About Us

Junior Herzik (yes, there is a real Junior) started his wholesale sausage business, H&B Smoked Sausage, back in 1985. From a small building behind his home outside of El Campo, Texas, he sold his smoked sausage to Bar-B-Q restaurants and grocery stores in the surrounding area. He also provided custom processing services to local deer hunters. As time went on, the quality and flavor of Junior’s smoked sausage attracted a loyal and expanding customer base. And, as the business grew, the plant went under state inspection, employees were added, and multiple expansions were built on the original building.

In 2003, Junior was once again contemplating expansion when a conversation with his son-in-law, Scott Chambers, resulted in the idea of building a new facility that would serve both as a production facility and as a retail store. The idea for Junior’s Smokehouse was born. The Herziks (Junior, his wife Karen, and his son Brent) and the Chambers siblings (Scott, and his wife Tammy, and Stephanie Chambers Tobola) teamed up and worked hard planning the new business. Land was acquired on HWY 59 between Wharton and El Campo and the smokehouse was built. It opened its doors to the public on February 14, 2005. The store offers a huge selection of smoked meats including 19 flavors of jerky, 18 flavors of smoked sausage, dried sausage, survival sticks, summer sausage, tenderloins, brisket and turkeys. We provide custom processing services for deer hunters and offer a convenient location for hunters traveling on Hwy. 59 to drop off or pick up their meat. We also sell fresh meat, deli meats and cheeses. The store smokes its own briskets daily and sells brisket, sausage, ribs and chicken plates, and sandwiches. In addition, we offer deli sandwiches, pit smoked hamburgers, and make our famous homemade chicken salad and pimiento cheese. We have a small bakery that specializes in kolaches baked from scratch every morning. We also make specialty rolls and streudels, pound cakes, cookies and homemade bread. The store also sells Chevron gas, cheap bags of ice, deer corn, snack foods, and has a selection of gift items. We take pride in the quality of food we sell and serve. We do not buy any prepared food. All of the food we sell is made from scratch and prepared on site from fresh ingredients. Junior’s Smokehouse is truly a family business. Junior and Karen contributed most of the recipes for our homemade products and Junior’s family sausage recipes are the cornerstone of the business. Brent runs the smokehouses and develops new tastes. He came up with many of our jerky flavors and our delicious Chicken Cordon Bleu Smoked Sausage. In the beginning, Scott managed the retail portion of the store and now focuses on the financial side of the business. Stephanie buys most of the gift and gourmet items sold in the store and helps out when things get extremely busy. We have been very fortunate to have the best employees. Many of them have been with us from the beginning. Without these loyal employees we wouldn’t be where we are today; it takes a great team to accomplish what we have in the past few years. Thank you to all of our wholesale and retail customers and your support of our business. If you have never stopped in our store, please come visit us the next time you travel on Hwy. 59.

We look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon.

The Herziks, Chambers and Tobolas