Katie Lee, the St. Louis restaurateur behind Katie's Pizza & Pasta and the Katie's Fine Foods consumer packaged goods brand, will speak at the New York Public Library's Thomas Yoseloff Business Center on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET. The free, hybrid event — open in person and via Zoom — centers on her new memoir, Unemployable: The Katie Lee Story, and her argument that failure, not success, is the more instructive teacher.
The Operator Behind the Story
Lee's business footprint is larger than most single-city restaurateurs manage to build. Her four-unit pizza and pasta group has operated in St. Louis for 18 years, while her artisan Italian CPG line spans 18 SKUs across more than 8,000 retail outlets nationwide. Katie's is one of 20 brands included in Target's Innovation Collective, and the memoir reportedly sold out at Target locations across the country during an exclusive month-long retail window before moving to wider distribution on Amazon and at Katies.com. The company, which is WBENC-certified and 100% women-owned, employs a team of 500 and operates its own manufacturing plant, importing single-ingredient products directly from Italy.
For restaurant operators tracking how chef-driven brands scale into retail, Lee's dual-channel model — full-service dining alongside a nationally distributed CPG line — offers a real-world case study in brand extension. The same handmade standards that anchor her wood-fired pizzas and house-made pastas are positioned as the differentiator on grocery shelves, a strategy increasingly relevant as foodservice operators look for ways to diversify revenue beyond the four walls.
What She's Saying
"For a long time, I thought my past was something to hide and be ashamed of. It turned out to be the foundation of everything I've built," Lee said. "Every setback taught me something I couldn't have learned any other way."
Published September 27, 2026, by Swan Bluff Press, Unemployable ($24.99 hardcover) chronicles Lee's path from high school dropout and addiction recovery to building what she describes as one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the country. Beyond the book, Lee has also commissioned a vinyl album, One Night at Katie's, and has a documentary and cookbook in development — a content strategy that positions the Katie's brand well beyond the restaurant and retail shelf.
The NYPL talk is free, but registration is required through Eventbrite, with separate links for in-person attendance at 455 Fifth Ave., 5th floor, New York, and for the online stream. This kind of entrepreneurship-focused programming at a major public institution signals growing mainstream interest in the foodservice and hospitality founder story as a genre, particularly narratives that center resilience and non-traditional pathways into the industry.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's Katie Lee's actual retail footprint with Katie's Fine Foods?
She's got 18 SKUs across more than 8,000 retail outlets nationwide, including a featured spot in Target's Innovation Collective—one of only 20 brands in that program. The memoir sold out at Target during an exclusive month-long window before expanding to Amazon and Katies.com.
How big is the Katie's operation beyond the restaurant?
The four-unit St. Louis pizza and pasta concept has been running for 18 years, while the CPG line employs 500 people total and operates its own manufacturing plant with direct imports from Italy. This is a vertically integrated model most operators don't attempt.
When and where is the NYPL event, and who should attend?
November 18, 2026, 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET at the Thomas Yoseloff Business Center—hybrid format, free, open to both in-person and Zoom attendees. Restaurant operators scaling CPG extensions and anyone studying dual-channel brand models should register.
What makes Katie's Fine Foods structurally different from most chef brands?
It's 100% women-owned and WBENC-certified, backed by her own manufacturing plant and direct Italian sourcing. The brand positions the same handmade standards from her wood-fired pizzas as the retail differentiator—not a spinoff, but a direct extension of restaurant DNA.
What's the core thesis of her memoir and why does it matter for operators?
Lee argues failure, not success, is the better teacher, and the book documents how she turned past setbacks into foundation for scaling. For restaurant leaders, it's a real-world case study in converting adversity into multi-channel growth and revenue diversification.