TYLER, Texas — Culture ETX is the newest addition to The Square in Downtown Tyler.
"You can really expect anything," owner and executive chef Lance McWhorter said.
The menu is filled with dishes like small plates called tapas, as well as pasta and sandwiches.
McWhorter says he hopes the restaurant will serve as a middle ground for hungry customers. Those who simply can't decide on what to eat and can feel right at home.
"You can never figure it out?" he said. "Come here because we'll have something that everyone likes."
McWhorter remembers at age 39, he was sitting in a trailer house in Baghdad, Iraq, when he got the idea to become a chef. He was working for the state department at the time.
"I'm a firm believer that cooking saved my life," he said.
McWhorter says he joined the Army at age 17. After a few years, he then went into the Navy. After leaving the military he became a firefighter and EMT.
"[I] bust[ed] my back up pretty good in a house fire and was forced to retire," he said.
Now McWhorter is using his experiences to not only bring culture to the East Texas food scene but give back to veterans in the community.
"I found that cooking gave me the same thrill, the same intensity, that you'd feel overseas," he said. "I really try to inspire a lot of veterans to get into the culinary industry."
In the next few months, McWhorter plans to create free cooking classes for veterans.
"Hopefully it will inspire them to get into this industry, he said. "It's great or it will just give them an outlet, to come in and play with knives and fire, and hang out with other veterans."