Premiere Wedding Catering

Planning a Florida wedding?  Papa Joe's Continental Catering is the premiere caterer in the Brooksville, Florida area.  With over thirty years experience, the catering team at Papa Joe's is the trusted choice for your event.  Impeccable, professional, and friendly staff guarantees the highest quality in service.  The menu offerings are expansive and receive rave reviews from guests.  Papa Joe's Continental Catering of Hernando County is a full service catering company offering extensive components for your special day.  There is a sure value in choosing a reputable, trusted caterer for your Florida wedding.  Papa Joe has a flare for creative cooking and his team includes catering designers who transform food tables into gorgeous displays of culinary art.  Your special day comes but once in a lifetime, choose Papa Joe's and gain complete confidence in your catering experience!

Appetizer Table

Alamena Chicken

Carving station- Beef brisket

                    

Check out this wedding and see the quality for yourself on Papa Joe's Catering facebook page.
Or give Joe a call at (352)799-3904

Presenting the Papa Joe's scholarship

Papa Joe has a heart of gold.  Even in light of his restaurant catastrophe, he can still be found consistently blessing the people of our great community.  From feeding the homeless, to sponsoring youth leagues, and even awarding scholarships!  Three years ago, Papa Joe's debuted its scholarship program where one hernando county student is awarded $500 to help jump start their college career.  This years recepient is Katlyn Hern of Hernando High School.  Katlyn is a senior enrolled in the culinary arts program with plans to further her education in the field, upon graduation at Valencia college in Orlando.  It is with great pleasure that Papa Joe along with head chef Ryan Felice, presented Katlyn with this years scholarship award.  Congratulations Katlyn Hern, may your future abound with unimaginably wild success!

The Papa Joe's Family

The restaurant industry is dubbed with the notorious reputation of having the largest turnover rate of any other profession.  A constant problem among restaurant management is the ongoing need of training new hires and scheduling because of this high rate of employees coming and going on a whim.  Papa Joe's knows very little of this problem as most of the employees were seasoned, long time members of his restaurant team.  Joe and Donna along with general manager, Jeannie, made it their personal goal to not only manage a restaurant and a diverse group of employees but also to act with compassion in human resources.  In short, when an employee was faced with a problem in personal life or on the job, they were eager to help in anyway possible.  Papa Joe is a man of second, third, and sometimes fourth chances.  His convictions are true and don't allow him to just give up on people easily.  Joe, Donna, and Jeannie have a nature that compels them to highlight peoples strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.  This is certainly not the average in the common restaurant workplace.  Because of the family style management, the culture among employees mirrored this family dynamic and the result was a group of long time co-workers who built strong relationships.  

So, to all my Papa Joe's sisters and brothers, you guys rock!  I am so glad to have had the opportunity to know each of you.  The friendships that we grew over the years are genuine and not only confined to the work place.  We could read each other like a book, we came to know each others mannerisms and could see right through to each others hearts.  We celebrated each others accomplishments, encouraged each other through struggles, cried together, and laughed a lot.  Through weddings and divorce, births and deaths, conflict and amity we've been by each others side.  Papa Joe's brought us together and fire can't keep us apart.  Here's to the best work family around!  Love you guys!

Spirit of Survival

Papa Joe grew up in the mountains of a tiny town in Sicily and immigrated to New York with his mother in his teenage years.  His lack of fluency in the English language proved to cause difficulty in finding employment once he reached American soil.  After much exhausting job searching, Joe stopped in at a tiny pizzeria and landed his first job.  The title of "dishwasher" usually doesn't spark much excitement in the average joe, but for Papa Joe, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The work ethic his mother had instilled in him made it only natural for him to exceed the expectations of his position and gain the unannounced prize for MVP.  Little did he know that this was only the debut to the wildly successful restaurant and catering entrepreneur he would become.  Joe moved to Florida where he met his wife, Donna and together they began the journey of restaurant ownerhip in 1981. A tiny end unit in a strip plaza was the humble home of "Papa Joe's". On the outskirts of smalltown Brooksville, surrounded with a population that consisted mostly of cattle, the local naysayers thought the idea of an Italian restaurant would certainly fail.  But for Joe, optomism and determination was breed into him by his precious mother since birth and this was the driving force that pushed him to believe in himself and overcome obsticles.
Today, after nearly 33 years, Papa Joe is still in business!  He thrived in that tiny end unit, bought the entire building and grew a full service catering business.  A huge community supporter, an iconic part of society, and home to around 50 employees, Papa Joe has become a staple in Hernando county.  On Janurary 24th fire destroyed his restaurant building, but his spirit wasn't broken.  Within weeks, he attained a temporary kitchen and is pressing on with passion.  While his restaurant is gone, his focus is on catering and special events as he looks forward to rebuilding on the original location.

Host a small dinner party or a massive event!  With Papa Joe's as your caterer, its a sure success!
Check it out here or call (352)799-3904

Open For Take-Out!

The wait is over!  Today I proudly announce that Papa Joe's is OPEN FOR TAKEOUT!  Joe and his loyal team is now accepting your family style orders available for pick up from his kitchen at the Quality Inn on highway 50 at I-75.  Satisfy your cravings for authentic Italian cuisine with the taste that only comes from chef Papa Joe.  Orders can be placed at (352)799-3904 and are accepted with at least 24 hours advance notice.  Order today and pick up tomorrow!  Choose from family sized pans of lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, chicken soprano, fresh salads, cheesecakes, or whatever suites your fancy!  It would be our pleasure to once again prepare your dinner and see you, our valued and missed family of customers!  Mention that you saw it here on Papa Joe's blog and receive a FREE gallon of fresh brewed tea with your order, because we value our fans!

Check us out at www.papajoes.org
Telephone (352)799-3904

The Backbone

This is the portrait of an excellent leader! Its only been recently that I began to understand the true qualities of effective leadership and Jeannie fits the bill for so many of them.  Leading and managing is all about empowerment and encouragement and to successfully contribute these two basic elements is more than half the battle.  She told me years ago that her job required her to wear many hats and to wear the right hat for the occasion and this holds true.  When dealing with an eclectic staff of 45, she juggled role play as friend, boss, mom, counselor, nurse and law.  She is consistent in her character, quick to forgive, and eager to lead.  Jeannie Cameron is the general manager of Papa Joe's and has worked by Joe's side since the beginning.  She started as a dishwasher and moved up through the ranks until reaching the top.  Working "for" Jeannie was to work "with" her, she was never afraid to tackle anything needing done.  She is a jack of all trades, loyal through and through and a straight shooter.  Her compassion for others is astounding, even admirable!  It is her nature to bring a smile even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.  Since our tragic fire, Jeannie's diligence has not ceased and her versatility has only grown. Here's to Papa Joe's backbone...Jeannie!  Job well done!

Count on Jeannie and Joe for your next catered event at your location or ours!www.papajoes.org or give them a ring at (352)799-3904.  Your continued support is much appreciated!

To Go? What Do You Think?

Papa Joe and Donna need your feedback on the idea of taking orders for family style take out.  As many of you may have heard, Joe is renting a kitchen at the Quality Inn at Highway 50 and I-75 that he has been using for catering preparation.  The idea is to also begin accepting family sized, preordered meals for takeout from this location.  It would mean so much to hear from you, our valued and missed customers!  What do you think?  Please post your comments!!