WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ernest Waters is a chopper at McCray’s Backyard Bar-B-Q on 45th Street near West Palm Beach.
"It gives me more time in the kitchen, as opposed to being in the streets," he said. "I am a convicted felon. I spent the younger years in the streets, selling drugs."
Waters said his passion has always been cooking.
"I have a certificate in culinary arts, a degree in culinary arts," Waters said.
But he said he lost his way.
"I know how rough it is," Waters said.
He called himself a product of a second chance, given by Derrick McCray, the owner of McCray's Backyard Bar-B-Q.
"Without Derrick, I think I'd probably be dead or in prison," Waters said. "I thank God for him. As a convicted felon, it gives me hope. A lot of times you get out of jail, and because you are a convicted felon, people don't even want to give you an application."
McCray said he lived that life himself.
"I went to jail 31 times. I mean that's a lot," he said. "About seven years in jail probably altogether."
He said he's an open book now about his past.
"That's been my story. I don't hide it. I think truth makes you free," McCray said. "Drug charges, gun charges, failure to appear, all kinds of stuff, which added up to me being a convicted felon, and it was the result of drugs, my drug addiction."
McCray said he started his restaurant business when he got out of jail with a $100 loan from his mother and an old grill from his father. Now, his passion is helping others find their paths forward.
"I had great parents," he said. "They raised me right, so I had the support system at home."
He said he knows others are not so lucky.
"My hope is that if God gave me a chance, then I can give somebody else a chance," McCray said.
At his barbecue joints, he said he's probably helped "a few hundred [people] over the years"
McCray gives them jobs upon release.
"I got my grill guy, a second chance guy," he said. "One of my choppers [is a] second-chance guy. Some of the guys that prep [are] second chance guys."
He also gives strong mentoring to his employees.
"We are somewhat like that bridge over troubled water because we are trying to get you back to the promised land, and you have a good footing in society," McCray said.
McCray said he's proud of the felons he's helped turn into productive members of society.
"If I can do it, anybody can, because I consider myself the worst of the worst when it comes to being in the streets," he said.
“We are people too," Waters said. "We are humans. Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes, so if you have an opportunity where you can give somebody a second chance, I suggest you step out on faith and give that opportunity because you could be saving somebody's life. At the end of the day, you could be saving somebody's life."
"Show them that they can beat the odds," McCray exclaimed.
