State association names Dixie Crossroads owner Restaurateur of the Year

Being named Restaurateur of the Year by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association left Laurilee Thompson shocked and in awe.

"It weighs about 10 pounds," the co-owner of Dixie Crossroads in Titusville said of the elegant glass award she received Oct. 24 during the association's annual gala at the Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort in Delray Beach. "I've got to figure out where to put it in the restaurant."

But she wants to make one thing clear.

"This award isn't my award," she said. "This award belongs to my family, my partners, my staff and the boat captains. It's for everybody, not just me."

Thompson was one of three Hospitality Stars of the Industry Hall of Fame winners honored at the gala. Supplier of the Year: Pat Monile, US Foods area president for Tampa was named supplier of the year and Eduardo Fernandez of Margaritaville Beach Resort in Hollywood was named Hotelier of the Year.

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“The Hall of Fame recognition is one of FRLA’s most prestigious tributes, celebrating industry icons for their enduring commitment and remarkable contributions to the world of hospitality spanning decades,” Carol Dover, president and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, said in a press release. “These awards honor distinguished leaders whose legacies have left an enduring mark on Florida’s vibrant hospitality landscape, and we are incredibly proud of these inductees.”

Rusty Fischer, a longtime Space Coast restaurant owner and member of FRLA, said the award is well-deserved.

"It validates what she has done in her life to preserve the industry we've been working in for so long," said the owner of Rusty's Seafood & Oyster Bar at Port Canaveral and former owner of Bernard's Surf in Cocoa Beach.

In a world where fishermen and environmentalists haven't always gotten along, Thompson has found a balance, Fischer said. She understands both want the same things: healthy waterways. She's made it her mission to restore and maintain the Indian River Lagoon while supporting safe growth and development around it.

"That's what she's done her whole life," Fischer said. "We love her for it, and we respect her for it."

Growing up with seafood and restaurants

A fifth-generation Floridian, Thompson grew up in the restaurant business. Her parents, Mary Jean and Rodney Thompson, owned Sand Point Inn in Titusville and other seafood and restaurant-related businesses. They opened Dixie Crossroads in 1983.

At the time, it was a 30-seat seafood hut. Diners could chose their meal from the fish cases and watch as Rodney cleaned and cooked it.

As a teenager, Thompson ran blue crab traps and gillnetted for mullet in the Indian River Lagoon and worked on the back deck of a rock shrimp trawler.

Her father, who died in 2016, is credited with finding a way to crack through the hard shells of local rock shrimp, turning them into delicious treats rather than the useless crustaceans they'd always been seen as.

After receiving a degree in oceanographic technology from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1974, she captained a commercial long-line boat targeting swordfish and tuna in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

In 1987, as Dixie Crossroads began to grow, she left the fishing industry to help her parents in the restaurant.

The (not so) secret to Dixie Crossroads' success

Over the past 40 years, Dixie Crossroads has grown from that 30-seat mom-and-pop place into a 465-seat destination restaurant. It's not uncommon to see tour buses parked outside and a line of waiting guests tossing food to fish in a pond near the entrance.

The quality of the seafood and the Southern hospitality keep people coming back, Thompson said.

Less than 10% of the seafood served in U.S. restaurants comes from American waters, she said, but that's not the case at Dixie Crossroads.

The only non-U.S. fish served there is wild-caught Ecuadorian mahi mahi. The only farm-raised seafood on the menu is Louisiana catfish. It's more expensive than catfish farmed in Asia, she said, but the quality is worth the cost.

"We do our very best to make sure our customers get real American seafood," Thompson said.

The bite-sized, lobster-like rock shrimp for which the restaurant is known come from local waters and are processed at Wild Ocean Seafood Market at Port Canaveral, a business her father started that is now owned by her sister, Sheri McCoy, and Mike and Jeanna Merrifield.

Dixie Crossroads also serves local mullet, local shrimp and a fresh local fish of the day, depending on what is in season.

A passion for saving Brevard's waters

When she's not at the restaurant, Thompson is fighting for the place and the lifestyle she loves.

After picking up the FRLA award on Tuesday, she spoke to the Titusville Noon Rotary Club about the history of Titusville and how the space program has impacted the Indian River lagoon.

Friday, she was scheduled to meet with the Titusville city manager about the spending of Environmentally Endangered Lands money and she had an interview with an Orlando TV station about what development is doing to the lagoon.

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She is a board member for the Merritt Island Wildlife Association and a trustee for the Hubbs Sea World Research Institute. She is an appointed member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Management Board, Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizen Oversight Committee and the City of Titusville FL Environmental Commission.

She also served on the Brevard County Tourist Development Council for 20 years, representing eco-tourism, and founded the annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, which takes place in January.

Brevard's waters were over-fished in the 1980s, Thompson said. But not only that, seagrasses vital to a healthy fish population have been destroyed.

"The fact that our seagrass was 90% gone in the Indian River Lagoon impacts offshore fishing," she said.

Fish spawned in the ocean hide in the lagoon's grasses to grow.

"No seagrass, and juvenile fish have no place to hide from predators," she said.

Thompson is grateful the citizens of Brevard understood the importance of rejuvenating the lagoon. In 2016, a half-cent sales tax was passed to implement a Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project aimed at improving the health and aesthetic appeal of the lagoon.

And it's working.

"We're seeing some improvements," she said.

But there's more to be done, and it needs to happen faster. For starters, stormwater rules need to be strengthened. Not only are pesticides and chemicals entering the lagoon, but fresh water from stormwater runoff is changing its salinity.

"When I was a kid, it was much saltier than it is now," she said.

Right now, the lagoon looks good on the surface, but below the surface, it's still a mess.

"All that is being addressed through the half-penny sales tax," Thompson said.

The tax will come up for a vote again in 2026. She hopes Brevard continues to see it as money well spent.

"It took time for the river to die," she said. "It will take time to resuscitate it."

Dixie Crossroads today

"When Mom and Dad opened the restaurant 40 years ago, the menu included things they got out of the Indian River," Thompson said.

Clams, shrimp, trout, blue crabs.

"The business took off when they added rock shrimp to the menu," she said.

The restaurant and menu have grown, but some things remain unchanged. Thompson still takes pride in offering good food and good service.

And her mother, Mary Jean, shared another ingredient in the recipe for a successful restaurant.

"Treat customers like they're a guest in your home," Mary Jean Thompson said.

For anyone considering opening a restaurant, Thompson suggests starting small. "Make sure your idea works before you get big and grand and before you find out you don't like working 16 hours a day," she said.

"You've got to be a little bit crazy to be in the restaurant business to begin with," her mother added. "And whatever business you're in, it has to be part of the family."

Rodney and Mary Jean's children and grandchildren grew up in the restaurant.

It's been hard work, Thompson said, but it's been a good life for her. "It's one of the few industries where you can start with no education washing dishes and end up owning your own restaurant," she said.

Having trusted partners — Clay Townsend, Greg Holladay and Eliseo Gomez — along with a solid staff has given her the freedom to serve on all those boards and attend all the meetings.

It's also opened doors for her to pursue her passion for the environment. "When you own a restaurant, it's a community gathering place," she said.

State and local politicians and local business leaders stop by for lunch, giving her the perfect opportunity to visit their tables for a chat.

"I was able to develop some really good relationships," she said. "All these opportunities to be on boards and inflict my ideas on other people, they came up because of the restaurant."

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard. 

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Dixie Crossroads owner named Restaurateur of the Year by FRLA