Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, an upscale restaurant chain, is looking for approval from the City of Gaithersburg to construct a 10,000-square-foot restaurant fronting Gaithersburg’s Lake Varuna, according to an application filed Aug. 12 with city planners.
If the project is approved and constructed, the restaurant will be the first Maryland location for the restaurant chain. The MoCoShow first reported Eddie V’s proposal to construct the restaurant.
According to the application filed by the property owner, 151 Lakelands LLC, the restaurant is proposed for the corner of Lakeland Drive and Great Seneca Highway next to the lake. The development plan is under review and a public hearing has not been scheduled, according to the City of Gaithersburg’s planning website.
A media representative for Darden Concepts, which owns and operates Eddie V’s, did not respond to MoCo360’s multiple calls and emails for comment.
Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Yard House, the Capital Grille and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse are among some of the restaurants owned and managed by Darden Concepts.
Eddie V’s offers an upscale dining experience with signature cocktails, a jazz lounge and private events, according to its website. At its other locations, Eddie V’s menu includes oysters, Maine lobster bisque, crab fried rice and ahi tuna for lunch and dinner offerings include a shellfish tower, steak tartare, Chilean sea bass, scallops and cold-water lobster.
Eddie V’s operates 30 locations in the United States, with the closest to the county in Tyson’s Corner in McLean, Virginia, according to the chain’s website.
The restaurant’s proposed site has been the subject of controversy in recent years after the property owner applied to build a 12,900-square-foot daycare/early childhood education building, according to city planning documents. Currently, the site is a forested green area.
The application was “controversial and resulted in vigorous community opposition to what was deemed to be despoilation of a natural area, with an adjacent lake, that had become, de facto, a community-oriented space,” the documents stated.
The city’s planning commission recommended approval of the childcare center to the City Council but in August 2021 the Gaithersburg City Council voted 3-2 to deny the application. The property owner filed an appeal of the council’s decision to the Montgomery County Circuit Court. After oral arguments were heard, a judge affirmed the council’s decision to deny the application in June 2022.
The site remains zoned for a 6,000-square-foot restaurant. According to planning documents, Eddie V’s approached the property owners with interest in the site due to its proximity to the lake for a “water view dining experience,” a large surrounding population and easy access from nearby transit routes.