Unemployable: How Katie Lee Scaled From St. Louis to Target Shelves Nationwide
Katie Lee is the owner of Katie's Pizza & Pasta — a St. Louis food empire spanning four restaurants, a frozen pizza manufacturing facility, and an e-commerce business employing around 500 people. Now she's also a published author.
Her new memoir, *Unemployable: The Katie Lee Story*, traces a turbulent childhood, battles with addiction and sobriety, and the unlikely rise of one of St. Louis's most relentless entrepreneurs. The title comes from a phrase her father, Tom Lee, used to describe them both — and Katie flipped it into a badge of honor.
In this episode, Katie sits down with host Venita Rizvic, special sections editor at the St. Louis Business Journal, to discuss:
- Why she wrote the book as a way to mourn her father and her close friend Rolando
- The tough-love lessons from her father that shaped her entrepreneurial grit
- Writing and self-publishing the memoir in 30 days to meet a Target deadline
- The Target partnership that grew her CPG line from 500 to 7,500 doors in one year
- Balancing single motherhood with a rapidly expanding business
- What's next: a new 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, a documentary, and more
*Unemployable* is available now at Target stores nationwide, on Amazon, and at katies.com. Independent bookstore distribution begins November 1st.
The Arch City Report is presented by the St. Louis Business Journal, with supporting sponsors Maryville University (https://www.maryville.edu/) and Cass Commercial Bank (https://www.cassbank.com/).
24 Sept 2026
After Mark Twain, the next target for downtown cleanup
After 1,700 police calls over a decade, the Mark Twain Hotel is finally closed. The settlement reached by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway with the hotel's owner marked a major early win for Downtown Forward, a nonprofit launched this spring to tackle problem properties and improve quality of life in downtown St. Louis.
Erik sits down with attorney Jerry Schlichter — co-founder of Schlichter Bogard and co-founder of Downtown Forward — to discuss how the Mark Twain closure came together, the relocation of 168 residents through partnerships with the city and Peter & Paul Community Services, and the problem properties and street-level drug activity still facing the area around the Old Post Office and Schnucks Culinaria. Schlichter also shares his decades-long commitment to the urban core, his role in championing the state historic tax credit, and why his firm has never left downtown.
This episode of the Arch City Report is brought to you by Maryville University and Cass Commercial Bank.
SHOW LINKS:
Mark Twain Hotel owner agrees to settlement over hazardous conditions, criminal activity (https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2026/08/27/catherine-hanaway-mark-twain-hotel-settlement.html)
Missouri attorney general targets Mark Twain Hotel over alleged drug trafficking (https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2026/07/07/mark-twain-hotel-catherine-hanaway-close.html)
Nonprofits highlight efforts to rehouse Mark Twain Hotel residents (https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2026/09/17/peter-paul-community-services-mark-twain-hotel.html)
17 Sept 2026
Trump policy upends Metro East fuel plant
When a new presidential administration takes office, policy shifts can ripple through the business world in unexpected ways. This week, reporter Jim Drew joins the show to share the story of Chrysalis Biosciences — a company that, at the start of 2024, was poised to transform a shuttered ethanol plant in Sauget, Illinois into a production facility for renewable jet fuel. With a landmark investment from a $200 million sustainable aviation fuel fund led by Airbus, the future looked bright.
But after Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Biden-era support for sustainable fuels evaporated, investors lost interest, and Chrysalis was forced to pivot. Erik and Jim break down how changes to federal tax credits, carbon intensity scoring, and the Inflation Reduction Act reshaped the playing field — not just for Chrysalis, but for ethanol producers nationwide. Plus, we explore the company's next chapter: a two-part strategy to restart conventional ethanol production while building new fermentation technology to manufacture biopolymers and surfactants, potentially adding 100 jobs to the Metro East economy.
Then, events director Dana Dhom stops by to preview the St. Louis Business Journal's upcoming events, including the Fast 50 Awards on September 24th at City Winery and the 40 Under 40 Awards on November 5th at FanDuel Sports Live in Ballpark Village — plus a look ahead at upcoming panel discussions on the city-county merger question and the future of downtown St. Louis.
Read Jim Drew's full reporting on Chrysalis Biosciences at bizjournals.com/stlouis. (bizjournals.com/stlouis.)
See the full SBJ events calendar here (https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/event)
Who has been a guest on The Arch City Report
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Jarrad Holst
Jefferies
Ivan Garcia
Berto Garcia
Andrew Martin
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
14 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
81
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
Contact The Arch City Report
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
