Willie Degel | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Jack Degel September 1, 1967 |
| Occupation(s) | Restaurateur, entrepreneur, TV personality |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Willie "The Beast of the East" Degel (born William Jack Degel on September 1, 1967) [1] is an American restaurateur and television personality. He is the founder and CEO of Uncle Jack's Steakhouse chain in New York City. He is best known as the host of Restaurant Stakeout , a reality television show on the Food Network.
Degel was born and grew up in Queens, New York. He is the youngest of four brothers. [2] [3]
Degel opened his first restaurant, Hollywood and Main, in June 1990 in Flushing, Queens. Six years later he created Uncle Jack's Steakhouse. Today, he owns three locations in New York City. As of March 12, 2012, Degel stars in his own show entitled Restaurant Stakeout . For the series, he goes behind the scenes of different restaurants across the country with hidden cameras to examine their service problems. [4] He is also the author of Inside the Mind of a Serial Entrepreneur, published by HarperCollins in May 2012. Degel appeared in the 2nd episode of Breakthrough with Anthony Robbins. Restaurant Stakeout has completed its fifth season. Meet Crain's New York Business Class of 2005 40 under 40|author=|date=|website=mycrains.crainsnewyork.com}}</ref>