Hank Maier, Malverne entrepreneur, dies

‘Gentle giant’ built the Brick Café

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Hank Maier, a 50-year Malverne resident who, after moving to the village in 1966, founded Lynbrook’s successful Brick Café, died May 3. He was 79.

Maier, who grew up in the Bronx and was a captain in the U.S. Army, is survived by Maura, his wife of 58 years; five children, Mark, Karin, Kristin, Ellen and Colin; 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

“As many people have said about him in most recent days, he was a gentle giant,” Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald said of Maier, who stood 6 feet 5. “He was so kind and loving and just a wonderful person.” The mayor wrote in a social media post that she had grown up with Maier’s children and had known him her whole life.

Shortly after moving to Malverne in 1966, Maier purchased the Brick Café, and it soon became popular with both Malverne and Lynbrook residents. The saloon had already been in the community for over 50 years when Maier purchased it, and was suffering financially at the time of his purchase, said David Coonan, a family friend, in an online article.

In March, the restaurant, which is on the Lynbrook-Malverne border, on the northwest corner of Lakeview Avenue and Rolling Street, celebrated its 50th anniversary. Maier had never been an entrepreneur before he bought the establishment, but his father had owned a restaurant in Rockville Centre.

“He was a very generous man who loved his family,” said Maier’s daughter Karin Hintze. “He was very well-respected in the community because he did so much.” Maier supported a number of organizations in Malverne, from Our Lady of Lourdes parish to sports teams and nonprofits. “He made everyone feel special, and that they were just part of his life,” added his wife, Maura, who also said that the majority of his employees had worked in Maier’s restaurant for years, and that he had kept every friend he ever made.

Maier was known for a catch phrase he had used as part of an advertising campaign he began on WHLI radio during the 1990s: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time” was the slogan Maier used. The phrase became synonymous with Maier and his personality over the years.

Last Friday, members of the Malverne and Lynbrook fire departments honored him by standing at attention during his funeral procession under a huge American flag draped between ladder trucks in front of the restaurant, and saluting him as he passed. Maier was a financial supporter of both departments.

Maier was buried in Long Island National Cemetery.