me: Photo: Vandell Vandell: What Michael creates is just chefs kiss. His ability to understand what a neighborhood wants is unmatched in Los Angeles and not enough credit is given. Shawn’s program is smart, technical and importantly it’s beyond drinkable. Please bring the magic to Hancock Park. SQIRL: I am lucky to dine out a lot, but the meal from this year I’ve kept coming back to is the dinner program at SQIRL. It feels so distinctly of this restaurant and Jessica just nails cravability in a way that has defined her continued success. I’m excited to see it evolve and flourish. Photo: Santō Santō Group: There’s no one else in the City who understands the pulse of Los Angeles better than what Jos and his team are doing, which at once feels lithe, communal and exciting. He is easily the city’s current best restaurateur and the team to watch. Max reminds us that breaking bread is what keeps us human, and that good design makes those moments unforgettable. Thank you, Max, for your time and for making hospitality, and the world, a little more beautiful. ## FAQ ### What is CARVINGBLOCK and who founded it? CARVINGBLOCK is a full service hospitality experience agency founded in 2019 by Max Block, a fourth generation Angeleno who previously worked in entertainment. The company operates across three divisions: Communications, Studios and Atelier, covering everything from brand strategy to one night only dining experiences for fashion houses and major brands. Block describes the model as aligning with brands who understand good hospitality and hospitality that creates brand affinity. ### How is CARVINGBLOCK different from a traditional restaurant PR agency? CARVINGBLOCK positions its Communications team as strategists rather than publicists, working alongside a Studios team that shapes how a brand looks, speaks and is experienced by guests. A third division, Atelier, produces bespoke one-night-only restaurant experiences for clients including global fashion houses and household brands. Max Block built this structure specifically because he saw the old publicist-led model losing its cultural impact. ### What is Maison Citrus and why did Max Block create it? Maison Citrus is what Max Block calls a culinary creative estate, a physical home base he built with his partner Cam as CARVINGBLOCK grew. The idea was to give the team and community a sense of place to return to, something rooted in home rather than just office space. Weekly family meals held there are central to that intention, keeping food as the connective thread running through the company's work. ### What inspired Max Block to leave entertainment and start CARVINGBLOCK? Max Block moved from the entertainment industry into hospitality in 2019, though he says he never fully left entertainment since food itself functions as a form of it. His early exposure to hospitality came through family routines in Los Angeles, including trips to Tito's Tacos and weekly visits to the Santa Monica Farmers' Market with his father. That upbringing shaped CARVINGBLOCK's focus on food as a connector of community and purpose, carried into client work ranging from brand experiences to music festival strategy.