All roads lead to Joe’s

Joe and Buffy are once again getting ready to blow out the candles. Eskimo Joe's is turning 35.

The Stillwater restaurant is celebrating with a week of parties, concerts and other events.

There is no cover charge for any of the concerts, but because all but the Saturday show are indoors, those shows are for ages 21 and up. The outdoor street party Saturday night featuring Bart Crow Band is an all ages show.

Eskimo Joe's Public Relations Director Kendra Moreland said concertgoers will recognize some of the on-stage talent.

"A lot of these are folks that have played at Joe's before, that have grown a little," Moreland said.

Joe's has also finished remodeling the east side of the building.

Additions include a new entrance and added dining space on the second floor in place of the old atrium.

The new entrance will serve to-go orders during the day and function as the bar entrance after 10:00 p.m.

Moreland said the dedicated area for to-go orders will alleviate problems with the old system.

"We can't really do a drive through because of where we're located," she said. "But West Street runs right there along the east property edge of Eskimo Joe's, and we have some curb parking right there on the other side of that street."

Anyone placing a to-go order can park in the marked spaces close to the new entrance and easily pick up their order without having to use the main entrance.

Customers also have the option of parking in the designated spaces, calling inside, and having their order brought out to them.

"We call it curbside to-go," Moreland said.

The world famous Eskimo Joe's T-shirt is receiving extra attention, as it is the first inductee into the Hanes Beefy T-shirt Hall of Fame.

The Hanes Beefy T-shirt is also celebrating its 35th anniversary.

The famous shirt was a success from the start, with the first batch of 72 printed the first week selling out quickly.

"We've been doing our designs and selling Hanes Beefy Ts since day one," Moreland said.

The shirt will officially be inducted during a ceremony at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

One of the biggest additions to this year's celebration is the creation of the Stan Clark penned song, All Roads Lead to Joe's. The song can be downloaded for free from Eskimo Joe's website at www.eskimojoes.com/music.

A video for the song will be shot Saturday evening at 7:00.

It looks like Eskimo Joe's is really pulling out all the stops to throw a great 35th birthday party for Joe and his dog Buffy.

"I don't think you hear of too many places that throw an anniversary party like this, and even write and release their own song," Moreland said.

A full list of the week's events can be found at www.eskimojoes.com/events.