Restaurants - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Week #16

This is a weekly challenge from GeneaBloggers called 52 weeks of personal genealogy history.

Week 16. Restaurants. What was your favorite local restaurant as a child? Where was it located, and what was your favorite meal? Did you know the staff personally? What is your favorite restaurant now?

My favorite restaurant was Sand Point Inn in Titusville, Florida. It was located next to the Titusville Marina and was a very popular place for many years there. Their specialty was fresh Florida seafood and my favorite was the rock shrimp. The restaurant had a wonderful view of the marina and Indian River and it wasn't unusual to see dolphins playing in the water while you dined. My father knew Rodney Thompson, one of the owners.

Rodney and his wife Mary Jean moved on and opened one of my current favorite restaurants, the Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant in Titusville. People come from all over to eat at Dixie Crossroads and it's not unusual for there to be a long waiting line. Sand Point Inn wasn't the same after Rodney left, but was still a nice place to go to for many years. Sadly, it is no longer open and nothing has replaced it in that location.

The entire Thompson family is involved in the seafood business, both in running the restaurant and in harvesting and selling fresh seafood. Rodney's daughter Laurilee was the first lady longline skipper in the southeast and used to provide fish for the restaurant. She is now one of the owners of Dixie Crossroads and it continues to be a popular destination for tourists and locals.