Matriarch of Beloved Joe’s Stone Crab Dies at 94

Jo Ann Weiss Sawitz Bass, the beloved matriarch of Miami Beach's legendary Joe's Stone Crab and a guiding force behind the iconic restaurant for decades, has died at the age of 94.

Bass passed away on Saturday, Jan. 31, while in hospice care at her Miami Beach home, located directly across the street from the restaurant her family founded over a century ago. Her death was announced in a heartfelt statement shared on Joe's Stone Crab's social media accounts.

"It is with a profound sense of sadness that we must announce the passing of Jo Ann Bass," the statement read. "Jo Ann was more than the CEO, matriarch, visionary, brand guardian, and head tastemaker of Joe's Stone Crab. She was Mom."

Born Oct. 18, 1931, in Miami Beach, Bass grew up alongside the restaurant founded by her grandfather, Joe Weiss, in 1913 — two years before the city itself was incorporated, according to the Miami Herald. What began as a modest eatery serving fish sandwiches on Weiss' front porch evolved into a global culinary landmark after stone crabs were added to the menu in 1921.

Bass began working at Joe's as a teenager in the mid-1940s. After taking a decade off to raise her two children, she returned full-time and later assumed leadership of the family business alongside her son, Stephen Sawitz, following the death of her father, Jesse Weiss, who had run the restaurant for 60 years.

Under her visionary stewardship, Joe's navigated major challenges — including the devastation of Hurricane Andrew — while maintaining its reputation as one of the country's most celebrated dining destinations. The restaurant has become synonymous with its seasonal stone crabs, signature creamed spinach, grilled tomatoes and key lime pie, drawing a who's who of celebrities ranging from Frank Sinatra and Muhammad Ali to Elizabeth Taylor and Barbra Streisand.

"It's in my blood," Bass said of the restaurant in a 2012 interview. "I love it. The whole place, it's my family, it's my security blanket…It's Joe's. It is a wonderful place."

The restaurant's statement emphasized Bass' lasting impact on South Florida and the broader hospitality world. "It is impossible to separate the success of Joe's, and the importance it represents to South Florida, from the incredible woman that helped shape both the iconic restaurant as well as our community," the statement read.

A celebration of life will be announced in the coming days. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to organizations Bass passionately supported, including the Urban Construction and Craft Academy, Miami Rescue Mission and Mt. Sinai Hospital.

"Hers was a life well lived, one worth celebrating and emulating," the statement concluded.