SOUTHERN COMFORT
Where the Locals Eat
“The best advice I received was to never
go into the restaurant business”
Full Name: Richard and Kay Miller
Title: Owner
Are you from Haywood County? No, neither of us
are. My wife was born in Greenville, South Carolina and
spent many years in Texas before finding her way here to
Waynesville in 2004. I was born in Hickory and moved to
Waynesville in 1979.
What made you go into the restaurant business?
Well, we opened the Wine Seller, which is still here on
Church Street, back in 1997. When we decided to start
doing wine tasting events, we kind of put ourselves into
the restaurant business with our wine pairings. We saw
the success of the wine pairing events and it all started to
open from there.
How long have you been in the restaurant industry?
Wow! Forever, I think. (laughing). My first restaurant was
Tom’s Dairy Bar back in 1990. It was a shop on Main Street
in Waynesville, and we served ice cream and milkshakes.
Then we opened the Wine Seller in 1997. The Patio Bistro
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