Everyone who lives in South Florida and most who visit here knows Joe’s Stone Crab It is nothing more than an institution. It’s a Miami Beach mecca for birthday celebrations and anniversaries, where locals and tourists, celebrities and politicians, families and friends come together for a shared love of freshly cracked shellfish, festive ambience and unparalleled service.

But there’s so much more to Joe’s than all of that: history, heritage, quirky stories, and a meticulous production trail that extends far beyond the restaurant’s walls. Cheers to 112 seasons at Joe’s Stone CrabWe sat down with Stephen Sawitz, from the family that started it all, to explore their journey and get some insider tips and tricks. After a thousand claws, we’re still hungry for more. Ready to dive in?

Timeout: Is Joe’s the oldest restaurant in Miami Beach?

Stephen Sawitz: I believe Joe’s is the oldest restaurant in Miami.

Can you trace your lineage for us back to when Joe started?

My great-grandfather, my grandmother, and their son Jesse—that was Joe, Jenny, and Jesse—moved here in the early 1900s, around 1913. He came here shortly after and worked for a while as a waiter in a hotel restaurant. Joe Stone opened his own little seafood shack on the spot where his crab was located. At the time it was called Joe’s Seafood. It later became Joe’s Stone Crab because stone crabs were discovered and added to the menu.

What makes Joe an institution in your eyes?

For me, consistency is longevity. Our commitment to this place, the families, the multi-generational aspect of Joe’s. My family has been here since 1913. From world wars, depressions and Covid etc. the fact that literally no other restaurant has survived.

What is your earliest memory of Joe’s?

My first memory was sitting at the family table like it was a Sunday with my sister, my father, my mother. And my grandparents. And we were going to have dinner on Sunday. I was very small then.

We don’t live at station 11 right now, but the family station is there. Where Joe Hoover used to live. Margaret was sitting there and Sandra Day O’Connor was sitting there too. Yes. It’s kind of interesting sitting across from where the two presidents sat; not sitting presidents, but almost presidents. They later became presidents.

What’s in Joe’s hack that people might not know?

Definitely coming for lunch; It doesn’t sound like much of a cheat, but it’s a great trick. The other thing is, if someone calls and says it’s an anniversary or a birthday or something really important to them, we try to go out of our way to get them to sit down a little bit quickly. And if they have a favorite server, then that’s a priority because you want them to have that server.

Any tips on how to snag a table and avoid long wait times?

Definitely lunch is the way to go. Coming here early for dinner is one thing. 5 to 5:30 is definitely one of the best ways to get a table. I would definitely go for takeout. But if you are a regular customer, this is the best trick and the best way to get a table. If you’re a regular, you tend to get seated a little quicker because, you know, they have their favorite servers and they know what they want.

Tell us about your chef. What is the longest tenure?

Wow. I have to say that Roy Garret is the longest-tenured head waiter. He worked from the early 70s until 1996. That was about 26 years. Let me tell you, a few years will age you a lot. He just had stamina. But Dennis did a great job and Ed does a great job too.

Which is the most popular starter?

This may sound crazy, but it’s one of the most important starters: fried chicken. This is one of the most important starters or popular starters. And oysters are traditional, oysters or shrimp.

What’s the most popular part?

Hash browns. This is an easy one. I’d have them crispy, you know, a little crispier, probably Lyonnaise style, with caramelized onions.

Give us a few of your best stone crab fun facts.

Stone crabs are caught primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. The season will run from October 15 to May 1. Stone crabs can regenerate their claws, which I think is a really cool thing. It is against the law to download a stone crab. So you can’t bring one from land to land. People don’t know this, they can live without both claws but they need to be removed properly. Natural predators, there are two that I know of. One is an octopus, the other is a seashell.

Explain how stone crabs are obtained and the time and effort involved.

Procuring stone crabs requires a lot of labor. A typical fisherman with his boat and crew; Apart from him, three more people will work. They work all summer long to prepare their traps. There’s a lot of work to be done in the off-season.

When the season begins, ten days before the 15th, on the fifth, thousands are allowed to put their baited traps into the water. That’s why they do a lot of trips. This is labor going back and forth, going out to sea, to the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes may delay this a bit.

Now the other part, they catch the crabs, break the claws, they live and break the claws. They throw the body back into the water. They can’t take them down. They then take the claws and weigh them when they reach shore.

Then we cook them. We cool them very quickly. Then we separate them into different sizes. But everything is done very, very quickly. Now pay attention, all these hands are touching the stone crabs. You have three crews working, there is someone who unloads the crabs, there is someone who weighs the crabs, then cooks the crabs, then grades the crabs and then cools them and puts them back in the boxes.

They then have to store them in the refrigerator and ship them back to us the next morning, very early in the morning. Then the process, they have to unload the crabs with a forklift. They need to reclassify the crabs. All these hands, all these tools are touching the crabs. And you have to do it quickly. And because time is of the essence, they are fresh. Since you’re losing weight, you don’t want the liquid from the crab to lose it. So there are a lot of hands. Therefore it becomes costly.

Settle the debate: mustard or butter sauce?

For me personally? Mustard. Joe’s mustard: high-quality mayonnaise, Colman’s Dry English mustard, light cream, A1 sauce, worcestershire sauce and maybe a pinch of salt. This is it.

Does the size of the pawpaw change its flavor at all?

I don’t believe so. You know, I’ve had super huge and medium sized ones at the same time. To me, the meat is tender in both. However, since mediums or selects are less than half the price, it may seem like mediums taste better because they cost much less. That’s how I look at it too. But someone’s buying the big ones, right? There are some people who just want really big ones and think that’s best.

I guess it just depends on where they were caught, when they were caught, and the temperature of the water. Because you can get a crab with a senior claw caught in cold water. Maybe it might stick to the crust a little. Also, South Florida crabs do not stick to the shell. It seems to taste better. It really depends.

Are jumbo claws worth the price?

This is a very difficult job! They are very expensive. These. And, you know, there’s a lot of costs associated with that. I can tell you that it’s really a function of supply and demand. Personally, I’d probably go with Selects because I think that’s the sweet spot for value.

Are bibs for amateurs?

No. Considering that someone like Jeff Bezos eating here is an amateur. He was wearing Joe’s apron. I saw this with my two eyes.

Do you wear an apron?

Yes I will. But if I don’t do this, I will definitely drop something on my tie, shirt or jacket. It is guaranteed.

What is a deprecated menu item that needs to be revived?

Wow. I loved our Shrimp Creole. I’d love to see this.

How many claws do you go through on an average day during the season?

Thousands of claws; 3,000 or 4,000? Between this shipping, this between takeout and lunch and dinner. This does not include things we wholesale.

What happens if you eat stone crabs out of season?

Well, let’s say he was caught out of season on May 1st. It could be May 2 It could be perfect. But if you’re really into the summer season, we call everything after May 1 summer. As long as they are frozen properly and frozen early in the process I described earlier, they will be good until October.

We serve it in the restaurant between May and September. Then we closed for a few weeks. Our sister restaurants in Chicago, Vegas, and DC also use stone crabs, which are excellent off-season.

How do climate changes affect the season?

Great question. I really don’t know. What I can tell you is that the hurricanes that hit this year, the Cat 4s and 5s, they attributed some of the intensity of the hurricanes to climate change. I can tell you this, it can disrupt the seabed. It can force the crab to move. It may be useful for the stone crab. We don’t know.

We don’t know if warmer waters or hurricanes clear bad air and bring in more oxygen because it just stirs up the water. We don’t know this yet. But I am very concerned about the red tide that sometimes occurs and sucks oxygen out of the water. But you say it’s bad for the stone crab.

What really concerns me is plastics in the water. On October 1st, we did a beach cleanup, and Joe did it with the community. You wouldn’t believe how much plastic there is, kilos of plastic. It was tragic. And that affects the marine life, which in turn can affect the stone crab, and you know where it ends up biting us.

What’s your favorite restaurant on the beach that isn’t Joe’s?

Café Avanti. And Lucali.

Fill in the blanks: The south coast may be _________, but it’s always _________, and that’s why we love it so much.

The south coast can be crazy. But it is always, always extremely beautiful. That’s why we love it.