Derek Wagner '99
Owner/Chef - Nick's on Broadway
It's the kind of place where, if you manage to squeeze in the door, you've earned a 
personal hello from the young chef and owner, Derek Wagner ’99 . As a graduate from the College of Culinary Arts, Derek is a veteran of the Providence culinary scene and has worked in such prestigious restaurant establishments as Agora, the flagship restaurant for the Westin Hotel in Providence where he served as executive chef. In March of 2002, Derek decided to streamline his talents by taking over an old restaurant and making it his own with a blend of streamlined '50s diner décor and a new wave of updated flavors that serves up gourmet breakfasts, lunches, and dinners in short order. Since Derek has opened his restaurant, it has found a steady clientele of students and other locals who appreciate its unique combination of uptown flair and down-home friendliness.
With many of his successes, Derek has been featured in Food & Wine Magazine, The Boston Globe, Rhode Island Monthly, Providence Journal, and many other publications for not only his fine dining establishment but for his many seasoned talents as a Chef. In September of 2007, those talents were picked up by executives from the Food Network. Derek appeared on the Food Network’s Chef’s Challenge. The show presented Derek with a tightly run, orderly competition, but for Derek it was anything but. He embraced this challenge as he has done so often in his successful career. As an advocate for JWU, Derek recently participated in the Alumni Emerging Leaders program at the Providence Campus where he demonstrated his talents to the College of Culinary Arts students in the hopes of inspiring them to do what he loves best.
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