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Joanne took the leap into the restaurant business after years of dinner guests raved about her home cooking and told she should open a restaurant. “I was always cooking for everybody,” she says. “Instead of doing it for free, I figured I might was well get paid to do it.” In the beginning, the Ketch served breakfast and lunch with two tables for seating. The Franklin kids—Wendy, Johan and Heidi—ran the cash register, made fresh squeezed orange juice, washed dishes, and served the food. Joanne’s mother Ida Franko joined the business soon after it opened and prepped food. After the Ketch added dinner service, customers began requesting cocktails with their meal and the Harbor Bar was born. During those early years, one of the best benefits of running the restaurant for Joanne was having her kids and family working together to make it a success.
If you ask Joanne what her cooking philosophy is, she’ll smile and tell you it’s the holy trinity of cooking—a lot of butter, a lot of olive oil, and a lot of garlic. She grew up in the kitchens of her Italian grandmother Gulia and her Portuguese grandmother Anna. Joanne passed the gift on to her own children. Daughter Heidi helps to make all of the desserts for the Ketch (some of her specialties are carrot cake and chocolate cheese cake). Over the years, each of Joanne’s children have been involved with the Ketch—managing, cooking, bartending, doing the payroll and books. Currently, Joanne’s son-in-law Albert Dunne manages the restaurant and bar. It is her dream to have the restaurant stay in the family. The next generation shows signs of interest. Her oldest grandchild Josh has begun bussing tables in the summer.
Pillar Point Harbor is the only commercial fishing harbor in San Mateo County, giving the Ketch access to the freshest and best seafood—crab, salmon, rock cod, halibut, and squid--caught by our own local fishermen. The daughter of a fisherman who drowned at sea, Joanne is committed to supporting the local fishing community and has hosted many fundraisers. If you walk in the front door of the Ketch early in the morning on any day of the week, you’ll notice a crowd of guys around the biggest table in the restaurant, which is designated the “fisherman’s table.” On some days, Joanne can be found in the midst of the fishermen. “Where else can you sit with eight guys and have coffee and not have to be married to one of them?” she says.
In the end, it is the customers who make the Ketch and the Harbor Bar a thriving business. Many of the local Coastside customers have been coming into the restaurant since it opened its doors and have become great friends of the Franklin family. They watched customers have kids of their own who now work at the Ketch. Joanne and the Franklin family thank all of their customers for their support over the years. The Coastside is a great community and the Ketch is proud to be a part of it!
Ketch Joanne Restaurant is the perfect complement to your Coastside experience. Whether you're on a scenic drive, or down by the shore, stop by and let us show you what good food is all about! |
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