STEVE
PALMER
Founder
Best-selling author, podcast host, Welcome Conference and TEDx speaker, James Beard Award semifinalist, mental health advocate, and restaurateur Steve Palmer is a food & beverage industry leader with more than 40 years of experience.
As Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Vision Officer of the award-winning Indigo Road Hospitality Group (IRHG), Steve has played an integral role in growing the Charleston, SC-based hospitality company from one restaurant in 2009 to a portfolio of restaurants and independent hotels across the country. He maintains the philosophy that great service starts with well-cared-for employees and attributes the company’s success to its loyal and dedicated team. By promoting from within and continuously creating new opportunities for his staff, Steve has developed a people-first culture built on an unwavering, high level of care and hospitality.
Nationally recognized by outlets like The New York Times, NPR, and Southern Living, Steve is a four-time semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Awards’ Outstanding Restaurateur, with his most
recent nomination in 2024 for his work with colleague Kimball Brienza at O-Ku.
He became a best-selling author when he published Say Grace: How the Restaurant Business Saved My Life in 2019. He is also the host of a podcast called Say Grace: Food for Thought in Hospitality, on which he takes a deep dive into the stories of leaders in the hospitality industry and beyond.
His proudest accomplishment to date is co-founding Ben’s Friends with close friend and fellow longtime industry veteran Mickey Bakst. Through this organization, they offer hope, fellowship, and a path forward to professionals who struggle with substance abuse and addiction. An avid proponent of supporting people and communities, Steve serves as an active member on several industry boards and annual fundraising events and has also lent his voice to influential events like Welcome Conference, TedX Charleston, and Charleston Wine + Food Festival, speaking on personal passions like building strong company cultures and addiction/recovery.
Say Grace Podcast
Say Grace: Food for Thought in Hospitality is a soulful exploration of the hospitality industry through the eyes of celebrated restaurateur and author Steve Palmer. Combining the richness of grace—a pre-meal tradition in the South, a gift freely given, and a timeless virtue—with the transformative journey of hospitality, this podcast dives deep into the stories behind the industry. With heartfelt conversations, Palmer uncovers personal journeys of resilience, mental health breakthroughs, and sources of inspiration, showcasing how lives are shaped and changed by the world of service. Say Grace is a place to reflect, connect, and savor thoughtful narratives. Pull up a chair, and join the dialogue about food, people, and the grace that sustains them both.
Say Grace
How the Restaurant Business Saved My Life
Say Grace is an unflinching look at the modern restaurant industry. Through his deeply personal stories, Steve Palmer paints a picture that will be familiar to anyone who has worked in the food and beverage industry. His dissection of how he arrived at his addiction, and how he found his way out, is a beacon to the struggling.
Proceeds from Say Grace benefit Ben’s Friends.
Prominent Press Features
Steve Palmer and The Indigo Road have been featured in prominent publications for their work in hospitality, sobriety advocacy, and more. Explore the stories below:
- Food & Wine | How to Help Your Fellow Hospitality Workers Stay Alive
- OpenTable | Americans aim to eat healthier and drink less, OpenTable data reveals
- The New York Times | "A Sobering Challenge for Restaurants"
- The New York Times | "A Teacher, an Artist, a Scientist and More. They’re All Visionaries."
- The New York Times | "The Hard-Knocks Restaurant World Discovers Wellness."
- NPR: "Ben's Friends | A Support Group For Restaurant Workers Battling Addiction"
- Forbes | "How One Restaurateur Is Helping Others In The Industry Battle Addiction"
- Food & Wine | "How One Restaurateur Is Helping Chefs and Servers Get Sober"
- Southern Living | "How One Southern Restaurateur Is Helping Industry Workers Battle Addiction"
- Atlanta Magazine | "Ben's Friends Offers Support to Restaurant Workers Struggling with Addiction"
- Charleston Magazine | "Restaurateur Steve Palmer Recounts His Journey from Addiction to Recovery"
- The Post and Courier | "Charleston Restaurateur Steve Palmer Named a James Beard Semifinalist"
LEADERSHIP TEAM
STEVE
PALMER
Founder
Jennifer
Dailey
Accounting
Kevin
Krapp
Atlanta Region Operations
KATHARINE
AMES
PR & Marketing
JENNIFER
KRAPP
Front of House Operations
CHRIS
AMATO
Culture
TRAVIS
KIRKLEY
Charlotte Culinary
Jeremiah
Bacon
Chef and Culinary Purchasing
Kimball
brienza
O-Ku Operations
Christa
Polinksy
Events & Catering
Cullen
Wyatt
Restaurant Development
ANNE
WHITE
Pastry
HANNAH
WILSON
Admin
GABRIEL PEREZ
Hotel Operations
Samy
Eltoukhy
Finance
Vonda
Freeman
Wine Programs
SAM
TROTTER
Digital Experience
Justin
Shoener
Restaurant Financial Operations
KEVIN
GETZEWICH
Lodging Culinary Concepts
MASA HAMAYA
Japanese Culinary Concepts
Josh Begley
Italian Culinary Concepts