Joann Carlson has spent her whole life in the restaurant business. Her passion for food can be traced back through her family’s roots. Her grandparents owned a fish packing company on the wharfs of downtown Newport and her family owned Dry Dock Seafood, one of Newport’s legendary Thames Street restaurants. When they closed the restaurant after 23 years, Joann co-owned and operated Percy’s Bistro. Prior to opening Jo’s American Bistro, Joann worked for Newport Harbor Corporation as a restaurant manager at 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar & Grille. Joann is as comfortable in the dining room as she is in the kitchen. Growing up with the restaurant as a family endeavor, she knows no other way to treat her staff and guests but as family. Visiting Jo’s American Bistro will seem as if you are sitting down to dinner in her home. And there is something to be said for having an Italian mother and grandmother to teach you how to cook and entertain with love and passion.