Jerome Walker, with a boyhood photo looking over him.

In 1983, I was welding at the CP&L nuclear plant when my father-in-law asked me to manage the Seafood Barn at Holden Beach for him. I love a challenge and figured this would be a good one.

My first attempt at catering was for Festival by the Sea — clam chowder and gumbo in big pots. I didn’t have all the right equipment, but got through it, and decided then to get everything I needed to do it right. Fast forward to 2003, and Mr. Floyd of Kirby’s Steakhouse, located where my restaurant is now, called me. He wanted me to take it over and told me how much he wanted per month. I told him I’d be there in the morning, and I’ve never looked back.

The community has been good to me. We’ve catered everything from ATMC’s Annual Meetings to the Shriners golf tournament and everything in between. We’re proud of how we feed the linemen at BEMC district offices when a bad storm hits. We sleep on-site on mats and are up at 3 a.m. getting a buffet breakfast ready so the crews can eat quickly while they meet with their supervisors and get their plan for the day. Then we feed those tired, hungry men again at the end of the day, and get ready to do it again.

During Hurricane Florence, as the water was still rising, I went to the Whiteville office to relieve one of my employees because her family was in Supply, and she needed to be there. Soon after, the Brunswick County manager called and asked if I could provide food for a thousand people at their shelters. I told him I was stranded in Whiteville. They sent a helicopter, and we fed the folks in the shelters for the next week or so.

Of course, it’s only possible because of my employees. I have the best team ever. Most have been with me for at least 10 years, and some as long as 40. I want them to enjoy coming to work. I hope they know how much I appreciate them, because they are great individuals who are excellent at what they do. It’s like a ball team, you have to have the right people playing the right positions; and if you’re going to the championship, everyone has to be playing at the top of their game. And even though it’s hard work, it’s very satisfying knowing you’ve done your best and made some people happy.

At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.