State's top restaurateur savors sweet taste of success.

• Position: Scott Richardson

In January, at the banquet at which he was named North Carolina restaurateur of the year, Scott Richardson was nearly overcome with stage fright. "I was really moved at the last minute there," says Richardson, who barely lifted his eyes from his notes as he stammered through his acceptance speech.

For a minute, Richardson, 43, lost the confidence that's helped him develop a string of successful restaurants. He sold his interest in two and now owns four: Ryan's Restaurant and three Villa Taverns: one in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Charlotte. Last year, the restaurants grossed more than $8 million.

"Good food, good service, good value, every day. That's the key," Richardson says, sitting amid the clutter of his Winston-Salem office.

After dabbling in commercial real estate, Richardson, a WinstonSalem native, started Ryan's with a partner in 1977 on a wooded lot north of downtown. At the time, few restaurants in town aspired to fine dining. Ryan's was a sensation.

"We weren't perfect by any means," he says. "But we had a long honeymoon period. People gave us a chance, and we got better." Ryan's has expanded four times.

Richardson opened Village Tavern seven years ago in Reynolda Village, where...