Huddle House owner remembered as shrewd and generous businessman

Lavoy Powell, owner of the Huddle House and several other businesses on Victory Drive, was a successful entrepreneur who cared for people in need, said those who knew him best.

Powell, 57, died last week after a long battle with heart disease. His funeral was held Monday, drawing about 250 people to Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church on Cusseta Road.

In addition to tributes from friends and family, Powell was honored posthumously with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from the office of Congressman Sanford Bishop.

Donald Goodroe, a retired director of contracting at Fort Benning, said he first met Powell in 2004 when the businessman was having problems as a general contractor on base. An acquaintance referred Powell to Goodroe for help with contracts, and the two became close friends.

“Lavoy was a very unselfish person, and he delighted in doing things that helped others,” Goodroe said. “He had boosted his prayer life and was strong in faith, praying and caring for others in need.”

Powell’s stepson, Alan Gettridge, said Powell changed his life when he married his mother.

“He made me the man that I am today,” he said. “And I’ll be forever thankful for that.”

Powell, a native of Phenix City, developed his work ethic as a boy helping his father with janitorial jobs, he said in a 2013 Ledger-Enquirer interview. He launched his first business when he was still a running back for the Carver High School football team.

"I had my own little business painting houses for $85 or $75," he said during the interview. "At the same time, I was doing yard work for some of my teachers and working with my father.”

A standout high school athlete, Powell graduated from Carver in 1977. Alabama State University offered him a football scholarship but he turned it down to work at the Bibb textile mill, he said in 2013. When local mills began shipping jobs overseas, he launched a landscaping business.

Powell signed his first contract with the Warner Robins Housing Authority. Later, he won a Fort Benning contract, doing landscaping at the post commander's house, which paved the way for more military business.

In April of 2008, Powell and his wife opened the Huddle House at 1805 Victory Drive. The couple also built the Occasions Event Center and a strip mall with the Jack N Sports Bar and other businesses at the same location.

Powell also was a regular face at the John P. Thayer YMCA on 14th Street.

Jed Harris was Powell’s commercial real estate agent and friend. On Monday, he said Powell was always generous with what he had acquired. When local R& B entertainer JoJo Benson died in 2014, and promoter James “J.B.” Johnson died this past February, Powell allowed their families to use the event center at no charge.

“In addition to being a hard worker and an entrepreneur, with what he had, he did a lot to help other people,” Harris said. “He was just a good person.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Huddle House owner remembered as shrewd and generous businessman."