I’m guessing most Nashville diners aren’t aware of the fact that Oak Steakhouse and popular Germantown sushi restaurant O-Ku are owned by the same company, The Indigo Road Restaurant Group. (Unless you already got the joke that “o-ku” is the Japanese word for “oak.) Both restaurants are part of the group that was founded 10 years ago by Steve Palmer, the Charleston, S.C.-based restaurateur who has expanded the portfolio to 20 restaurant and hospitality concepts across the Southeast, as far north as D.C., during his term as managing partner.
If you’re looking for a holiday present to give to someone in the hospitality industry, I suggest Palmer’s new memoir, and not just because he is such a successful businessman. Say Grace: How the Restaurant Business Saved My Life addresses a very important topic that is often overlooked by folks who don’t work service jobs: the issues of substance abuse that often accompany the lifestyle of restaurant and bar workers.
In his personal story, Palmer relates how a series of traumas during his youth led to a childhood of drinking and smoking pot and a series of rehab and halfway-house stays that became the norm during his young adulthood. After entering the restaurant industry and rising through the ranks in management, he realized he had to find a way to live a sober lifestyle in an industry where alcohol and drugs were often a regular part of the evening’s activities.
Eventually, some co-workers got him to enter treatment for addiction, and he emerged sober with a desire to help support others in the business who wanted to tackle the same journey. Palmer has spoken on the topic at numerous industry events and festivals, and recently put his money where his mouth is. In 2016, soon after the suicide of his friend and chef Ben Murray alone in a hotel room while helping Palmer to open a new restaurant, Palmer founded Ben’s Friends. Murray spent years struggling with alcoholism, and Palmer was determined to try to help other industry workers in need by creating a support group dedicated to helping end the stigma of addiction and serve as “a pathway to hope, fellowship and sobriety for those in the hospitality business struggling with substance abuse.” In the three years since its founding, Ben’s Friends has grown into a nationally recognized support group with chapters in Atlanta; Charleston, S.C.; Asheville, Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; Portland, Ore..; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and Seattle.
Palmer shares some important life lessons in his book, and many people probably don’t realize that even successful hospitality professionals might be wrestling with their own inner demons. If you have someone who you think could benefit from some advice and inspiration, consider buying them a copy of Palmer’s book. It could save a life.
