Keys Fisheries' Gary Graves presides over a pot of stone crab chowder.

Not many people are aware that the stone crabs served at Miami’s famous Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant are provided by a commercial fishing operation in the Florida Keys — Keys Fisheries in Marathon. And Gary Graves, owner of Keys Fisheries restaurant and manager of the fishing operation, has been with the business since it began more than 40 years ago.

“I have been in the Keys since August of 1967, and in October of that year I went to work for Stone Crab Inc., which was started by the folks from Joe’s Stone Crab in June of 1967,” said Gary, who eventually became manager of the commercial fishing operation.

From that commercial fishing operation grew the idea for a restaurant. The first step was a retail market that opened in August 2000, and the restaurant debuted in November of the same year.

Stone crabs are most abundant in the Florida Keys, and considered a seafood delicacy. (Photo by Andy Newman/ Florida Keys News Bureau)

“I have been all over the world and eaten great food,” stated Gary. “I knew we produced great seafood and I always wanted a restaurant.”

So when Joe’s Stone Crab bought more property for the operation, an on-site building became available and Keys Fisheries Restaurant was born. Gary had no prior knowledge about the restaurant industry, or being an owner, so he started slow and casual.

“We started hand-to-mouth with two picnic tables and a few fish sandwiches. Then we hired a chef and began evolving, and we’re fortunate that we’ve had the same cooks and folks working in the restaurant for many years,” he said.

Even today, the atmosphere is refreshingly casual. Scrubbed picnic tables stand on an open-air patio at the water’s edge, and the cry of seabirds accompanies every meal. Instead of table service, customers order their selections from a menu printed on a huge blackboard, get their own utensils and pick up their own food.

The "lunch crowd" lines up to order at Keys Fisheries. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

The menu has evolved to include the signature lobster Reuben and other popular favorites such as stone crab soup, conch chowder and Key lime mahi. The recipes were concocted over the years by different chefs and cooks, including Gary’s wife, Kathy. The menu now boasts about 40 items — and freshness is the main ingredient.

The stone crab soup is prepared with fresh-caught crabmeat that isn’t served with the claws on the menu. The conch chowder is homemade too. And although stone crab claws at most restaurants are served chilled, Keys Fisheries serves them hot to order during stone crab season from October to May.

“Our stone crabs are cooked to order during the season between 5 and 8 p.m., and so you’re eating them hot. This is very different — unique and absolutely delicious,” Gary said. “We also have the best value in stone crabs, being that we are the producer.”

Bennett Orr of Keys Fisheries plucks stone crabs out of a trap. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)

And the eatery’s famous lobster Reuben? Gary came up with the dish after attending a meeting in Miami at Joe’s Stone Crab, where he was shown the version offered at Joe’s Take Away. About five months later, he created an oversized sandwich at Keys Fisheries using lobster meat, homemade Thousand Island dressing and freshly baked bread.

“Being such a huge producer of lobster as well as stone crabs, we have leftover meat from the lobster tails,” Gary explained. “So it dawned on me, why not make our own lobster Reuben?”

Like savoring the lobster Reuben, ordering at Keys Fisheries is a unique experience. Customers walk up to a window and place their order for pickup. But instead of being asked their name, as in most establishments, they’re asked the question of the day, which might require them to name their favorite song title, pet peeve or New Year’s resolution.

When the order is ready, the customer’s answer is announced over the loudspeaker to signal that he or she can come collect the meal.

The system exemplifies Gary Graves’ philosophy — simply (and deliciously) based on “making his customer’s meal a good value, and also making dining at Keys Fisheries fun.”

Hungry for fresh Florida Keys seafood? Visit www.keysfisheries.com.