Meet Jamie Sanderson: Men and Women Building North America Series

In South Carolina’s culinary circles, the name Jamie Sanderson is well known. He’s the man behind The Culinary Encourager, a social media presence dedicated to uplifting local restaurants with one simple rule: no negativity. No harsh reviews. Just encouragement, smiles, and shining a light on the people working hard to keep their doors open.

And it all started with a burger.

After a workplace injury left Jamie sidelined for two years and recovering from multiple surgeries, he stopped at a small bright-blue restaurant on Front Street in Georgetown. The menu featured a BBQ pork burger that caught his eye.

“I took a picture of it, not really planning to do much with it,” Jamie recalls. “I just wanted to show my wife later.” He posted it on his personal social media, and to his surprise, the picture drew a wave of likes and comments.

When he returned to the restaurant days later, he showed the owner the positivity the post had received. The man broke down in tears. No one had ever promoted his restaurant like that before.

That simple exchange sparked a friendship between Jamie’s family and the restaurant owner. Jamie’s daughter held her graduation party there. His family hosted multiple gatherings at the restaurant. And when the owner decided to close the doors to move in a different direction, he wanted to mark the occasion by naming two burgers after Jamie and his wife.

During that closing night service, Jamie and his wife looked at each other and realized they didn’t want the experience to end there. “We decided we had to keep doing this,” Jamie says. “Not just for him, but for every restaurant in Georgetown County.”

Encouragement in Every Space

Jamie’s second life as an encourager of the culinary industry mirrors the work he does every day at Kloeckner Metals Greenville, where he serves as Safety Manager. After spending 15 years at a steel mill in Georgetown, he moved upstate and found a new home at Kloeckner.

His daily routine is now built around making sure his teammates go home the same way they came in – safe and sound.

He leads morning and afternoon pre-shift huddles, opening each day with safety messages and fielding questions. He conducts risk assessments on machines when needed, and he performs regular safety observations, not just to identify risks, but to reinforce the good. “Positive reinforcement is important,” Jamie explains. “When people are doing things the right way, they need to hear it.”

It’s not so different from what he does in the culinary industry. Maybe it’s a brand new spot just opening its doors, or maybe it’s a diner that’s been around forever — Jamie treats them the same, with encouragement, not criticism.

A Beacon of Light

To Jamie, both roles come down to people. At Kloeckner, it’s the teammate on the floor. In the community, it’s the chef, the server, or the family trying to make their restaurant work. For him, food is just one way to do that.

“When people see me out here encouraging the culinary industry, I hope they take that with them,” he says. “Be positive. Put a smile on someone’s face. Make them feel welcome and appreciated.”

Whether he’s leading a safety huddle at Kloeckner or posting about a new diner across town, Jamie Sanderson is proving that encouragement builds safer workplaces and stronger restaurants. But it also builds community. It builds connection. It builds people.

Because for Jamie, building North America is about creating a culture where people are protected, supported, and valued – on the shop floor, at the table, and everywhere in between.

Watch How Jamie Sanderson is Building North America