Papa Joe’s Waterfront restaurant, opened March 1, 2024, options 13,000 sq. toes, the Papa Joe’s Again Yard overlooking Florida Bay and two penthouse suites permitting visitors to dine, fish and sleep from its Islamorada location at 79786 Abroad Freeway on Decrease Matecumbe Key.
Charles Hertel, whose household roots and fishing traces are solid deeply within the Keys, by no means deliberate on turning into a restaurateur because the chief government officer and co-owner of Papa Joe’s Waterfront in Islamorada.
His mom, in actual fact, had jokingly suggested Hertel in opposition to pursuing the restaurant enterprise.
Papa Joe’s Waterfront co-owner Charles Hertel is a former constitution boat captain who enjoys snagging Keys fish resembling this good-looking and sure-to-be tasty catch.
Credit score: Charles Hertel
However Hertel’s obsession with — and imaginative imaginative and prescient of — cleansing up the scenic however trash-filled and dilapidated ageing Papa Joe’s waterfront web site at 79786 Abroad Freeway finally resulted within the all-new, 13,000-square-foot Papa Joe’s Waterfront venue.
Opened March 1, 2024, the favored Islamorada eating cease on Higher Matecumbe Key (recognized domestically as “Higher Mat”) is thought for its sweeping sundown views of each the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Bay.
“We constructed it from the bottom up, from 26 toes right down to 48 toes above sea stage,” Hertel stated. “We’re a brand new restaurant; not a clone out of Miami.”
Right this moment, Papa Joe’s Waterfront seats 130 indoors and 40 on the out of doors patio and options a big open Tiki bar fronting Florida Bay within the venue’s again referred to as Papa Joe’s Yard.
Charles Hertel (l), Papa Joe’s Waterfront co-owner, and Alan Wilkinson (r), Papa Joe’s government chef, attended Coral Shores Excessive College collectively, sitting on the similar lunch desk all through highschool. Credit score: Charles Hertel
It’s additionally recognized by frequent loyal Keys and South Florida patrons for its high-quality hamburgers, gained ton crusted seared yellowfin tuna entree, crab desserts and Everglades-style fish ready with fried gator bites. Imbibers take pleasure in cocktails resembling its Orange Crush, PJ Sundown and a wide range of margaritas.
Buddy Alan Wilkinson serves as government chef. Hertel and Wilkinson sat collectively on the similar lunch desk all through their highschool days.
The legendary Papa Joe’s, initially in-built 1938 as a part of the Fowler’s Caribbee Yacht Basin, was a Keys establishment and fishermen’s favourite watering gap till its demolition in 2011. Working from 1968 till 2006, the unique Papa Joe’s closed a number of years after the demise of its second proprietor Frank Curtis, a good friend of Hertel’s mother and father.
Charles Hertel, co-owner of Papa Joe’s Waterfront restaurant in Islamorada, enjoys taking his boat out with companion canines Boone and Cooper and a good friend’s canine, Cooper’s sister JJ. Credit score: Charles Hertel
Hertel’s mother and father Dorothy and George owned and operated Islamorada Fish Co. (first established in 1948), buying that waterfront institution in 1981. Seventeen years later, they partnered with Johnny Morris’s Bass Professional Retailers of Springfield, Missouri, and later offered it. Right this moment, 16 Islamorada Fish Firm eating places are scattered throughout the nation.
Whereas the 31-year-old Hertel grew up within the enterprise, he says it was by no means a profession aim to pursue it after school.
Hertel graduated from the College of Central Florida in 2017 with a level in enterprise administration. Lured by his ardour for fishing, Hertel returned to the Keys and labored for a number of years as a backcountry fishing information out of Bud ‘N Mary’s Marina, only a stone’s throw throughout the Abroad Freeway from his restaurant.
Hertel’s discussions with older fishing guides — who recalled fond reminiscences with spirited tales of the unique Papa Joe’s, named after Joe Miller, who owned the venue within the Sixties — led to a enterprise partnership with Islamorada residents Bob Lee and Mica Perry.
Charles Hertel enjoys grilling sizzling canines for buddies off of Canine Seaside in Islamorada. Credit score: Charles Hertel
Lee is a financier, former proprietor of about 40 Wendy’s eating places, and a Hertel fishing consumer who later grew to become a detailed good friend. Lee’s partner Mica Perry is a retired boutique store proprietor.
“Bob stated, ‘Let’s do it,’ and we closed a month later,” Hertel stated.
Hertel, a 2012 graduate of Coral Shores Excessive College, is rising the Papa Joe’s Waterfront model, increasing merchandise choices that embody new tumblers. He additionally plans to supply catering providers, promoted onsite with a brand new Airstream meals truck, to be in place by December.
As well as, two waterfront penthouse one-bedroom, 1.5-bath fish camp suites — constructed atop the restaurant — can be found for in a single day lodging. Charges differ by season.
Hertel’s future plans? “To continue to grow.”
His motto: “ONE TEAM, ONE DREAM.”
The place he dines: “Papa Joe’s is my favourite place, truthfully. Our cooks do an incredible job. I additionally actually like Florida Keys Steak and Lobster Home and The Rhum Home at Grassy Flats Resort & Seaside Membership, each in Marathon.”
The place he explores: The Everglades and the backcountry.
How he relaxes: On the Islamorada lighthouse (Alligator Lighthouse, generally known as the Alligator Reef Gentle Station) on a pleasant calm day late afternoon, floating round within the water.
