Restaurants New and Restaurants Adieu in Ventura County, January to July 2012

The Local Buzz section of CVG is where we enjoy sharing tidbits on new restaurants opening or planning to open in and around the Conejo Valley and greater Ventura County. We also cover restaurants that close their doors.

Overall, we've noticed quite a lot of activity so far this year, so how about a quick summary for your dining pleasure (or displeasure as the case may be):

New Restaurant Announcements

• Possible new Vietnamese cafe in Camarillo
• Drive-through Chick-fil-A in Thousand Oaks to open in late summer
• Bauducco's Westlake Village closed but indicates it will re-open at new location
• Village Burgers to open in Thousand Oaks at date TBA
• Smashburger Thousand Oaks opened in July
• Drive-through Starbucks approved for Rancho Road and Thousand Oaks Blvd
• White Rabbit Fusion Cafe opened in Oxnard in June
• Fire Island Grill opened in Simi Valley about a month and a half ago
• Iron Horse Bar & Grill indicates it will re-open in Ventura at a date TBA
• Lure Fish House to open new locations in Westlake Village and Ventura at dates TBA
• Burger King in Thousand Oaks to become a McDonald's
• Lemonade Restaurant to open at The Promenade at Westlake at a date TBA
• Movie Train Cafe in Fillmore opened May 18th
• Qdoba Mexican Grill in Simi Valley opened May 29th
• Custom Melt opened in Moorpark in late May
• Hooters of Thousand Oaks opened on Mother's Day, May 13th
• Umami Burger opened in Thousand Oaks on May 3rd
• Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill to open Camarillo location at a date TBA
• A second The Habit Burger location opened in Simi Valley in May
• DISH Restaurant to open at the old TGI Fridays location in Thousand Oaks at a date TBA
• Toscanova Italian Trattoria opened at The Commons at Calabasas on April 17th
• Loteria Grill at The Promenade at Westlake opened on April 19th
• Garage Dogs in Thousand Oaks opened for business on April 23rd
• Brendan's Irish Pub to open a 3rd location in Newbury Park in late summer time frame
• French Bulldog Bistro & Lounge (formerly JJ Brewsky's) opened in Camarillo in March
• Brendan's Irish Pub and Restaurant opened 2nd location in Agoura Hills on March 5th
• N'Awlinz Bistro opened in Newbury Park in February
• Mermaid Tavern (former location of Roxy's Deli) opened in Thousand Oaks in February
• Jake's Wayback Burgers says a location is coming to Newbury Park at a date TBA
• Olive Garden Thousand Oaks opened on Jan 9th. Red Lobster opened last December

Restaurant That Closed

• Yamato Restaurant in Camarillo closed earlier this month
• California Pizza Kitchen ASAP in Westlake Village closed on May 27th
• Freshii at The Promenade at Westlake closed in the spring
• TGI Fridays at Janss Marketplace Thousand Oaks closed its doors in the spring
• The Edge Grill in Westlake Village closed on April 6th
• Hometown Buffet in Simi Valley closed sometime earlier this year
• Weinerschnitzel in Thousand Oaks demolished to make way for Chick-fil-A
• Eric's Restaurant at the Palm Garden Hotel Newbury Park to become Brendan's Irish Pub
• Cafe Provencal in Thousand Oaks closed on March 4th
• JJ Brewsky's becomes The French Bulldog Bistro & Lounge in Camarillo
• Johnny Rockets at The Oaks Mall closed earlier this year
• El Torito Thousand Oaks served its last burrito on January 24th
• Bauducco's Westlake Village closes but indicates it is relocating to new location
• Baja Fresh Newbury Park closed on Tuesday, January 10th
• Nate 'n Al Deli at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks closed on January 4th
• The Greenhouse Cafe in Thousand Oaks closed the last day of last year

The good news here is that the number of new restaurants opened or announced is nearly double the eateries that were closed. Yay!

This list contains activity we become aware of through various sources and reader tips. If you see something missing, by all means, LET US KNOW as we like to track this stuff. Now let's go eat!