The Ketch Joanne- Joanne Franklin Story

Dear Coastside Family and Beyond,

As we all know, the Ketch has set sail and the Franklin family is on to a new chapter in their lives. We are reaching out to all who would like to extend sincere love, gratitude, and support to the Joanne Franklin Family, owners of Ketch Joanne. For decades, the Ketch has been a place where our community would gather for food and drink and make lifelong connections. The restaurant and bar employed many coastsiders and has been a favorite destination for everybody in and out of Half Moon Bay for 48 years. The Harbor Bar was the scene where numerous birthdays and weddings ended up. We celebrated game days, wins and losses, and of course, ‘Sunday Fundays’.

Maybe you didn’t know, and that is why we are here to share with you the backstory…

After barely surviving the pandemic, just like a series of epic storms, the family has been overcome by several unforeseen and unfortunate events. As a result, they were unable to continue to keep the Ketch afloat and decided to sell.

The hard work to keep the Ketch open year after year has not been easy. Whether it be trying to continuously mend and upgrade an aging facility or to have to suffer through a debilitating work injury, the Franklin family was still open to feed us night after night. However, the realities of today’s economy, which has increased prices all around, and the difficulty older restaurants face having to upgrade for ADA compliance along with other litigation has left them swamped in endless financial strain.

The grand irony here is that if you know Joanne, you know she is no victim to adversity and struggle. Throughout all successful and unsuccessful years Joanne has triumphed time and time again, both personally and professionally, and has always been able to keep the Ketch restaurant doors open. It was Joanne’s vision all these years…. she never changed portion sizes (nor shot sizes!), and she always was concerned about supporting the fishermen and the community. Remember the ‘free bar snacks’ era? That went on for well over two decades!

So again, now is our opportunity to honor Joanne, the woman who created something spectacular for our community. Ketch Joanne allowed so many of us to come together, eat and drink, and share in great connections. It also taught many of us the value of hard work and pride in being part of something so valued by the community. Many of us are still friends to this day. Where would we all be without the Ketch?

Instead of flowers or cards, we would like to honor the family with a monetary donation to help them enjoy and survive this next chapter in their lives.

Please share this FAR and WIDE, and if possible, donate what you can to support Joanne and the Franklin family. Let’s give them a little something back for all of the years they gave us!

Btw, the Franklin family is in shock to learn that we have created this Go Fund Me to help them. So, let's really show them how much we love them, and all that Ketch Joanne’s stood for !!

Thank you in advance for considering,

Kim Combs and Sara Bringetto Dye

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A little Ketch history:

Ketch Joanne started as a small sandwich shop on May 2, 1975. Joanne and company rolled in on a school bus and started making sandwiches for the community out of the part of the restaurant which is the restaurant entryway.

The origin of the name Ketch Joanne was inspired by being inside this unique location of Pillar Point Harbor. A “ketch” is a two masted sailboat, and since Joanne Franklin was the founder of the restaurant, she named it Ketch Joanne. What is known fondly today as the restaurant and bar actually took years to expand. They happily employed many of the coastsiders here and fed us all. We have very fond memories of getting to work to open the restaurant early in the morning, making fresh squeezed orange juice and putting on multiple pots of coffee on for the fishermen. Many of us had the good fortune of working alongside members of the whole family: Joanne, Jon, Wendy, Johan, Heidi, Albert, and Joshua over the years.

The end of the Ketch as we know it is an end to a beautiful era. We know how important the Ketch was to so many. Please share here on Go Fund Me your personal stories of the Ketch, as well. We know the Franklin family would love to know how they touched each of you. And know that they are deeply moved by this gesture. Let's show them some real reciprocity!

Thank you for your support!