My Family’s Generational Businesses

Have you ever had something special passed down in your family for multiple generations? My name is Amaia Lynn Mayberry-Freeman, and in my family, we have multiple restaurant businesses that are passed down to each first-born woman. The incredible and determined women in my family have established two amazing restaurants that have been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers, and even television shows!

It all began with my great-grandma Joan creating Joanies Blue Crab Café. Located in Ochopee, Florida, it started off as an old barn on the side of US 41. Even though many looked at it as a teardown, she had a vision of turning it into a world-renowned restaurant with delicious food. She started by only selling sandwiches and some beer to fishermen on their way out of Everglades and Chokoloskee, now it is a place that many tourists and visitors stop to eat at every day to get a delicious meal. Walking into this restaurant will bring you back in time, with its unique artwork that is handmade by my Grandy (this is what my brother and I call my great-grandma Joan), to some interesting pictures in the men’s bathroom. My Grandy Joanie adds her own twist and wit to things all over Joanie’s Blue Crab Cafe. An example of this is on the chalkboard right inside the restaurant. It says, “If you want fast food, keep traveling 42 miles west or 66 miles east. Happy Trails, y’all.” My Grammy Terri (Terri Rementeria, the daughter of Joan) has been helping my Grandy Joanie all along the way. She was inspired by her mom and how she built her business and eventually started her own. This restaurant is in Everglades City and is called Camillia Street Grill.

Camillia Street Grill was founded in 2006. The restaurant has been in business for almost two decades and has passed down once. My Grammy Terri was the one who brought this restaurant to life. Then over the years, my Grammy Terri took over Joanie’s Blue Crab Café, and my mom (Naiara Rementeria-Freeman) took over Camellia Street Grill. Both restaurants were passed down a generation and eventually, when I’m older, my mom Naiara will take over Joanie’s Blue Crab Café, and I will take over Camellia Street Grill!

My mom Naiara is married to my dad (Shane Freeman), who is a Florida Stone Crabber here in Everglades City. He started his own business and calls his boat $till Trappen. The stone crabs he catches each day get cooked at the fish house and then brought over to Camellia Street Grill to sell on the menu! Stone crabs are a delicacy down here, and Everglades City is known as the “Stone Crab Capital of the World!” Going out on the boat seven days a week and leaving for work at 3:00 AM is rough, especially when you don’t know if it is going to be a good haul for that day. Some days he can come back with 300 lbs. of Stone Crab claws and then there are other days where it can be as low as 100 lbs. But no matter what gets thrown his way, he always ends the day incredibly thankful for everything. My family has worked hard for all that we have, and it is not easy owning three businesses. I am proud to have a family filled with hard-working individuals I can look up to and be inspired by. I cannot wait for the day that I can take over and continue our generational businesses!