(Dallas, Texas) – Eddie V’s Restaurants Inc. owners and longtime friends Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles have announced the executive team that will lead the staff at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Dallas. Brad Albers and Mario Vega are the new Executive Chef and General Manager, respectively, for the 300-seat restaurant located at 4023 Oak Lawn at Avondale.

    They began work on site in early March to hire and prepare over 120 new staff members for the restaurant’s opening on Monday, April 19, 2010.

    The two have solid national and international résumés. Raised in Dallas, Chef Albers trained at the California Culinary Academy before spending three years apprenticed to a master chef in Islisberg, Switzerland. He returned to California as executive chef for The Hillcrest before his return to Dallas as corporate executive chef and vice president at Café Pacific and Patrizio, where he worked for over ten years. Under his direction, Café Pacific rose to Zagat’s #1 Seafood Restaurant in Dallas from 1999 to 2007. He then served as chef de cuisine at Maguire’s Regional in Dallas.    Mr. Albers joined Eddie V’s with a stint at the Fort Worth Museum Place location from November 2009 until his Dallas transfer this winter.

    Mr. Vega was raised in Redwood City, Calif., and grew up working at the Bella Vista, the restaurant owned and operated by his father, a Salvadoran immigrant. Mr. Vega completed the management program at Woodside Hotels and Resorts, a Four-Star, Four Diamond boutique hotel company in the San Francisco Bay Area. After posts at a number of high-profile restaurants, Mr. Vega joined Eddie V’s Restaurants, Inc. in Texas to open two Eddie V’s properties: the Roaring Fork in North Austin and Eddie V’s Houston. Most recently, Mr. Vega was general manager at another Eddie V’s brand restaurant, Wildfish, in Scottsdale, Ariz.

    “At Eddie V’s it’s about care, execution, and a whole lot of love – that’s what sets Eddie V’s apart,” said Mr. Albers. ”This is a great restaurant in a great location, and we’re ready to go.”

    Working with Eddie V’s Prime Seafood owners Guy Villavaso, Larry Foles, President and COO Jim VanDercook, and corporate Executive Chef John Carver, the two expect Eddie V’s Dallas to infuse new energy into Dallas dining.

    Eddie V’s will take dinner reservations nightly and offers private rooms perfect for any special event. Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Dallas will open for dinner from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Happy Hour in the V Lounge runs from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with $2 off drinks and $3 off appetizers. The V Lounge offers live music nightly and is open until 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Reservations are recommended; call 214-890-1500 or book a reservation online at www.opentable.com.

    Founded in 2000, Eddie V’s Restaurants, Inc. is a privately held, mid-sized entrepreneurial restaurant group representing three distinctive, casually elegant concepts: Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Wildfish Seafood Grille, and The Roaring Fork. Co-founders Larry Foles and Guy Villavaso combined their 30 years of restauranteurship experience and their admiration for great American seafood restaurants to develop Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille. With the development of The Roaring Fork they set out to capture the spirit of bold American West cooking. This company operates their highly profitable restaurants in Arizona, California, and Texas.

    For more information about the Dallas Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, please visit www.eddiev.com. “Follow” Eddie V’s on Twitter @EddieVsDallas and become a fan on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EddieVsDallas.