Tony & Joe’s Celebrates 25 Years

Tony Cibel knows how to throw a party, inviting old friends and some new ones, offering all kinds of seafood, of course: oysters, clams, lobster tails, soft-shell crabs, and letting the drinks flow. It’s great to have local politicians stop by and give congratulations and even cooler to have a former Mayor of Washington, D.C., sing for you at the end of the evening. Yes, Marion Barry can headline a band, too.

Tony’s admirers were at Tony & Joe’s restaurant at Washington Harbour, next to the Potomac, on Sept. 13 to celebrate 25 years of the popular eatery as well as to see the renovations that had to be done after the April 2011 flood. The restaurant has set the culinary bar higher with its new executive chef David Stein, just as the waterfront complex itself is revamping and turning up the place-to-be notch with a lighted, water-spouting fountain that will convert into an ice-skating rink in the winter.

“The post-flood redesign truly puts the word ‘tony’ in our name,” Tony & Joe’s says. “The sleek and airy remodeled dining room has been configured to offer vast event options. Sweeping floor to ceiling windows allow diners to enjoy panoramic views from every seat in the house. To one side, take in the Potomac River and Kennedy Center. To the other, enjoy the Washington Harbor’s new Las Vegas-style fountain. The overall effect is spectacular”

Native Washingtonian Cibel has been a player on the restaurant scene with his other places, such as the Dancing Crab, Nick’s Riverside Grille, Kaufmanns Tavern, Cabanas and the Rockfish. The patriarch of the Oceanside Management Family of restaurants has two sons and two nephews involved in his business operations, “making sure that a family member pays attention to the numberous details so necessary to operating restaurants,” he says.

Councilman Jack Evans got caught up in the evening’s excitement as he welcomed Councilman and former Mayor Marion Barry and said, “He’ll always be mayor.” Tony Cibel added to the quips, saying that Washington Harbour should have a casino instead of National Harbor. Everybody else was just happy to be there to take it all in.