Joe's Blog Joe's Love Story

My father proposed to my mother on November 13, 1993 at Joe's Stone Crab.They had been dating for about 10 years prior to the proposal, having frequent dinner dates and happy hours at Joe's making it "their spot". They had lots of friends who worked there as maître d's, waitresses, and bartenders; some who still work there to this day. For my parents, Joe's is a place with good drinks, great food, and the best of memories.On November 13, my father had everyone involved in planning the night that would change their lives forever.Joe's used to have a back garden years ago, where the current bar is now. My dad had them place a bench in the back garden where later that night he had my mother sit, while he got down on one knee. There were no pictures, no audience, and no extravagant planning. In the garden that night was my mom, my dad, and unconditional love.Almost every year since then, they have gone back to Joe's Stone Crab to celebrate another year of being in love (and eating the best stone crabs). Joe's is more than just a restaurant, but a place of unforgettable stories and long lasting relationships." From Jeana, daughter of Rich and Judy. In 1992, my husband Dario who was simply my boyfriend at the time planned a romantic evening for us with a limo and dinner at Joe's Stone Crab. We were foodies from the beginning, so I looked forward to this night and all of the wonderful food to be had. Dario on the other hand had additional plans which explained why his behavior seemed different. We started off with drinks at the outside bar while we waited for our table. Unbeknownst to me he was throwing hints to me the whole time, telling me how beautiful the stars were, they looked like DIAMONDS in the sky and that he would like to spend every night like this for the rest of our lives. Sigh, between the wine and the thought of stone crabs, I never caught on.We moved on to dinner and Dario still seemed to be acting weird, he finally got the nerve to come out and say (quite loudly) "I just want to ask you to spend the rest of your life with me"! I looked down into my glass of champagne and there was a diamond ring in it! Everyone around us started to applaud, and I said "YES"!The rest of that night is somewhat of a blur since many of the people sitting near congratulated us by buying us drinks and bottles of champagne. 25 trips around the sun and 25 pounds heavier (okay, maybe a few more than that) we're going strong with three children and one granddaughter. Happy Valentines Day to my "partner in food" Dario, thank you for making our proposal so memorable at such a remarkable restaurant. We LOVE Joe's!From Mary Beth and Dario. Happy Valentine's Day!