(calm music) - Sometimes life gives you an opportunity to reflect on what you would do with a clean slate.

Our guest on this episode is Billy Dec, restaurateur, actor and award-winning TV personality.

♪ I've thrown away the compass ♪ ♪ Done with the chart ♪ ♪ I'm tired of spinning around ♪ ♪ Looking for direction, northern star ♪ ♪ I'm tired of spinning around ♪ ♪ I'll just step out ♪ ♪ Throw my doubt into the sea ♪ ♪ For what's meant to be will be ♪ - Billy Dec is known for his strong portfolio of restaurants across the country, (relaxing music) including the Sunda New Asian restaurant group, with locations in Nashville, Chicago, Tampa, and Detroit, as well as the recent edition to Nashville's Printers Alley with the Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club.

Described as a serial entrepreneur, creative luminary, Emmy award-winning TV persona and actor and philanthropist, Billy has masterfully curated a diverse portfolio of cutting edge ventures in hospitality, business and marketing, including being the CEO and founder of Rockit Ranch, COACT and HR Pro.

Billy Dec honors his rich academic background with a legacy of service.

As a Chicago-Kent College of Law and Harvard Business School alumnus, he has served as a presidential appointee on the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the White House Bullying Prevention Task Force, and he continues to actively engage and support his community.

A multi-award winner in business, Dec's Influence transcends the business world as a filmmaker, actor, and TV personality.

He currently is launching his inaugural documentary, "Food Roots," where he takes his audience with him on a transformative journey to his mother's native country, the Philippines, soon to be shared with public television audiences across the country.

- Well, I'm headed back to the Philippines To deeply connect with my family.

(crowd cheers) (hip hop music) To really reconnect with the culture.

This is unbelievable.

Our heritage.

(children cheer) And the food that I grew up loving.

To discover my food roots.

- A native of Chicago, Billy and his family now make their home in Nashville, Tennessee.

Billy, oh my goodness, here we are in your special, one of your special places in Nashville.

- Yes.

- The Blueprint Supper Club.

- Yes.

It's actually called the Blueprint Underground Cocktail Club because the original Underground Cocktail Club was this incredible iconic spot in Chicago for 18 years, and having moved here fully for the last six years, I had to bring it with me.

- Absolutely.

And so you're here on Printers Alley, though, which is also iconic to Nashville.

- Yes, I have this secret love for Printers Alley that I've built over time.

Broadway's a little crazy, fun, but nuts, and then there are some wonderful nature, quiet, green, beautiful sort of getaway spots that I have in Nashville.

But to me, printer's Alley was like this little hidden gem that locals would actually go to, tourists would pay homage to, and the history was just so colorful and intriguing, it just sucked me in.

- So you made Nashville your home.

- Yes.

- Even though you were born and raised in Chicago, so we're gonna talk a little bit about that, but why Nashville?

- Well, literally born and raised on the streets of Chicago, no yard, literally high rises downtown, hustle and bustle.

But I always loved nature, and I love green, and I love the getaways and animals that I somehow stumbled upon when visiting here hiking, enjoying Radnor Lake, and some other wonderful gems, while visiting these incredible advisors and mentors that I had made over time that happened to live in Nashville.

And I fell in love with that, then combining it with the success of one of our restaurant concepts, Sun New Asian that opened in Chicago 15 years ago, wanting to expand it to places around the country that perhaps at the time didn't have really wonderful, elevated new Asian food, which is Southeast Asian food of a higher quality.

And when I looked around the country, and I thought about with my advisors what would be a great launching pad into a new city, that was one, growing, two, close, three, had a historic relationship with Chicago.

Nashville was in the top three, and this was eight years ago, now it's obvious everyone's coming to Nashville, but eight years ago, and I was like, "We're gonna go to Tennessee," or, "I'm gonna move to Tennessee," Chicagoans were like, "Are you okay?

What's happening?

Are you in trouble?

Why are you running?"

I was like, no, this is where I think Nashville, you know, eight to 10 years ago when I was doing all the research, I was like, I think it's gonna pop, like hard.

And thankfully a lot of the advisors and good friends that we had out here were part of this network that really made it wonderful to be here.

And it was the right move, Nashville was a great place to bring Sunda, which is in the Gulch, and then now the Blueprint underground.

- Oh, we're so glad you're here, we're so glad you're a Nashvillian.

But I know you're a Chicagoan too, so tell me what you love about Chicago, your hometown.

- Yeah, well, I think growing up I just loved it because it was home, but once I got to travel the world and experienced a lot of different types of cultures, cities, towns, I developed a really great respect and love for the diversity of culture, the culinary, the theater, the music scene, the way in which all of these different backgrounds, personalities, heritage, culture, wove itself into this fabric of Chicago that is really fantastic, it's a really special, wonderful place.

- Well, you know, we're here in the Blueprint, and it feels really kind of like a beautiful blend of Chicago, like you're talking about, and Nashville.

You're a serial entrepreneur, right?

I mean, when I read that about you, I thought, well that's true, you've got all these businesses in entertainment, and in hospitality and in HR and in media.

Why, why Billy?

You're like all over the place.

- I think it's a sickness.

(Becky chuckles) I think I'm a workaholic.

Yeah.

I really love making people happy.

I've come to learn that it's one of the things that I like to do.

And I think everyone's on their own journey and they figure out through self-discovery, at some point, how to clear some of the noise and be like, what do you really like?

I think when you look at hospitality, you look at entertainment, you look at even something like a marketing agency, COACT, that we have, we are helping people be happy, secure, successful, full, together with others, making dreams happen, whatever it is, it's some sort of fulfillment, and I think I get a lot out of that.

And I especially enjoy working with so many like-minded folks who get down and dirty, 'cause it's a tough business.

Well, all business is tough, but you know, the hospitality industry and entertainment industry is tough, and it's pretty cool to collaborate with really amazing people, which really makes the magic, it's definitely not me, it's the collaboration.

- Well, I think your spirit though, just is infused in everything, it's really wonderful to see you engaging.

But also just your team, you're such a team-oriented person.

What are you all working on right now that's so exciting for you?

- Oh, there's so many things.

- Yeah (chuckles).

- Well I would say that this is where I've spent most of my time recently, because it's a really amazing home at the Blueprint Underground to bring artists together and allow them a platform, and, or, support to create and evolve and be where they're fighting to be.

You know?

Yeah, we have so many celebrities in Music City, yes, Broadway is bananas from a tourist's perspective, but there are so many true artists that are really working to create something special.

And it's just cool to have, I keep looking at the stage, because you know, even with, COVID, may not have felt it in Nashville, but around the country, a lot of stages, a lot of tavern stages closed.

And those platforms for art and creative, similar to the way in which in the 1920s, the Printers Alley had such a colorful history (Becky chuckles) and moment there too, it was a time where there was a lot of evolution of music, culture, cocktails, women's rights, community.

And I think there's almost, not just a privilege, but a responsibility to, if you can, bring this platform where this exchange can happen.

And so, I'm really enjoying this.

But the one thing that I think is, I always smile about the most, probably 'cause I have also an awesome team that just is making it happen, is this creative marketing agency, COACT, which really stands for collaborative action to act and work together, so it's all about that where you have hundreds of people around the world that are part of this company, that if at any time you want to accomplish something on behalf of another person or a company, you can literally pick people out and create these A teams.

It's just magic, it's just cool to see them make people's dreams and companies' dreams come true.

That to me is where all of this sort of culminates, like, how do you bring like-minded, amazing, diverse folks together, to create betterment for others?

And yeah, we do it for a business, but we also do it quite a bit for the community, we do a lot of stuff for the community.

- I know you do, and I want to talk to you a little bit about that, about your servant's heart, but I wanna get to it in a minute, not yet.

You do a lot of TV, you know, you've done "The Today Show," but you've also done scripted work, like with friends, and the TV show "Friends," and so many other films, what have you learned in that journey?

- You mentioned "Friends," so that was, well, best friend of mine, David Schwimmer was played Ross on "Friends," he one day just threw me, I remember after I passed the bar exam after law school, he said, "Come on to LA," I remember I had no money at the time, but he was always so kind, he just, you know, took care of it, it was like a gift, and then threw me on "Friends" just to be in the background, or be next to him in this episode, and then I did it once a year after that.

But watching how all of these things are orchestrated so that it comes together in a half hour, hour, oh, and you know, this, of course, (Becky chuckles) it takes a lot of work, and it takes a lot of talents, and it takes a lot of vision and orchestration of all of these amazing inputs.

I just think that whole idea is really interesting, and it's very much what we're trying to do in hospitality.

It takes forever to get all of those pieces, every farmer that creates every vegetable, the meat, the delivery, the beverages, the training that goes into the employees- - The presentation of it all, right?

- Everything, the presentation, the music, the temperature, the lighting, all thousands of things that need to be orchestrated perfectly such that the emotional reaction you create is above and beyond what anyone else could offer that person, even on their couch.

It's really challenging, and it's really gratifying when you hit it, and to me, I saw that in the room and I was mesmerized.

And then I started to host a lot of shows, and I was a little nervous, I was so scared on these four-camera shows, and I was just having panic attacks, and I was nervous, and someone had suggested to me that I should take an improv class, or take acting classes to shred those nerves and to become more comfortable in my skin to perform, or tell a story without being distracted or thrown off.

And it really worked, and I started getting asked to be in different TV shows and movies, and then I really loved it, and I loved becoming someone else for the purpose of collaborating and creating something with a group of people, in front, or behind the camera for the benefit of others, and it was just this cool thing.

I'll also say that I started in this business as a security guy, a bouncer, which really meant I stood around rooms for eight hours a night, for $8 an hour, and I just stared at people for years and years and years to put myself through college and then law school.

And I still do it, like I'm people watching, 'cause I'm trying to figure out what people want, need, anything.

And in doing that, you're trying to figure out what their wants, needs, and desires are by getting into who you think they are and what you think they need.

And to me, when I started acting, I thought it was awesome that I could go back into this library of millions of efforts of trying to take care of people and understand who they were, and have that empathy to kind of pull from, and then sometimes use them as references when I'm taking out a character, or, you know, bombing at an audition or, you know, collaborating with someone in an actual film or a show.

- You know, we talked a little bit about your public servant heart, you really do.

and you've served on a White House commission under President Obama for Asian American citizens, and you have served to get the Olympic bid, and Committee, and you've done so many things.

And in fact, here in Nashville you've done a lot.

What stands out for you here of something that really you, I mean, I read the list of awards that you've received from people for all the good work you've done.

What's something that stands out here?

- Well, I think first of all, I had some pretty dark times early on where I had to work multiple jobs in a really dark place, where I was taking care of family members who were sick, where we lost everything, and it was very scary for years and years.

And I was doing anything I could to help us not crash, burn, drown in this really rough time.

There were people who gave me opportunity to work and to bring food home and do things that helped me and the family.

Had that not happened, I don't know what my life would be like.

And I think in my journey, I just felt like it was a way of life to make sure that I am contributing to this idea that we're all connected.

And if I have strengths in any areas that I could leverage to be of service, it's almost an inherent, of course.

And maybe because I'm in the hospitality industry, and not a lawyer or an accountant or whatever, I am very much connected to the fabric of the hospitality industry and the community such that I can rally folks to help.

I think that's the foundation.

Once I got to Nashville, there were a lot of organizations that were really awesome.

But I do have to say, to answer your question, in a really long way, apparently, that I am most fascinated by a group called People Loving Nashville, started by this family who just started feeding people, probably 15 years or so, I might be messing that up, but I know it's been quite long and consistent.

Not only are they in the communities working with, especially homeless, but also with families that are just struggling a little bit and kids and others, but every Monday they're feeding 300 people in the park for however long, 15, 20 years.

And rain or shine, and I've, you know, helped, and we've made meals for 300 people, gone out there and passed it out, and they're just fascinating.

Because not only are there is there that commitment, but they've also organized such that they get barbers involved to give haircuts, there's mobile showers, they pull up trucks of donated things, and they have a one-on-one conversation with each person, like, "Do you need a backpack?

Do you need socks?

What do you need?

Lemme go through your things."

And it's fascinating, I can't say enough about 'em, called People Loving Nashville, I've been supporting 'em since I got here.

- I know how much family means to you, and I know that you've created an incredible documentary called "Food Roots" that takes you back to your family.

But your family here in Nashville is part of that, your mom and sister and your family in Chicago are part of that.

What is "Food Roots" to you?

- Well, I grew up in a Filipino American family, primarily raised by my Lola, which means grandmother.

And I think in Filipino culture, like many other cultures, but especially in Filipino culture, family is everything, it's incredibly tight, as is food.

And if you ever come over, or ever came over to our house in the past, you probably can tell by coming to our restaurants, but if you ever visit a Filipino family or in the Philippines, it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you will be embraced and you will be brought in and cared for primarily through love and food.

And to me, I think "Food Roots" is that.

I personally, growing up half Filipino, half Caucasian, have many times come in conflict with bullying and other things, 'cause I didn't look like anyone else, I was ambiguously brown, I somehow ended up on both sides of the lines, I could hear how people were talking about each other, and it was very frustrating and hard and stressful and depressing, like, it's a problem.

And I think as I navigated this unique journey as this person in, not only Filipino culture and food, but also this high-end mainstream, what's celebrated relative to what's not, I realized that there was a lot I left behind that I didn't get to learn that a lot of my cousins and family members did, because I was out working and trying to be whatever America said was successful.

Be on TV, be a lawyer, go to Harvard Business School, serve, you know, wherever you can, you know, like be an actor, whatever it was, I was trying to be the things that the world was saying, you're successful if you do these things.

And I think it hit me that, you know, life's short, and I was leaving all this beautiful culture behind.

And so "Food Roots" was a journey back to the islands of the Philippines to learn the recipes of my ancestors, to better understand my heritage, culture and who I am.

- It's beautiful, It's a beautiful film, and I can't wait for us to share that with people, we're working on that.

You know, the premise of this show, Billy, is clean slate.

So what would you do with a clean slate?

Either personally, professionally, or maybe it's for your community.

- I think that's the hardest question in the world.

(Becky chuckles) Because I feel like when someone says clean slate, they're talking about how you would wipe away any negatives or smudges or things that you're not happy with, but anything that I have, and anything that's good that I love, is from tremendous pain and challenge and obstacle, so it's really hard to take those away, 'cause they have created whoever the heck I am.

And so it's really hard, I mean, I am gonna answer your question, but I do think that it's hard, you know?

I think when I was younger I'd be like, "Ah man, I've should have done this," but as I really reflect back, you know, we're all dealing with lots of stuff.

And sometimes you have to think that, you know, those challenges are actually a gift, you know?

And that's life.

It helps you strengthen, it helps you challenge, it helps you evolve.

But I do think there are a lot of silly things that, you know, I just wish I did better when I was younger, you know, like learn Spanish, read more, you know, to be serious about accounting and things that like affect business that, you know, 'cause I'm awesome at like a couple things, but I'm terrible at a million things, like everyone else, and sometimes those I wish I was better at when I was younger.

- Well, you live from a place of gratitude, I can see it, it just exudes out of you.

In just the minutes we have left, what is it about that, what is it that makes you so grateful?

- Well, I think I saw some bad things, I lived through some bad stuff, some tough times, and it could have turned out really bad, so I'm just super grateful I had a shot.

and I could work my way through it.

- I love that, you know?

I love that, and I love that about you.

Who do you think inspired you the most?

- Well, I think there are slivers of a lot of different people in my life, but there is something that I grew up with that a lot of people have, and a lot of people haven't grown up with, that might be able to relate to.

But my mom came here and left, you know, at the time people called it, you know, a third world country, martial law was implemented in the Philippines.

She came here, 21 with nothing, no money, no friends.

Could you imagine 20-year-olds today doing that?

I think that is inspiring because, you know, and sort of elders around me that have lost everything at least once from past, you know, horrors or past problems or life.

And so I think that grit and that perseverance is hugely inspirational.

- You're a good man, Billy, you're fearless and you're our friend.

- I'm not fearless, (Becky chuckles) I'm afraid of a lot of things, but that's a whole other show.

(chuckles) - Okay, we'll get there.

Thank you for this.

(calm music) Thank you.

- Thank you.

- You are a blessing, and we're thrilled to have you and your family in Nashville.

- Thank you so much.

♪ I've thrown away my compass ♪ ♪ Done with the chart ♪ ♪ I'm tired of spinning around ♪ ♪ In one direction ♪ - So Billy, what's your favorite spot in Nashville that you like to explore with your family?

- Radnor Lake.

- Why?

- I feel like there are these animals that I can't believe we see so close, like there could be a deer or a turkey or an owl, or, you know, just I as a nature boy that grew up in the city, you don't get to see those things.

And it's beautiful, and I think it's just long enough to be a challenge, but doable.

I think that's a key element.

And there's all these side trails, you can go up the mountains if you want and make it more challenging.

(gentle music)