An upscale seafood restaurant in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood is closing after 14 years: Eddie V's Prime Seafood, which has been at 4023 Oak Lawn Ave. since 2010, will close its doors, effective July 28.

A spokesperson for Darden Restaurants confirmed that the restaurant was closing, but that two other Eddie V's locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — in Fort Worth and in Plano — would both remain open.

"This is a tough time for everyone in the Eddie V’s family," the spokesperson said. "Closing this restaurant is a difficult business decision, and I can promise you it’s one we made very carefully and thoughtfully, particularly because it impacts our team members and our guests."

"In no way does this reflect on the quality of our team members’ work, and we’re doing everything we can to help every team member find a new job," the spokesperson said. "We’re offering everyone on the Dallas team the opportunity to join one of the other Darden restaurants in the Dallas area. We continually evaluate the performance of all our restaurants, and this decision was made as part of that process."

Eddie V's was founded in Austin in 2000 by Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles, who sold the concept to Darden in 2011. There are currently 30 locations across 13 states, with eight locations in Texas, in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio — all the cities where CultureMap also has bureaus. Sad that Dallas will soon be off the list.

They say that "seafood is what we're known for, but our specialty is excellence." They bring in seafood from around the world such as scallops from Georges Banks, and tuna from the Caribbean.

There are oysters, a shellfish tower, caviar, tuna tartare, crab cakes, and lobster tacos.

But they also split the menu with USDA Prime steaks, hand cut and aged for more than 28 days, including bone-in ribeye, filet, and NY strip. They also offer steakhouse classics such as a wedge salad, au gratin potatoes, and truffled mac & cheese; and some splendiferous desserts including warm Belgian chocolate cake, made to order.

Employees at the Dallas location say they were grateful to receive a 30-day notice by Darden, who brought in a representative to relay the news, with offers of positions elsewhere in the company.

Darden's other brands include Capital Grille, Yardhouse, Ruth's Chris, Seasons 52, Cheddars Scratch Kitchen, and Olive Garden.

It's sad news both for employees and regulars, but according to one staffer, business at the Dallas location was not as brisk as the locations in Fort Worth and Plano, which only recently opened in August 2022. (Fort Worth was the first Eddie V's to open in North Texas, back in 2009.)

In January 2023, Darden closed a popular location of its Seasons 52 chain, which had been at NorthPark Center for 20 years — but that was due not to lack of business but to the landlord choosing not to renew the lease. (It was replaced by a location of Joey, a Canadian chain.)

Darden has also been busy with openings as well, including a Capital Grille that just opened in Southlake.