By Matt Hutcheson

A new barbeque restaurant is scheduled to open in early Dec. at the former location of Hook’s BBQ on Cahaba Road in Greenville.

Fireman’s BBQ, the brainchild of retired fireman and police officer Jeff Holland, will soon be added to the short list of barbeque restaurants in Greenville.

The restaurant opened first in 1999 in Andalusia, serving smoked meat and sides along with specialty “loaded” baked potatoes.

The original location eventually closed and Holland returned to public service, including stints working as a dispatcher and officer in Georgiana and as the police chief in McKenzie.

Holland’s decision to bring his barbeque dream to Greenville involved several factors, including the relatively small number of barbeque restaurants in town and the convenience of setting up in a building that has already hosted several barbeque restaurants.

Holland says the building “has had a complete facelift inside” and has been redesigned in a “fire department theme.”

Holland elaborated on several of the specialty items on the menu, saying that “we are famous for the [barbeque potato] …you need an appetite if you order it, it is a meal within itself.”

He asserts that the name “The Fireman’s BBQ Potato” developed from “what customers started calling it” when requesting the dish.

Also featured is a unique take on creamed corn that utilizes corn “fire-roasted on the pit, over the wood”, that is then removed from the cob and used to make the side dish.

Holland emphasized that this particular offering is unique for a barbeque restaurant, claiming “there’s only two places that I have found” that prepare creamed corn similarly to his method.

Getting involved in the community is, according to the owner, a high priority for Fireman’s BBQ. Holland said he has called local schools to inquire about work programs, hoping to find students to work at the restaurant when available. He also says his restaurant will “support first responders… if they are on duty, we’ll give them a 10% [discount] off the top.”

Holland also extended an invitation to local firefighters and other first responders to bring pictures and other memorabilia to display in the restaurant. 

Fireman’s BBQ is currently scheduled to open on Saturday, Dec. 9th.  According to the tentative menu available on the restaurant’s Facebook page, Fireman’s will be open on Wednesdays through Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.