Love on the Rock: Besties to Foodies
She’s an introvert. He’s an extrovert.
She’s chill. He’s high strung.
She’s a Shelter Islander. He’s a San Diegan.
How did these two opposites attract?
Julia (Martin) Palacios grew up on Shelter Island. Her mom, Betsy, was also raised on the Island, and her dad, Greg, grew up in New Suffolk on the North Fork.
Josh Palacios hails from Chula Vista, Calif., just south of San Diego. His mom is from Tijuana, Mexico, and his dad grew up in Los Angeles by way of Guadalajara, Mexico and Trento, Italy. Spanish was Josh’s first language, and he began speaking English in 1st grade. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles and began working in the restaurant business. Life in L.A. became exhausting and expensive, so Josh decided to “follow a co-worker, just for the summer, to a nice restaurant on a small island off of Long Island.”
Julia and Josh have different takes on the moment they first met. Julia was working as a hostess at Vine Street Café. She was asked to pick up the manager and two others at North Ferry for their shifts at the restaurant. The manager introduced them: “This is my friend Josh.” Julia recalls saying, “Hi! How ya doin’ … it’s so nice to meet you.”
Josh remembers it differently. “I got in the car, we were introduced, and all she said was, ‘Hey.’ No smile. No, ‘Nice to meet you.’ Very standoffish.”
Soon enough, though, Josh was working behind the bar, and Julia had 50 questions for the new guy. “We immediately became friends,” Julia recalled. “I would drive Josh around the Island and show him around. We hung out every single day. There was no romantic aspect of our relationship. We became completely platonic best friends.”
At the time, Julia was dating someone else, and Josh was hoping to rekindle his last relationship when he returned to Los Angeles after the summer. Meanwhile, Julia was fixing-up Josh on dates with some of her friends. A year-and-a-half passed, and Julia was working at a hotel in Montauk, where one night she was hanging out with Josh and a few friends.
“And then something clicked,” Julia said. “I told Josh, ‘I want you to stop dating my friends,’ and he said, ‘O.K., then you need to stop dating other people too.’ And so we did. That was seven years ago.”
“I loved Jules first as my best friend, and it really helped to be best friends first,” Josh remembered. Julia added, “Even early in our friendship, I couldn’t imagine Josh not being in my life.”
In March of 2020 – just as the country was entering COVID lockdown – Julia and Josh became “proud parents” of their beloved puppy, Goose, a Mini Aussie/Blue Heeler mix.
Neither Julia nor Josh had big plans to one day get married. “He was my first boyfriend, and I honestly never saw myself getting married,” Julia said. Josh added, “My parents got divorced when I was in my late teens so getting married wasn’t high on my list of future plans.”
But soon, the two became engaged. As Josh remembered it, “I bought the ring online and had it shipped. Jules had been constantly sending me rings she liked on Instagram, so I knew what she liked.”
“I had specifically asked Josh not to propose on a holiday or Christmas,” said Julia.
So, what did he do? He proposed the day after Christmas after his shift at Vine Street. He presented her with a small white box that contained earrings, to trick her a bit. Then he pulled the ring from his pocket, got down on his knee and proposed. Julia’s brother Daniel was there to witness the moment, along with a couple of friends. Julia posted on Goose’s Instagram: “Times are bad, but my parents just got engaged!”
After ditching plans to elope to Puerto Rico, Julia and Josh were married in December 2022 at Julia’s parents’ home on Shelter Island, surrounded by 26 friends and family members, some of whom tuned in via FaceTime from California. Josh’s best childhood friend, Joey Saewitz, officiated.
A year later, Julia and Josh went on their first vacation/honeymoon/first anniversary to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. “It felt like a fever dream … the water was 80 degrees and crystal clear with pristine sand,” Julia reflected.
The two have settled into married life, and as Julia tells it, “We are like an old couple. We like to go out to eat early and come home and watch a movie.” They have been loving dinners at Southold Social and Minnow in New Suffolk lately.
“After dinner, we like to do ‘His and Her’ movie nights,” Josh said. They have different taste in movies: Julia is a fan of horror/thriller and documentaries, while Josh prefers action/superhero and comedies, so they alternate. “It’s the only way we can agree to watch a movie,” Julia said. Sometimes though, the two will watch a “communal movie” that they agree on. And there are a few “blacklisted” movies like “Interstellar” and “Stand By Me” that they simply will not watch.
Julia works as a special education aide at Greenport School District. Josh worked there as well as a bilingual teacher’s aide, until recently, when he received exciting news. He was hired as the Food and Beverage Manager at the Shelter Island Yacht Club.
“I have been working in the industry for years, and being hired for a position like this has been a long-term goal of mine. I am thrilled,” Josh beamed. He is a Level 1 Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, and is continuing his studies to become fully certified.
Julia and Josh’s favorite pastimes? “We love to go on long walks with Goose on the Island’s walking trails. We also love cooking together” Julia said. “Josh is the main chef and I’m his sous chef. Lately, we’ve been loving baking and making dinner rolls from scratch.”
The couple’s dreams for the future? “Some day, we would like to live outside the country, likely a Spanish-speaking place since Josh is fluent,” Julia said. Josh would one day “love to own a tapas/wine bar. I love hosting. It’s a big part of who I am, having grown up with my dad hosting nights with lots of food and people in the house.”
It sounds as though these two opposites from different coasts are on their way to a life filled with friends, family, food, films … and homemade dinner rolls.
