Mar 6, 2024 - News

Coop Caribbean Fusion's "Chef Max" Hardy dies at 40

Annalise Frank

Chef Maxcel Hardy. Photo courtesy of David Rudolph. — Chef Maxcel Hardy. Photo: Courtesy of David Rudolph

Maxcel Hardy, the prominent native Detroit chef behind Coop Caribbean Fusion, died Monday. He was 40.

"Chef Max's family is asking Detroit to keep them in their thoughts, prayers and privacy as they process this tragic loss," spokesperson David Rudolph said in an emailed statement. Further details weren't disclosed.

"We have lost one of the most celebrated and promising Black chefs from Detroit who was recognized nationally as one of the top Black chefs changing food in America," he added.

Hardy, the restaurateur known for Coop inside Detroit Shipping Co. — as well as the now-closed Grandmont-Rosedale restaurant River Bistro — was a community advocate for food-insecure people.

He also worked with high school culinary students, said Rudolph, for whom Hardy was a public relations client and close friend.
Hardy had been working on opening a seafood restaurant called What's Crackin' on the Avenue of Fashion.

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Coop Caribbean Fusion's "Chef Max" Hardy dies at 40

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