The Rise and Fall of Mézes Mackó

November 8, 2026

If you’ve ever browsed old neon signs from Budapest, you’ve probably come across the Mézes Mackó signs. This chain of snack bars, with its cutesy, slightly awkward name by today’s standards, has a pretty incredible story behind it.

Photos: The first Mézes Mackó on Kígyó Street in 1971, Fortepan

The first location opened in 1955 on Kígyó Street, and judging by photographs from the time, it may well have been the coolest of them all. It quickly became hugely popular: customers could enjoy dishes like ham rolls in aspic, Icelandic caviar (!), fish and pork jelly, or the famous krémkávé (a creamy coffee specialty), all while standing at the counter. Of course, the surprisingly modern interiors, elegant presentation, and varied selection also played a big part in its success.

Photo: Interior of Mézes Mackó on Kígyó Street in 1960, Fortepan

Encouraged by this success, more Mackó snack bars began popping up across Budapest, each with its own name and theme:

Színház Mackó (44 Rákóczi Street, District VII), Bistro Mackó (9 Rákóczi Street, District VIII), Baross Mackó (45 József Boulevard, District VIII), Édes Mackó (7 Váci Street, District V), Kis Royal Mackó (19 Márvány Street, District XII) and Mackó Büfé Eszpresszó (5 Roosevelt Square, District V).

Photo: Mézes Mackó on Rákóczi út in 1959, Fortepan

Photos: Interior of Mézes Mackó on Roosevelt Square in 1958, Fortepan

Photo: Mézes Mackó on Széna Square in 1960, Fortepan

Photos: Mézes Mackó (without neon sign) on II. János Pál pápa Square in 1969 (left), and the Mézes Mackó pavilion at the Budapest Industrial Fair in 1957 (right), Fortepan

The Mackó craze eventually spread to other Hungarian cities as well.

The story of Lajos Onódy, the man behind the chain, is just as extraordinary. A true self-made man, he started out as an unskilled worker at the Ganz factory, survived being arrested by the Gestapo, and later became a trusted official of the communist regime. Thanks to his talent, he quickly rose to become one of the most influential figures in Hungary’s hospitality industry.

As head of the state-owned Büfé Nemzeti Vállalat (National Buffet Company), he brought a fresh approach to socialist-era dining. He played a key role in popularizing self-service restaurants in Hungary, as well as developing the refrigeration industry and ice cream production.

Of course, political connections were just as important as business instincts. He was on good terms with Béla Biszku, a powerful communist politician, and could arrange practically anything for his comrades, whether it was exclusive hunting trips, lavish banquets, or legendary parties at Lake Balaton. Not everyone in the Party leadership looked kindly on all this, however, and it eventually contributed to his downfall.

His winning streak came to an end with his arrest in 1964. Officially, he was charged with criminal mismanagement and offences against “socialist property.” In reality, political rivalries, his independence, and his supposedly overly Western outlook may also have played a role in his downfall. Having built a hospitality empire along the southern shore of Lake Balaton, he was planning to expand to the northern shore as well, potentially making even more enemies along the way.

Photo: Lajos Onódy at the Apostolok Restaurant (Source: Cooltour.reblog.hu)

(You can see the neon signs of several Balaton establishments associated with Ónody in these two earlier posts [here and here]. His business empire included, among others, Borharapó, Matróz, Tünde and the Lidó Hotel in Siófok, Matróz in Balatonszéplak, and Hableány in Balatonföldvár.)

In a politically motivated trial with elements of a show trial, he was sentenced to a lengthy prison term, of which he served more than four years.

Following his arrest, the press initially remained silent about the case, leaving plenty of room for increasingly outrageous rumors. There was talk of heroin trafficking, but the juiciest stories claimed that Onódy had organized sex parties at his apartment, allegedly featuring naked flight attendants covered in chocolate.

But back to the Mézes Mackó snack bars! Over the following decades, more and more snack bars that had originally operated under different names were rebranded as Mézes Mackó. Meanwhile, the once-distinctive menu and quality of service gradually declined. By the time of Hungary’s transition from communism, the chain had lost much of its former glory, and the remaining locations eventually closed one after another.

And since I don’t want to end this story on such a sad note, I have to mention one of the most bizarre marketing stunts ever pulled off by the original Kígyó Street location.

In 1958, to celebrate Mézes Mackó’s third birthday, they actually brought a real bear over from the Budapest Zoo and treated it to an afternoon snack at the buffet. The event was captured in a wonderfully surreal series of photographs. Take a look: