Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/615432
Grant DePorter '83, Beth Goldberg Heller '93, Roe Conn '82 Harry Caray's Restaurant Group Doug Sohn '80 formerly of Hot Doug's Noah Himmel '97 Bravo Restaurants Mari '04 & Ken Katsumura '07 Blackbird and The Publican Emidio Oceguera '05 Chicago Cut Steakhouse Mike Klong '95 Truebrew and Workwell Food & Beverage Company Amarit Dulyapaibul '04 Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants Laurene Hynson '73 Sweet Maple Cafe 31 There's little argument that Billy Dec is Chicago's best-known name in hospitality. As CEO and founder of Rockit Ranch Productions, Dec has developed a small empire of Windy City hotspots like Rockit Bar & Grill, Rockit Burger Bar, Underground, Sunda, Bottlefork and The Duck Inn, which was recently awarded a Bib Gourmand designation by Michelin. Dec began his career in hospitality after his family fell on hard times during high school. He paid for part of his senior year at Latin and college by working restaurant and bar jobs. At 22, while in law school, Dec opened his first club. After earning a law degree, Dec had a choice to make and quickly realized that his personality and skills lent themselves more to hospitality than the law. "I liked solving problems quickly, and I liked making people happy immediately, and I knew that I wasn't doing that as a lawyer," said Dec. Today he is happy to delegate to his team at Rockit Ranch while delving into new ventures. He has taken time off to attend Harvard Business School, writes his own blog, is an entertainment contributor for ABC TV, prepares dishes on NBC's "Today Show" and won his second Midwest Emmy Award this fall. Dec also has made forays into acting and recently founded Elston Films with his wife, Kat, to bring more television and movie projects to Chicago. Especially close to his heart currently is his public service work. In 2014, President Obama appointed Dec to serve on his White House Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a role that he is putting his considerable energy into. At press time Dec was attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in the Philippines. Billy Dec '90 Rockit Ranch Productions Latin Magazine ยป Fall 2015