If you walked into Martin’s West in a bad mood, you’d be in a good one before long.

Outside, the catering hall along Interstate 695 near the Woodlawn exit looks a bit like a temple mashed with an office park. But inside, owner Martin Resnick had spared no expense to turn the place into a palace.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The vast floor was perfect for dancing, whether ballroom elegance or bat mitzvah “Macarena.” Waitstaff attended to your every need. No one left hungry or thirsty. Whether guests attended a wedding, a conference or a banquet honoring the teacher of the year, they left in awe of the beauty and elegance Resnick built and the high standards he set.

Resnick, of Owings Mills, died this week at 93. The funeral home did not list a cause of death.

Resnick, known to friends as “Marty Party” or “Uncle Marty,” was born and raised in Northwest Baltimore. His father, Louis Resnick, owned a catering hall in Overlea. The younger Resnick decided that business would suit him, too. In 1964, he founded Eudowood Gardens in Towson; in 1966, he opened Martin’s North Point. Martin’s West came online in 1969, according to JMORE, a magazine covering the Jewish community.

Quickly, Martin’s West became the place for political fundraisers, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and just about any other formal event or conference imaginable. Sometimes, guests would comment on the incongruous decor — the Maryland Water Monitoring Conference, for example, did not require such opulence. But no one minded the exemplary service or delicious meal.

In the business’ heyday, the Resnicks had seven banquet halls stretching from Frederick to Upper Marlboro. As Jim Burger noted in Baltimore Magazine in 2009, “If all of the Martins properties were filled to capacity at the same time, it would be like having all 14,000 residents of Aberdeen over for dinner in one night.”

Baltimore County Council Chairman Izzy Patoka recalled the one night a year his parents would go out — it was always to the New Year’s Eve party at Martin’s West. Holocaust survivors from what is now Ukraine, the Patokas were frugal and often serious, investing everything they had in their children’s futures. But New Year’s would be different.

“It was the one thing they looked forward to all year, the one night a year that they splurged,” he said. “They would come home sauced, but to see my father have a great time, and be social, was so joyful for me as a child. And it was Martin’s West that gave him that night of joy.”

Resnick adopted several Baltimore County schools and brought them to Martin’s West for lunch. Many alumni of those programs took to the Martin’s West Facebook page to memorialize and give thanks.

“You played a huge role in the childhoods of every kid who grew up in Lansdowne in the 1990’s. You made the school field trip to your elegant restaurant so special and treated every child like they were your own,” Kris Kalema wrote.

Amber Marie added: “While he may not have been family, he sure treated us kids like we were. He’s the only reason I ever went to an Orioles game as a child, or to Hershey Park.”

Resnick extended that kindness to his employees. His servers and cooks often stayed with him for more than a decade. Once, Patoka gave an interview to a young man from Cherry Hill because his resume indicated he’d been a waiter at Martin’s West for a decade. He figured anyone who could live up to Resnick’s exacting standards would be an excellent employee. And, Patoka said, he was. Resnick also helped some of his employees pay for college. One longtime executive worked his way up from being a dishwasher at 11 years old, according to Baltimore Magazine.

He was also a dedicated philanthropist for many Jewish causes, served on the board of Morgan State University and helped to establish The University of Maryland Foundation and the Signal 13 Foundation.

His good works were a factor in leniency from a Baltimore County district judge after Resnick pulled a .38 caliber revolver from his pocket and pointed it at his neighbors during an argument. He threatened to “blow their kneecaps off,” according to a police report. Resnick was convicted but given probation, a $1,000 fine and a warning to stay away from his neighbors if he could not get along with them.

Not long ago, Patoka attended a dinner at Martin’s West and was surprised to hear a familiar voice behind him. It was Resnick, carrying a tray.

“Marty must have been in his 80s, and he was in a tux, bringing us dinner,” Patoka said. “He did not have to do that, but he wanted to be connected to whoever was in his place.”

Resnick is survived by his children, Mark Resnick (A.J. Hora), Beth (Ted) Levitt, Wayne (Kim) Resnick and Fran (Michael) Albert; by his brother, Yale (Barbara) Resnick; by his daughter-in-law, Ruth Resnick; and several grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of many decades, Thalia Resnick.