8th Urbane Cafe Location to Open in Simi Valley First Week of June

Urbane Cafe is a true local success story. It was founded in Ventura over 10 years ago and has grown to seven, soon to be eight, locations. The new Simi Valley Urbane Cafe is set to open on Thursday, June 5th at 2091 Madera Road, next to Target and Sub Zero Ice Cream.

The Camarillo Urbane Cafe opened on August 1, 2013 and other locations are in Agoura Hills, Oxnard and Ventura. The eatery specializes in gourmet sandwiches and salads with fresh baked bread, lean meats and homemade sauces & dressings. I've dined at Urbane Cafe and give it a thumbs up!

Visit www.urbanecafe.com or the Urbane Cafe Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Urbane-Cafe/354882283321 for additional updates.

Projected Grand Opening of Chick-fil-A on Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks is May 29th

The 2nd Thousand Oaks Chick-fil-A opened today, Thursday, May 29th.

New Chick-fil-A structure has taken shape in Thousand Oaks.

Posted 3/28/14: The Chick-fil-A being built at 449 N. Moorpark Road (corner of Moorpark Road and Brazil St at the old El Torito spot) is currently scheduled for a May 15 (changed to 29th), 2014 grand opening date, according to www.chick-fil-a.com/Locations/Openings. The grand opening of a Chick-fil-A is a big deal to many because they offer free weekly meals for a year to the first 100 customers at each new location. Details at www.chick-fil-a.com/Locations/First-100.

Photos of the demolition of the old El Torito

Camboni Italian Restaurant & Bar Coming Soon to the Thousand Oaks Inn and Hotel

Update: Camboni Italian Restaurant opened on May 20th. Visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CamboniRestaurant. They indicate breakfast hours 7-10am, lunch hours 11am to 2pm and dinner hours 5-10pm.

According to the Thousand Oaks Inn & Hotel on its Facebook page last month and confirmed with a phone call, Camboni Italian Restaurant is coming soon at this highly visible location from the 101 freeway at 75 W. Thousand Oaks Boulevard. This was previously the home of TOI Tapas Bar, and before that was home to Du-Par's Restaurant for nearly 50 years until it closed July 31, 2009.

According to the Thousand Oaks Inn: "Camboni Italian Restaurant will use only naturally leavened breads, using naturally occuring microflora, which consumes little energy and multiplies quite slowly. Its growth duplicates the cycle of human breathing and that of wheat embryo germination, plus it naturally enriches the bread, due to an additional development of nutrients by the beneficial enzymes and ferments."

Visit the Thousand Oaks Inn Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TOInn for updates.

The "Shoppes at Westlake Village" Scheduled to Open in Summer of 2014

Updates: Additional eateries and tenants include Hook Burger, Jeannine's Bakery and Restaurant, Olio e Limone and others as well as Greens Up! and Los Agaves Restaurant.

Originally posted 1/15/14:

On May 9, 2012, the Westlake Village City Council approved development of a 240,000 square foot retail shopping center called "Shoppes at Westlake Village," that will be anchored by a Target store. It will be located on Russell Ranch Road off of Lindero Canyon Road.

According to its website at www.shoppesatwestlakevillage.com, "With architecture reminiscent of a European village, trellis covered pedestrian walkways, a dramatic water feature and patio dining and lounge areas, Shoppes at Westlake Village will be a place to meet and gather with family and friends as well as a place to shop."

Shoppes is scheduled to open this Summer 2014. Target's target (you like that?) grand opening date is July 25, 2014. In addition to the Target store on the southeast end of the development, the west side will have a uniquely designed In-N-Out Burger restaurant built with stonework, natural tile and other "Older European" treatments to blend in with the rest of the development.

The other known tenant at this point is Total Woman Gym and Spa, in a 13,000 sq ft space perhaps strategically placed on the In-N-Out Burger side of the development. Hey, what's better than a protein-laden Double Double, Animal Style, after a solid workout!

Shoppes is being developed by Selleck Development Group of Westlake Village, which is run by Tom Selleck's brothers, for those who I know were wondering by the sheer mention of that name.

Stay tuned for updates...

Zooza Cafe Recently Opened at Paseo Marketplace in Westlake Village

Zooza Cafe opened a few days ago in the Paseo Marketplace, directly adjacent to The Melting Pot restaurant at 3687 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Westlake Village.

On its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ZoozaCafe, Zooza Cafe calls itself a health food cafe that serves up smoothies, salads, coffee, sandwiches, baked goods and more. Open for breakfast, lunch and coffee. Call 805.496.9669 for more information.

Malibu Pier Restaurant & Bar Opened Today

Malibu Pier Restaurant & Bar opened today, May 15th, at the foot of the Malibu Pier (previously occupied by The Beachcomber), 23000 Pacific Coast Highway.  Executive Chef Jason Fullilove and his team will be serving up fresh seafood in a casual environment. Their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/malibupierrestaurantandbar displays a some of what's to come, including fresh oysters, California White Sea Bass Carpaccio, Tuna Crudo, Malibu Fennel Salad, California Striped Bass, Malibu Seafood Stew, black rice gumbo with octopus, pork sausage, peas, Thai basil, and prawns, Strawberry Pie and more, accompanied by a full bar. Visit malibupierrestaurant.com for more information.

Gandolfo's New York Deli to Open Second Ventura County Location Mid-May 2014

Gandolfo's New York Deli opened its first Ventura County based restaurant at The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard last year.

A second Gandolfo's opened in mid-May 2014 in the Montalvo Square Shopping Center at 1708 Victoria Avenue in Ventura, (this space was previously home to a Daphne's Greek Cafe). That said...it has since closed.

According to its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GandolfosNewYorkDeli, Gandolfo's brings the taste and feel of New York's most famous sandwiches, with a meat selection that includes mouth-watering cuts of brisket pastrami, lean corned beef, roasted turkey, roast beef, apple-smoked ham, chicken breast and Italian specialties of salami and cappicola.

New Eateries Anticipated at the Westlake Plaza in Westlake Village

The Westlake Plaza, located at 980 South Westlake Boulevard, between Townsgate and Agoura Roads, has been in the public eye quite a bit recently as a result of tree removals.

According to the City of Thousand Oaks, permits are in place for Regency Center to:

• Allow exterior renovations, parking, and landscaping changes;

• Allow the pruning of 36 trees, encroachment into the protected zone of 40 oak trees, and the removal of 26 oak trees;

• Allow the pruning of 26 and removal of 9 landmark trees, and encroachment into the protected zone of 35 landmark trees; and

• Allow a 900 SF addition to an existing building and the construction of two new buildings for a total of 9000 SF

City Council an Regency Centers are in process of addressing public concerns about the tree removals and working to improve public outreach. Permitting documents are located at ci.thousand-oaks.ca.us/government/depts/community/westlake_plaza_regency_centers/default.asp and local newspaper are closely following the situation.

But let's talk about the new restaurants planned for the plaza. Right now, this 281,000 sq ft plaza is anchored by major tenants, Sprouts Farmers Market, Vons and Gelsons and is accompanied by a variety of eateries and businesses, including Natural Cafe, Galleto, Tuscany, Fins, East Coast Bagel, Sweet Arleen's, The Sea Casa, Jamba Juice, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Starbucks and Tomodachi Sushi, not to mention CVS, several banks and more.

What else is in store? Among other thngs, Pitfire Pizza, Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market, Pressed Juicery and Le Pain Quotidien.

Mendocino Farms is slated to occupy the space previously occupied by Jack's Deli that closed November 2011.

The old Jack's Deli for you local nostalgia fans. Mendocino Farms Sandwich Shop is slated to open its 9th location at this spot.For updates, Westlake Plaza regularly posts new information on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WestlakePlazaAndCenter.

The French Bulldog in Camarillo Closed on April 14th But to Re-Open with "New Look and Concept" on May 2nd

Update February 2015: Old Town Tavern closed the last weekend of January. Here's a comment from the eatery on its Facebook page "we lost our lease and moving to moorpark with a new concept called Kraftap stay tuned!"

Update 5/4/14: Old Town Tavern Camarillo is now open for business.

Today (4/17/14), The French Bulldog Bistro & Lounge announced on its Facebook page that it closed its doors this past Monday, April 14th, but will "be re-opening with a new look and concept on May 2nd." No other details at this point but the indicate the new concept will appeal to a wider audience.

The former The French Bulldog is located at 2433 Ventura Boulevard in Old Town Camarillo. It originally opened in March 2012. Prior to that, JJ Brewsky's was at this historic location.

There's a sign on the door that indicates "The Old Town Tavern" is coming soon. Stay tuned...

On a historic note, this building was established in 1916 by Joseph F. Lewis & Sons, making it nearly 100 years old! The building originally housed a department store, confectionery store, barber shop, the Farmers Bank of Camarillo and the Knob Hill Garage.