Contributed by Jennifer McCurdy • Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Woody and Holly Caldwell opened Woody's Steakhouse in July of 2017. Woody was raised in the restaurant business. He laughs and says he was raised in the truck stop restaurant his parents owned when he was born. They did have an apartment in the back, so he really did grow up in a restaurant. It's in his blood.

His mother still owns a restaurant, Arctic Snow in Leesburg and has for 29 years. Woody worked in several chain restaurants as manager and just had a passion to have his own restaurant that would serve fresh meat and produce, nothing frozen. Their meats are hand cut and produce is from local farmers. Holly could see how important it was for Woody to have his own unique restaurant and joined him in opening Woody's Steakhouse, located in Dogtown.

Woody and Holly have two daughters and they live on Weiss Lake. Their oldest daughter helps out at the restaurant occasionally and their youngest can be seen running around Woody's from time to time. They pride themselves on having a family business, you won't find a bar at Woody's, it's all family oriented. If you are looking for a great meal without traveling far, you will not be disappointed. One of their top sellers is their blooming onion and their steaks sound amazing.

I tried the fried green tomato sandwich and loved it. I'm going back for dinner soon to try the steak and fresh oysters. Seafood, all fresh too. Y'all right here in our backyard a top-notch restaurant, you don't just get a 99 score from the Health Department, it's earned. Woody's is very clean and open 6 days a week from 10:30am - 8pm Tuesday-Saturday 11am - 3pm on Sundays. They also cater for events.

You do not have to drive out of town for a nice meal, Woody's Steakhouse serves everything you could need, and they have a children's menu. The Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce will hold a Ribbon Cutting at Woody's Steakhouse on June 14 at 10:30am. They are located at 105 County Road 89 in Fort Payne (Dogtown). Woody's has a great lunch menu and daily lunch specials, go check them out, and tell them we sent you!