STEPHEN SAWITZ

OWNER, JOE’S STONE CRAB, MIAMI BEACH

One of Florida’s most iconic restaurants, Joe’s Stone Crab was founded in 1913 when Hungarian-born Joseph Weiss and his wife Jennie started a lunch counter on the front porch of their bungalow. Today it’s the biggest buyer of Florida stone crab claws and it plays a significant role in the industry, influencing the claws’ wholesale price and financing many crabbers. A long list of celebrities, presidents and heads of state have dined at Joe’s. Al Capone was once a regular, but J. Edgar Hoover ate there as well. Weiss’ great-grandson, Sawitz, the fourth-generation owner, expanded Joe’s fisheries in Marathon and Everglades City, helped start an overnight retail and wholesale shipping option, and spearheaded the launch of partner restaurants in Chicago, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.