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What Makes Steve Palmer Run

Photos 27Issue February 2026
Oak Steakhouse, Indigo Road Hospitality Group’s first venture on Broad StreetCertified Angus Beef prime rib eye from the Nashville outpost, which opened in 2017Oak NashvilleA seafood tower at Oak CharlestonThe courtyard of Skyline Lodge near Highlands, North CarolinaModern Japanese cuisine from Junto in Bentonville, ArkansasIf You Build It: Indigo Road Hospitality Group founder, managing partner, and chief vision officer Steve Palmer at Brasserie la BanqueExpanding Markets: Indigo Road opened Oak Nashville in 2017.By the summer of 2024, the group had expanded into Northwest Arkansas, launching the laid-back tropical Bar Kapu in the Motto by Hilton Downtown Bentonville, alongside modern Japanese eatery Juntu Sushi.Owning It: Palmer laid his troubled youth, alcohol and drug addictions, and despair on the table in his 2019 memoir, Say Grace: How the Restaurant Business Saved My Life.Palmer at the Sestina ribbon-cutting in Bentonville, ArkansasOak Steakhouse, Rogers, ArkansasOak Steakhouse, CharlestonBar Kapu, Bentonville, ArkansasTown Hall, FlorenceThe Flagship: When Broad Street’s Oak Steakhouse was struggling in 2009, the owners hired Palmer as a consultant to right the ship. Within a month, he became managing partner, and Indigo Road Hospitality Group was born. A year later, O-Ku Sushi opened on King Street.Yes, Chef: Palmer brought on chef Jeremiah Bacon, an alum of New York’s Le Bernardin and Per Se, to helm Oak, as well as their next venture, a farm-to-table restaurant on Upper King. The Macintosh opened in September 2011 in the hot, new dining district. Palmer believes it saved Oak.What Makes Steve Palmer RunGiving Back: Palmer and longtime friend and F&B colleague Mickey Bakst have collaborated in addressing needs in their industry and the community. In 2016, they created Ben’s Friends, now a multi-city community of chefs, restaurateurs, and hospitality professionals supporting each other in sobriety.Since 2009, their annual Dining for a Cause event (at Indigo Road’s The Cedar Room) has raised millions of dollars to benefit Charleston Chefs Feed the Need.Speaking Up: Palmer created his podcast, Say Grace: Food for Thought in Hospitality, to “explore the transformative power of hospitality, resilience, and grace in shaping lives and the food industry.” Among his guests since it launched in January 2025, have been chef and TV personality Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame.Union Square Hospitality Group founder (Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack) and best-selling author Danny MeyerRestaurateur, author, and The Bear coproducer Will Guidara.On a Roll: The original O-Ku Sushi opened on King Street in 2010. Today, there are nine, from Virginia to Florida, with two more in the works.Gather ’Round: With the opening of each Indigo Road property, like Shokudô on King Street (above) in October 2025, Palmer leads “Coffee & Culture,” a team meeting to “set the true north of our values,” which he describes as “a people-first policy since great service starts with well-cared-for employees.”Leading the Way: Indigo Road hosts its annual, two-day leadership conference in Charleston, bringing teams together for professional enrichment as well as some fun.Family Time: Palmer and his wife, Shelby, and daughter, Madi, make an annual family trek to The Ranch at Rock Creek in Montana for some well-deserved R&R.

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What Makes Steve Palmer Run: How a Charleston entrepreneur built a Southern restaurant empire, one meeting at a time
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