The Village At Queensridge Signs Mermaid Inn And Mikuni/for Both, First Foray Into Las Vegas Market

DANNY ABRAMS TO OPEN MERMAID INN AND SPEAKEASY- STYLE BAR, MIKUNIS TO OPEN TARO'S BY MIKUNI,

AT THE VILLAGE AT QUEENSRIDGE
First Time Out of New York City and California -

Two Famed Restaurateurs Choose Northwest Las Vegas Suburb Location Over The Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS (October 18, 2007) - Two world-class restaurateurs are heading to the northwest Las Vegas suburbs for their first foray out of their respective New York and California markets.

Danny Abrams, owner of Manhattan's acclaimed East Village seafood restaurant Mermaid Inn and founder of Prohibition, the popular 1920's speakeasy-style bar on New York City's Upper West Side, is bringing both concepts to The Village at Queensridge, a 29-acre mixed-use neighborhood rising at the edge of Summerlin in Las Vegas. Mikuni -- which has won Sacramento's "Best Sushi Restaurant" for ten consecutive years -- has also just announced plans to open Taro's By Mikuni at The Village at Queensridge.

Rising in the Queensridge master-planned community just 11 miles northwest of the Las Vegas Strip, The Village will feature more than 700,000 square feet of upscale retail, restaurant, entertainment and office space, in addition to 340 distinctive and upscale condominium homes.

"First and foremost, I've always been an operator with a neighborhood sensibility, so I'm not going to The Strip the first time out of gate," says Danny Abrams. "Developments such as The Village are exciting because it takes a bit more faith to bring in privately-owned, not-so-ubiquitous operators - it creates something for the community with integrity and gives the project a unique personality."

Derrick Fong, CEO of Mikuni, has likewise built his Japanese restaurant business on local appeal. "We were very careful in our site selection," he says, noting his company spent many years searching for the right location in Las Vegas. "The right choice for us was not The Strip, which caters to tourists, but instead going into in the vibrant, well-healed community of Queensridge, where patrons want to have a fun experience without having to go to the casinos. The quality of the project, the attention to detail, the vision the developers are trying to achieve, were all part of the equation for us. It's very well thought out."

Mikuni intends to operate the 7,200-square-foot restaurant under its Taro's By Mikuni concept and offer the award-winning Mikuni sushi and innovative rolls along with other Asian-themed dishes. Abram's Mermaid Inn will open in approximately 2,500 square feet of space, while his bar -- which he says will "capture the spirit of live jazz in a sexy setting, offering hand-crafted, intricate cocktails" -- will be in 3,000 square feet.

Another famed restaurant already scheduled to open at The Village is Mastro's Steakhouse. As with Mermaid Inn and Mikuni, The Village will become the first Las Vegas location for Mastro's.

These restaurants will join other eateries and a diverse mix of interesting and much anticipated retailers and services for men, women and children, and include apparel, jewelry and home furnishing stores. For example, Kidville, which operates upscale facilities catering to newborns through five-year-old children and their families, has announced plans to open in 16,000-square-feet at The Village. This will be Kidville's first location outside of New York City.

Developed by an affiliate of Executive Home Builders (EHB), a premiere builder in the valley, The Village is scheduled to be open in late 2008.





About The Village at Queensridge

The Village at Queensridge, scheduled to open by fourth quarter 2008, will be a dynamic mixed-use community that promises to change the way residents li