About

Our Story

The original Village Tavern opened its doors in 1984 in Winston Salem NC. The idea was simple, serve the best possible food, at affordable prices, using only the finest freshest ingredients, and to enrich the lives of each other, our guests, and our community. In other words to make a positive difference.

Today, just as in 1984, we remain committed to our founding principles. Be a Great place to work, deliver Great Food, Great Service, and Great Value to our guests everyday. That's what we do, and we love what we do.

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Village Tavern Corporate Executive Chef Mary Grace Graduates from Harvard

Meet Our Corporate Executive Chef

Mary Grace Viado

In 2002, Mary Grace joined the Village Tavern and quickly advanced to Corporate Executive Chef for eight locations in 2008. Her innovative recipes and signature dishes were the subject of numerous articles in lifestyle and food magazines, and her creative cooking also earned her a Governor's Award in Alabama.

Prior to joining the Village Tavern team, Mary Grace started her career interning at Masa's Restaurant in San Francisco, then earned a prestigious James Beard Foundation scholarship that help her attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where she graduated top of her class. Mary Grace fine-tuned her culinary reputation by cooking at several top New York restaurants including Restaurant Daniel, Aquavit, Le Cirque 2000, Aureole, Payard Patisserie and Bistro, Café des Artistes and Le Bernardin.

Mary Grace was one of the scholars of the 2014 Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program of The Culinary Institute of America and was the recipient of the 2015 James Beard Foundation's Jean-Louis Palladin Professional Scholarship. This allowed her the opportunity to work at the Browne Trading Co. in Portland, Maine, where she enhanced her skills in working with fish and seafood.

To further develop her leadership skills that are needed to generate change and drive innovation in today's economy, Mary Grace graduated from the Harvard Business School's Executive Education Program for Leadership Development and earned full Harvard Alumni Status in 2023. The first Chef in Harvard Business School to accomplish this.