Attala County’s Steve Sizemore was honored by Holmes Community College during its recent virtual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, presenting him with the Special Service award.
Sizemore has been exceedingly generous with his time and contributions to the sports programs at Holmes over the years. As owner of the Longhorn’s Steakhouse in Newport, he has graciously provided numerous catered meals for the athletes. The Longhorn’s Steakhouse is famous for the steaks, which Sizemore cooks himself along with his locally celebrated steak sauce. When the restaurant opens on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, it can be difficult to find a parking place. A person can order just about anything, from fried mushrooms to hamburgers to ribeyes, and will not go away hungry. Sizemore has been cooking for many years and learned his way around the kitchen from his mother. Originally from Cleveland, he started out grilling around the house with some friends, which snowballed into entering bar-b-que competitions.
“At the time, we had never done anything close to competing for our cooking, but we ended up winning the competition,” Sizemore said. After graduating from Cleveland High School, Sizemore went to Mississippi Delta Community College and continued his studies at Delta State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. In 1994, Sizemore married his wife, Stacie, who is from Newport. Stacie is a Holmes alumna who continued on to earn a B.S. from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi. The Sizemores have three daughters: Alex (23), Cassidy (20) and Rylee (15). In 1995, they opened a steakhouse restaurant in Kosciusko, later relocating to where the restaurant stands today. The large drawing area for the restaurant has contributed to the Longhorn's
Steakhouse success, in addition to catering corporate events like the National Wild Turkey Federation Banquet. “People do not mind a little drive, and our customers just keep coming back,” Sizemore said. In 2008, the restaurant was closed following a devastating fire, but Sizemore steadily continued to cater events for his patrons. In 2013, Sizemore rebuilt and reopened the restaurant, and the tables were full again with loyal customers. When Sizemore’s oldest daughter enrolled at Holmes, he became more involved with the college. As his love of the college continued to grow, he started cooking more often on campus, especially for the athletic teams. Sizemore has shown his love for Holmes by opening up his restaurant on Tuesday nights in the fall to host the “Jeff Koonz Radio Show.” Prior to beginning the radio show, Sizemore was also instrumental in the Alumni Association Wild Game Dinners held in the late 1990s. Sizemore was recognized at the Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on Apr. 2, at Holmes Community College in Goodman for the Special Service Award. The Special Service Award is an honor Holmes occasionally bestows on an alumnus or non-alumnus who goes above and beyond in service to the college.
