Thanks Cattlemen's Real Pit Bar-B-Q: The Nicole & Jason Love Story
Many know the tale of how Jason and I met at Crystal River Seafood. However, the story of how our paths crossed goes as far back as February 2000.
I got a job serving at a local BBQ joint on Atlantic Blvd shortly after moving to Duval from Puerto Rico. Working mostly nights & weekends, I became a staple of Cattlemen's BBQ for the next 2 years. Friends regularly visited me at work to enjoy smoked turkey sandwiches & other fine BBQ delicacies before beginning our Friday & Saturday night adventures. It was not unusual to see Chris, Ricky, Shannon, Porter, Jill, Jenn, or Kyle helping me clean up the last few tables (almost always theirs) before taking off for the night & making a pit-stop at The Desert.
After graduating high school in 2002, several of my friends & I enrolled at Florida State University. Knowing that I would be looking for a job in Tallahassee, the owner of Cattlemen's, Mike Shahoori, put me in contact with his daughter, Liz. Liz was just about to graduate from FSU and move back to Jacksonville. When Liz learned that I was going to attend FSU & needed a part-time job, she informed her Tallahassee employer that she had already found a replacement for her position as Hostess at Crystal River Seafood. Before the beginning of the Fall semester I interviewed for the position that Liz was leaving and I was hired that same day. I began working as a hostess at the end of August '02, which is how I met Jason, the sweet blue-eyed cook. One October afternoon while I was reading the newspaper, Jason asked if he could sit with me to eat lunch. Jason began to ask me questions about Puerto Rican cuisine and he soon learned that I was culinary challenged. Having just moved into my first apartment, the only things I knew how to cook were pasta and French toast. Jason took a mental note of this and decided to take action. About a week later we crossed paths in the parking lot. We exchanged a quick hello & a smile and kept walking. But Jason stalled, called my name and then asked when he could cook dinner for me. And that was how the whole thing got started. Thanks Cattlemen's.
We eloped on 4/26/06 and held the formal wedding & reception on 4/6/07.
I got a job serving at a local BBQ joint on Atlantic Blvd shortly after moving to Duval from Puerto Rico. Working mostly nights & weekends, I became a staple of Cattlemen's BBQ for the next 2 years. Friends regularly visited me at work to enjoy smoked turkey sandwiches & other fine BBQ delicacies before beginning our Friday & Saturday night adventures. It was not unusual to see Chris, Ricky, Shannon, Porter, Jill, Jenn, or Kyle helping me clean up the last few tables (almost always theirs) before taking off for the night & making a pit-stop at The Desert.
After graduating high school in 2002, several of my friends & I enrolled at Florida State University. Knowing that I would be looking for a job in Tallahassee, the owner of Cattlemen's, Mike Shahoori, put me in contact with his daughter, Liz. Liz was just about to graduate from FSU and move back to Jacksonville. When Liz learned that I was going to attend FSU & needed a part-time job, she informed her Tallahassee employer that she had already found a replacement for her position as Hostess at Crystal River Seafood. Before the beginning of the Fall semester I interviewed for the position that Liz was leaving and I was hired that same day. I began working as a hostess at the end of August '02, which is how I met Jason, the sweet blue-eyed cook. One October afternoon while I was reading the newspaper, Jason asked if he could sit with me to eat lunch. Jason began to ask me questions about Puerto Rican cuisine and he soon learned that I was culinary challenged. Having just moved into my first apartment, the only things I knew how to cook were pasta and French toast. Jason took a mental note of this and decided to take action. About a week later we crossed paths in the parking lot. We exchanged a quick hello & a smile and kept walking. But Jason stalled, called my name and then asked when he could cook dinner for me. And that was how the whole thing got started. Thanks Cattlemen's.
We eloped on 4/26/06 and held the formal wedding & reception on 4/6/07.
