The Future 50

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, formerly Eddie V’s Edgewater Grille, is a casual dining seafood chain that draws inspiration from the “great classic seafood restaurants” of three major U.S. cities: New Orleans, San Francisco and Boston. To complement its array of fresh-from-the-docks seafood, Eddie V’s also offers a selection of USDA Prime center-cut steaks. Friends Larry Foles and Guy Villavaso, the veteran restaurateurs who created the Z’Tejas Southwestern Grille chain in the ’80s, joined forces to establish the Eddie V’s Edgewater Grille concept in Austin, Texas, in 2000. A second Austin location followed a short time later. Additional units opened in Houston and Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2012, Eddie V’s and sister concept Wildfish Seafood Grille were acquired by Darden Restaurants Inc. for $59 million.