In the late 1970’s, one young teenager got a job in a busy restaurant in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California. He worked in many capacities at the restaurant, but his love was always cooking. In the years he worked there he learned to love the business of serving the public. Little did he know that his stint at the restaurant was just a way to put himself through the Fire Academy, where he learned to serve the public in a different way. He graduated from the Academy in 1983, and was hired by the Palm Springs (CA) Fire Department in 1984. Like most rookies, he was quickly assigned to kitchen detail. Using the kitchen skills he learned in the restaurant, he immediately gained the trust of even the saltiest of veterans in the station………at least as far as meals were concerned! Knowing that his love for the restaurant business still lingered, he kept his dream alive by knowing that one day he would own a restaurant. The opportunity came to life one day while floating in the pool, sipping a margarita with his girlfriend, Jayme. While the fireman and Jayme floated, and drank, they shared common dreams of owning their own restaurant. In fact, the two met in a great little restaurant as Jayme served the off duty fireman and his friends cold beer and good food. The two quickly discovered they would make a great team in business as well as life.

Jayme spent most of her adult life in a restaurant mastering many jobs from bartending, to bookkeeping, to controlling entire hotels. She has worked basically every job, but the kitchen. That’s the fireman’s duty. You’ve probably guessed by now that she’s the brains of this place. Whatever her job was, Jayme quickly gathered a following of regulars who came back time and again for great service and a happy face. After discussing goals and dreams, Jayme and the fireman felt confident that they could fill hungry bellies full of great ”Firehouse” type food and they purchased a vacant restaurant in June of 2001. They and lots of their friends remodeled the place and opened their doors on Thanksgiving weekend, November 24, 2001. Well, here we are at our second restaurant. As you look around, you’ll see many rare and interesting “Firetiques”. The majority of the items are authentic and were once used by real Firefighters as far back as the 1800’s. Displaying the true Brotherhood of Firefighters, many of the expensive and rare items were generously donated for display by fellow firefighters just to “help a brother out”. Ask Jayme or the fireman about any of the Firetiques and you’ll be sure to get a good story behind each piece.

There’s hardly a day that goes by when you won’t see either, (usually both) Jayme or the fireman working at the restaurant. The items on the menu can best be described as fireman friendly. Fireman friendly food is great tasting, inexpensive, casual, abundant and affordable. You see, firemen love lots of good food that they don’t have to pay a lot for. Too many meals have been left on the kitchen table as the firemen answered emergency calls, so the simpler the better. Many of the menu items are tried and true favorites of the fire stations. All of our soups, sauces and dressings are homemade. We only use the finest and freshest ingredients available and take great pride in providing you with authentic “firehouse style” comfort food, right down to our homemade chili and our now famous ribs. Don’t hesitate to bring the kids either. We have a great kids menu they’re sure to eat from and they’ll love their complimentary Fire Chief helmet. You may even notice some real firemen enjoying a meal, many times interrupted by emergency calls. By the way, my name is ROC, short for Roland Otto Cook. I’m the lucky fireman with Jayme as my wife and business partner. Enjoy and have fun!