Special to Wesson News
When Lenzie Chambers was a young man growing up in Texas, he encountered a problem trying to earn money as a deck hand on a tow boat. His boss discovered he couldn’t cook – a critical skill deck hands needed as part of a tow boat gang.
“You’re a good worker, and you can help us,” his boss told him. “If you’re willing, I’ll teach you to cook.”
Chambers accepted the offer. Many other jobs after his work on tow boats followed, but he learned his lessons well, and “I fell in love cooking, particularly making Cajun food,” he relates. Cooking wasn’t a requirement in the other jobs, but cooking remained a hobby, and “I even dreamed of operating a restaurant,” he relates.
Encouraged by friends, Chambers is now turning his dream, seeded as a tow boat deck hand back in the 1980s, in Wesson at the new Firehouse barbeque restaurant and steak house he opened in August.
Born in Houston in 1969, Chambers and his family moved to the Beaumont area in East Texas when he was six years old. His father was an electrician and his mother, a nurse, and he was one of seven children. Girls and football were his interests growing up, Chambers says.
He played outside linebacker on defense and receiver on offense for the football team at Bridgecity High School, where he graduated in 1988.
Just out of high school, he went to work in construction, pipefitting and boiler making for Texaco Refining Company in Port Arthur, Texas, travelled throughout the U.S in similar jobs until 2000, when he became a crane operator – a job that took him to projects in countries throughout the world, including South Africa, China, Japan, Taiwan, France and Russia. In 2013, he started work in offshore oil production.
“I met my wife – the former Michelle Calcote from the Loyd Star area – in 2011 when I was with a refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and we have four children – Jessica, 28, a stay-at-mom with six kids in Columbus, Mississippi; Kenon, 26, an electronic technician in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Bella, 13, and Sawyer, 9, students at Enterprise Attendance Center and workers in our restaurant,” says Chambers.
At 54 years old, when he was with Cox Operation, the oil fields no longer needed him, and he and his wife decided to relocate to the Wesson area to start a different kind of life.
“I laughed when close friends suggested turning my cooking hobby into a job, but things fell into place after I talked to Dump’s owner Ken Sullivan, who wanted to pursue the ministry,” Chambers recounts.
The Firehouse opened in August and serves meals from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. The initial menu includes brisket, ribs, pulled pork, sausage, burgers and steak specials on Friday and Saturday evenings. Chambers says he plans to add fish and shrimp to the menu and expand the restaurant’s hours. His long-range vision is to open other restaurants throughout the area.
Chambers and his wife reside near Lake Lincoln State Park.
What are your hobbies?
I am a metal fabricator and make decorative accessories at my home shop, which I sell at the restaurant. I also hunt and fish and enjoy spending time with my family. My wife and I attend Clear Branch Church.
Are you a reader?
I was a voracious reader when I was younger, but now the restaurant absorbs most of my time. I still enjoy reading history about other countries and politics.
How about music?
I think I can sing, but I mostly enjoy listening to 1960s and 1970s music on my ipod.
Do you go to the theater or movies?
I recently enjoyed the Nutcracker Suite at the Jackson Ballet, but the restaurant business again consumes theater time. I also keep up on current events with television news.
If you won a lot of money in the lottery, how would you spend it?
Beyond getting out of debt, I would try to help others in financial need. Wages don’t keep up with costs in this expensive world.
How would you change the world?
I was a John Lennon fan. He was right about peace and love. People who visit America are shocked at the hate they encounter here. We need to work on that.
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