🪑🎙️ IN THE HYPE SEAT: Randy Sauder’s Journey From Orphanage in Korea, to Owning A Beloved Restaurant
Randy Sauder is a veteran of the restaurant industry and owner of Sauder’s Landing in Jensen Beach, Florida. Having started his journey working in restaurants as a bus boy at the age of 15 and risen to the ranks of Manager, General Manager, Franchisee, and eventually purchasing his own restaurants. In this fascinating episode of In The Hype Seat, host Holly Meyer Lucas learns about his background as an orphan from Korea and how he built his career over the years working for some of America’s most beloved restaurant brands, including Perkins and more!
Randy Sauder: The Journey from Orphanage in South Korea to Restaurant Ownership In South Florida
If you know Nettles Island in Jensen Beach, you know Sauder’s Landing. With more than five hundred glowing 5-star online reviews, hundreds of fans of Facebook, and a menu that has been consistently beloved for years, the waterfront restaurant has become one of the Treasure Coast’s best-kept secrets — a true gem known for fresh seafood, friendly service, and a menu regulars swear by. But the story behind the man who runs it is even more remarkable.
But owner, Randy Sauder didn’t take the conventional path to restaurant ownership; far from it in fact. He not only worked his way up through every position in the kitchen, starting working at a restaurant when he was just 15 years old as a bus boy, but his story starts when he was an orphan in South Korea, adopted into the United States at six years old, and nearly separated from his sister.
In this episode of In The Hype Seat, host Holly Meyer Lucas sits down with Randy Sauder as he tells his story - how he worked his way through every position in the restaurant business — bus boy, dishwasher, cook, manager, and even franchisee. Each step taught him the value of consistency, discipline, and resilience. Those lessons now live inside Sauder’s Landing, where every plate of crab cakes, every bowl of chowder, and every view of the marina carries the weight of a lifetime of work.
An Orphan in South Korea and A Sister’s Stand
Owner Randy Sauder was not born into stability or privilege. He and his sister Maryanne were born into war-torn South Korea, where their birth mother struggled to raise them alone. By the time Randy was six and Maryanne was nine, his mother realized she could not provide the life they needed. With heartbreaking resolve, she made arrangements through the Holt Adoption Agency in Seoul and brought her children to the orphanage. Randy remembers the orphanage in fragments and retells the story on the podcast about how she dropped him and his sister off — the alley, the gate, the hand of a staff member reaching out to take them. He did not even see his mother to walk away - He never saw her again.
Soon thereafter, fifty American families made a trip to Seoul to adopt the Korean orphans. Maryanne was originally going to be adopted by Randy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sauder alone, but when she refused to leave without Randy, they agreed to adopt him as well. This bold stand by Maryanne shaped Randy’s life forever, and he, his sister, and his new parents flew together back to the United States to start their new life together.
From Bus Boy to Restaurant Franchisee
Sauder’s Landing
At fifteen, Randy took his first restaurant job as a bus boy. It was not glamorous, but it was clear. He liked the rhythm of a kitchen. He liked the way a dining room has rules and timing. He learned to move without being asked, to notice small details, to repeat what worked. Over time those skills became a philosophy that touched everything he did.
He worked his way through roles most people never see. Back of house and front of house. Line and management. He learned that the fundamentals matter more than show. Heat and time. Seasoning and texture. Service that is steady, kind, and predictable in a good way.
Creating Sauder’s Landing
More than a decade ago, Randy took that discipline to Nettles Island in Jensen Beach and opened Sauder’s Landing. The location sits inside a guard-gated waterfront community off A1A, which makes it feel like a local secret. For first-timers, the logistics are simple. Tell the gate you are going to the restaurant and you will be waved in.
The beloved restaurant Sauder’s Landing on Nettles Island
Inside, the space gives diners choices. There is an air-conditioned dining room. There is a covered tiki area. There is an open deck that was added during the pandemic. From any seat you can see water or a boat. The setting tells you what kind of experience this will be before the first plate lands.
A menu designed around trust
Randy does not chase novelty. He builds trust. The crab cakes are a signature. The fries are hand-cut from Idaho potatoes, washed, blanched, cooled, and finished to order. In season, the kitchen goes through hundreds of pounds a week. Onion rings are made by hand. Regulars talk about the green beans with the kind of loyalty most restaurants reserve for desserts.
Seafood gets the same care. There is often fresh mahi on special. Scallops show up with a house Kokomo sauce made with curry, coconut milk, brown sugar, and a touch of red pepper, served over buttered rice. The clam chowder has a following. So does the linguine with white clam sauce, which draws compliments from well-traveled guests who tell Randy it is the best they have had.
The realities behind the scenes
Randy is honest about restaurant ownership. Staffing is the hardest part. Since the pandemic it has required constant adjustment. During busy months, the floor needs multiple servers at once. In the slower season, he keeps the team lean and standards high. Food costs move. Margins are tight. The response is the same every time. Control what you can control and never compromise the fundamentals.
Corporate experience left useful lessons. He mentions learning to think about menu balance and margins from stops at large chains. You learn which items move quickly, which items carry the right cost, and how to protect consistency when the dining room is full.
Waterfront, with the tradeoffs that come with it
Part of what makes Sauder’s Landing special is the water. That brings challenges too. The marina in front of the restaurant is owned by a separate entity, and recent hurricanes damaged the docks. Legal and rebuild timelines have limited boat slips. When a spot is open, boats can still pull up, but the capacity will improve once rebuilding is complete. Insurance is a reality on the shoreline. The building sits very close to the water, which affects what policies are available. None of it changes the view, or the feeling of eating a meal while watching the marina.
What guests actually feel
Ask around and you hear the same things. People feel seen at Sauder’s Landing. Regulars are greeted by name. Randy is present. He moves from the line to the dining room and back again. The food tastes the way it did last month and last year, which is exactly the point. Diners come for the crab cakes and fries, the scallops and green beans, and the reliability of a place that knows who it is.
The thread that runs through it all
Randy’s story reads as a sequence of steady choices, work ethic, and personal sacrifice - A young man who chose work that rewards consistency. A restaurant owner who shows up every day and holds the line on what matters. He gets emotional when he talks about his sister and it is easy to see why - her decision to not separate from her brother was a catalyst for the rest of his beautiful life, including how he met his wife and his own children. His restaurants reflect similar values - Connection. Loyalty. Family. And a sense that no one gets left behind.
Randy Sauder’s life is marked by hard work, doing the right thing, showing up for your family, and a career built by putting one foot in front of the next. Sauder’s Landing is a restaurant that makes people feel taken care of, with a heavy undertone of work ethic. Show up. Do the work. Serve great food.
Listen to the full conversation
Hear Randy tell his story on In The Hype Seat with Holly Meyer Lucas: “From Korean Orphanage to Bus Boy to Restaurant Owner.” Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.
