Despite his physical limitations from birth--a form of dwarfism known as diastrophic dysplasia, a cleft palate, clubfeet, and scoliosis--Fred Gill rose above his circumstances to graduate college and open his first restaurant by the young age of twenty-two.

In 1998, Fred took a life-changing trip to Nashville during the city's annual country music celebration, where he met John Rich. That fateful meeting led to a regular job as...