Furnace Master's Restaurant

The Furnace Master's Restaurant is a 300-seat restaurant located inside Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park near McCalla. It is owned and operated by Keith Chapman.

The original restaurant was owned and operated by Joe and Betty Weeks in a large log structure. The menu featured "home-cooked" specialties, with a wide array of vegetables. Friday evenings were devoted to a seafood buffet. The restaurant was destroyed by a fire on January 26, 1999. It later re-opened, but closed again in 2008.

The restaurant was re-opened again in 2009 as a second location of Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q. Van Sykes sold it to Chapman less than a year later to focus on his downtown Bessemer location. Chapman brought Betty Weeks back to run the kitchen.

The Furnace Master's Restaurant serves a meat-and-three menu, and also offers steaks cooked to order on Friday and Saturday nights. It opens for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

References

• Norris, Toraine (August 17, 2009) "Bob Sykes to open barbecue restaurant at Tannehill State Park." Birmingham News
• Williams, Roy L. (October 16, 2010) "Courtyard Cafe owner cooks up new Bessemer business." Birmingham News