Freddie L. James Jr., one of the owners of the husband-and-wife-owned Freddie Lee’s Gourmet Sauces, starts his day at 3 am by making sauce. “I love coming down here early because I don’t have no distractions and I can focus,” he says.
James first created his signature barbecue sauce for family and friends in 1986 and with his wife, Deborah James, transformed it into Freddie Lee’s Gourmet Sauces. Their all-purpose sauces include Freddie Lee’s Ghetto Sauce and Freddie Lee’s American Gourmet Sauce.
Freddie Lee’s Gourmet Sauces can be found at grocery stores such as Schnucks, Dierbergs, and Hy-Vee. “[Schnucks] immediately gave us five stores,” he says. “And when I started doing demos at those stores, they gave us five more. Then, they told me they were going to put us in all of them, so we’re in 99 Schnucks stores.”
After transitioning their business from their home to the St. Patrick Center’s business incubator, Freddie and Deborah have now purchased their own building, a small strip mall where a convenience store was once located.
Freddie and Deborah help other barbecue sauce businesses get on the grocery store shelves, too. “Freddie and I always say that someone helped us to get to where we are,” Deborah says. “And we want to do the same thing, it’s part of paying it forward.”
In the industry for 18 years, Freddie and Deborah plan to keep their company in St. Louis, the city that helped them build their business, and continue bringing people together with their unique sauces.
Join Nine PBS Producer Jim Kirchherr in discovering the skill and dedication that makes up each bottle of Freddie Lee’s Gourmet Sauces.
Monday, February 20, 7 pm on Nine PBS and livestream.
Stream after broadcast on the PBS App.
