See What Sets A Providence James Beard Nominated Restaurant Apart

PROVIDENCE, RI — Derek Wagner has owned and worked as the executive chef for Nicks On Broadway in Providence for 23 years.

For more than two decades, Wagner has worked extremely hard to create a restaurant that does brunch and fine dining on his own terms — where guests are served quality food that is sourced locally at least 85 percent, staff are inspired in a positive, but rigorous work environment, and where the setting is more inclusive and casual than your average fine dining establishment. And now, Wagner's vision and efforts have paid off in a big way. Nicks on Broadway has been nominated for a James Beard Award — specifically, Wagner is up for the Best Chef: Northeast award.

"Everyone is really happy," Wagner said about his recent nomination in what many refer to as the Oscars of the culinary world. "I'm over the moon with it. It was a really nice surprise. We didn't really expect it this year."

"Sometimes you just get your head down, and you're just working and that calendar just kind of flies by. You get caught up in the errands and stress and prep and production. I try not get myself too worked up. My wife actually called me, and I was in the middle of putting my delivery away when I got the news, and it was just wild, super exciting. It’s not why work hard or do the things we do, but we work really, really hard to be good at what we do and go the extra mile for our guests."

Wagner started his career young and hungry as a graduate of Johnson & Wales. Like many bright-eyed, aspiring chefs, Wagner had aspirations of leaving Providence and traveling to other cities. He did some traveling, but his adventures and love for the Ocean State's culinary scene brought him back home to open Nicks on Broadway in 2001.

"There was this chip on my shoulder in the sense of pride here of how special this place was," Wagner said. "It was a huge part of me that was, 'No, I don't need to go to a big city to make it.'"

Wagner was especially proven right this year about Providence's special place in the U.S. culinary scene. In 2025, four Providence restaurants were nominated for James Beard Awards.

Along with Nicks on Broadway, Oberlin, NIMKI, and Gift Horse were nominated. In total, eight Rhode Island eateries were at least semifinalists in 2025.

"This is unprecedented for Rhode Island and Providence," Wagner said. "It is kind of that validation that I always thought to be true. We have a really special city and special state with a lot of talent and passionate and exceptional people who are creating this inspired hospitality community."

What Sets Nicks On Broadway Apart

With Nicks on Broadway, located at 500 Broadway in Providence, one of Wagner's biggest goals besides serving excellent food is to do everything in what he calls a "sustainable way."

One way he does this is by breaking down animals himself. Rather than using a butcher, Wagner typically buys meat directly from local farms, breaks down the animals himself and uses as much of it as he can to limit waste and foster creativity in his dishes.

With produce, it also means Wagner is buying what is in season from local farmers. If a certain vegetable isn't available, he has to improvise and use something else to make an inspired menu item.

"It was part of an old world sort of mentality that if we really want to do this harmoniously, we have to sort of live in harmony with what is being provided to us and not force something that the ecosystem is not ready to give to us," Wagner said.

Wagner also tries to have a positive culture in the workplace, which he said is a huge part of the "sustainable ethos." He knows working at restaurants can be stressful, but it is also important to him that his employees have opportunities to learn, be happy in their work, and are supported

"I am big about positivity and positive culture, but it is a stressful job, and you care about what you're doing, and you have standards, but for me the only real way is to authentically express that you do care. I don't want them feeling like they are just being mined for effort or energy."

"The true idea of sustainability it can mean a lot of things, but at the end of the day it just means to carry on," Wagner added. "To do that in a healthy way, it’s about the ecosystem we create and that goes back to our relationships."