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NEDERLAND — Port Arthur native Nathan Nguyen opened up Twin City Seafood on Twin City Highway in pursuit of his childhood dream.

“I have always loved cooking. Being a cook was one of my dreams growing up,” he said. “I love seafood and enjoy cooking. I saw an opportunity with this place. It had burned down a few years back and I saw the opportunity to open up a place and share my cooking with the community.”

Nguyen said he and his family rebuilt the restaurant last year and it opened in September.

“This pandemic caught us by surprise and we had no choice but to open,” he said. “We’re all in with this place. Our lunch hour and evenings are pretty great. I know the pandemic is affecting a lot of restaurants in the community. I know this one can go further.”

Twin City Seafood, 3922 N. Twin City Highway in Nederland, offers boiled seafood, shrimp, oysters, gumbo, grilled seafood, catfish and chicken wings among other dishes.

“I just love food in general,” Nguyen said. “My love of cooking came from my mother. She loves cooking and she taught me a lot. We have a lot of family members that also own a lot of restaurants in the area. Cooking runs in the family.”

Nguyen said the boiled seafood is his favorite.

“The gumbo is excellent,” he said. “This is my wife’s recipe. She makes the gumbo. Our most popular item is the boiled seafood. The boiled shrimp and snow crab.”

Nguyen’s family moved to Port Arthur from California when he was 2. He said he worked in the refineries for more than 10 years.

“My whole life is here,” he said. “I went to school at Lamar State College Port Arthur. You make a good bit of money in the refineries. You can make a decent life there, but I just wasn’t happy doing it. My passion was always cooking. I’m still employed with a company I work with. I love and miss it sometimes. I just prefer doing this any day.”

Twin City Seafood is located near the Dow Beaumont Plant.

“A lot of the industrial offices around the area are really happy that we opened because they were really happy with the previous owners,” Nguyen said. “They were sad when it shut down due to the fire. A lot of people that live out this way, don’t want to travel all of the way to 365 or Nederland Avenue to eat. This is a quick place to get some good food.”

Nguyen said he is thankful for the community’s support.

“It took us sometime to think things through (early in the pandemic),” he said. “It is still scary but I feel like things are getting a little better. The community has been great. They have been really supportive. We can’t thank them enough.”

The eatery is open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The restaurant offers pickup and dine-in services and is on Grubhub.

For more information, call 409-344-4559.