JOi Cafe is Now Open in Westlake Village

Update 9/5/14: The JOi Cafe announced they are now open.

Driving around town the other day I came across this "coming soon" sign for the JOi Cafe at 2855 Agoura Road, Westlake Village (formerly home to the Wicked Way Cafe) in the Village Glen Plaza, next door to Westlake Florist.

According to its website at joicafe.com and its Facebook page, JOi CAFÉ will emphasize healthy, whole food, plant-based choices that are convenient, taste amazing, and fuel the body and the mind, with breakfast, lunch and early dinner options.

JOi CAFÉ will offer real, healthy, organic and plant-based foods, custom energy bars, Joi drinks and counseling. JOi CAFÉ will provide the encouragement needed for people wanting to change or better their lives by offering a delicious, healthy, meal designed for the athlete and the average person, just looking for a quick breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Nekter Juice Bar Opened in Westlake Village on Friday, August 29th

Nekter Juice Bar celebrated its grand opening last Friday, August 29th in the North Ranch Mall at 3835 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Unit H, Westlake Village. This used to be a Robek's Juice location. Nekter serves up green juice blends, raw nut milks and smoothies, along with healthy, raw, gluten free and vegan snacks. Learn more at nekterjuicebar.com.

MOD Pizza is Coming to The Village at Newbury Park This Summer

Final Update: Grand opening date is 5pm on Thursday, October 2nd.

Update 9/2/14: We are now looking at the October 2014 time frame for the grand opening. The MOD Pizza Newbury Park website is modpizza.com/locations/newbury-park.

Posted 5/15/14: MOD Pizza is coming to The Village at Newbury Park, 1015 Broadbeck Drive, Suite G, this summer, I'm told in the August time frame.

MOD Pizza serves up individualized artisan-style, thin crust pizzas. Customers can design their own pizzas or select from a menu of MOD favorites. Three sizes of pizzas, all priced the same regardless of toppings. The handcrafted pizzas are then fired in an 800 degree display oven and ready to eat in less than 3 minutes. MOD also offers a selection of salads along with craft draft and bottled beer, wine, pizza knots and milkshakes.

What does MOD stand for? "Made on Demand" come on you knew that :)

This location was previously occupied by Baja Fresh before it closed on January 10, 2012. Pizza is a nice addition to the mix at this location, which includes Ranch Hand BBQ, Daphne's California Greek, The Habit Burger, Subway, Presto Pasta, Jamba Juice, Flame Broiler, Chipotle, Islands, Starbucks and Tutti Frutti.

This will be the first MOD Pizza location in Ventura County. MOD Pizza opened in Valencia and Irvine in the latter part of 2013. A North Hollywood location is also in the works.

MOD Pizza joins other "make your own' pizzerias that recently opened in the area, including Pieology Pizzeria in Thousand Oaks and PizzaRev in Oxnard last summer.

Learn more about MOD Pizza at modpizza.com or visit the Newbury Park location page at modpizza.com/locations/newbury-park for updates.

CLU Unveils $15 Million Ullman Commons in Thousand Oaks; Includes a Starbucks

California Lutheran University (CLU) announces the grand opening of the $15 million Ullman Commons at 101 Memorial Parkway in Thousand Oaks.

The 20,000 sq ft building includes an all-you-can-eat dining hall, a quick-service counter called Ullman To Go, a Starbucks and a conference center. Designed to transform the heart of campus, the facility provides a gathering place for students, faculty, staff and visitors. It features glass curtain walls and second-floor balconies overlooking Kingsmen Park and the academic corridor.

The dining hall, which is open to members of the CLU community and their guests, serves a wider variety of food than the former facility. An international station offers Mongolian grill and Asian wok options as well as vegan food, sushi, samosas, and fried rice and noodle dishes. Diners can order from the grill, pick up daily specials or wood-fired pizza, and serve themselves at the pasta, soup, salad and dessert bars. A deli station offers made-to-order sandwiches and wraps. I had the pleasure of visiting the dining hall and was extremely impressed!

Ullman To Go, which is open to the public, sells fresh-baked pastries, made-to-order sandwiches and prepared wraps, sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza and hot entrees.

Starbucks is open daily from 7 a.m. until midnight, providing a gathering spot for students as well as community members attending events. The CLU Starbucks, the 18th Starbucks in the Conejo Valley, has three times the seating of the chain’s typical cafes, with 65 spots inside and a patio with space for about 50 people. The patio, which features a fire pit, is called Jack’s Corner in honor of generous donor and longtime Cal Lutheran Regent Jack Gilbert, who died in 2012. Their phone is 805.492.2411.

The first-floor conference center has two rooms for banquets or lectures that can be combined, a smaller seminar room and an intimate dining room.

The building was designed to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification. It uses natural lighting and ventilation extensively and has water-saving fixtures and a system designed to turn waste into compost.

Ullman Commons is named for a family of alumni and generous donors who provided a $2 million gift for the facility through their foundation.

Learn more about CLU at www.callutheran.edu.

Lal Mirch Indian Restaurant Opening Soon in Agoura Hills

Update 8/27/14: Lal Mirch is now open in Agoura! Their phone number is 818.312.9690. lalmirchagourahills.com  Based on the comments to this post, sounds like they have some great food!

Original post 7/5/14: Jonathan L brought to our attention that Lal Mirch Indian Restaurant is "opening soon" at the former Pizza Hut location at 5146 Kanan Road in Agoura Hills, just north of the 101 near McDonald's.

Lal Mirch has an existing location in Studio City, with solid reviews in Yelp. According to its website at www.lmdining.com:

"Our spices are imported directly from India to preserve the quality and freshness you can taste. If you are a VEGETARIAN, then a warm welcome is extended to you with our comprehensive vegetarian menu.

Lal Mirch means red chili, one of the many spices used in Indian cooking. The role of spices and herbs goes beyond just cooking and great taste. Our chef has learnt to use this knowledge and weave them into our dishes. Ginger prevents dyspepsia, garlic reduces cholesterol and hypertension and fenugreek is a good resistance builder and with pepper often serve as antihistamines, turmeric is used for stomach ulcers and for glow of the skin.

All dishes are made to order. You can choose from mild, medium, or hot for levels of spice and our chef will prepare each dish individually to ensure freshness, quality and your satisfaction."

9021Pho Opened at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks on Monday, August 18th

9021Pho is opening its doors today, August 18th, at 11am. Grand opening event on August 27th.

About 9021Pho

Created by Vietnamese Master Chef Kimmy Tang, 9021Pho is a unique casual service restaurant that offers a Vietnamese-centric menu with French influences and California flair. Chef Kimmy blends a traditional Vietnamese palette of healthy, colorful vegetables, rich in antioxidants with lean proteins. With her exclusive flash cooking method, all vital nutrients are retained and minimal oil is used. Exclusive to 9021Pho, Chef Kimmy’s dishes are accented with handmade sauces made with fresh herbs, spices, and unexpected notes. Uniquely Californian, each dish is light and clean, and made with only the highest quality ingredients. Chef Kimmy was also a featured chef at the prestigious 2014 James Beard Award Gala Dinner. 9021Pho has four locations for dine-in, take out, or delivery: Beverly Hills (490 N. Beverly Drive), Glendale Galleria (1164 Glendale Galleria Way), Sherman Oaks (Fashion Square Mall, 14006 Riverside Drive), Thousand Oaks at The Lakes (2200 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.) and West Hollywood (7950 W. Sunset Blvd., Unit E). 9021pho.com

Update 5/14/14: 9021Pho in Westlake Village has closed, but the new location at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is anticipated to open real soon. On its Facebook page they indicate sometime in June.

Posted 2/9/14:

Yesterday, French Vietnamese restaurant 9021Phoannounced it will be opening a new location at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks by the end of March 2014. It will be located adjacent to California Pizza Kitchen in the space previously occupied by Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (and more recently International Organic Treats).

9021Pho serves up traditional Pho noodle bowls, rice dishes, entrees, salads and more in a casual atmosphere. Other locations at the Glendale Galleria, Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks. Learn more at 9021pho.com.

Dunkin' Donuts Announces Ventura County in Future Development Plans in 2016

Dunkin’ Donuts recently announced it plans to open its first traditional restaurants in California, including planned locations in Downey, Long Beach, Modesto, Santa Monica and Whittier before the end of 2014.

Since opening California for franchise development in 2013, Dunkin’ Donuts has executed store development agreements for nearly 200 new restaurants total to date. The company believes it can eventually have as many as 1,000 restaurants throughout the state.

The company also announced the signing of multi-unit store development agreements with four new franchise groups to develop 54 new restaurants throughout Southern California in the coming years. Among these groups, locally here in Ventura County, The Tasty Group LLC, whose principals include local restaurateurs and developers David Ahn and BJ Kim, existing franchisee Dante Rizzo, and Frank Giardina, plan to develop two restaurants in Santa Barbara and eight restaurants throughout Ventura County over the coming years, with the first restaurant expected to open in 2016.

Dunkin' Donuts offerings include hot and iced coffee, hot and iced tea, lattes, Dunkin’ Donuts K-Cup® Packs, Coolatta® frozen drinks, donuts, muffins, bagels, breakfast and bakery sandwiches, and a DDSMART® menu featuring better-for-you menu items.

To learn more about Dunkin’ Donuts, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.

Beach Bowl to Open at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard This Year

The Collection at RiverPark recently announced that Beach Bowl will be opening later in 2014 next to Settebello Pizzeria Napolentana. Beach Bowl currently serves up Acai bowls, smoothies and cold-pressed juice, frozen yogurt, coffee and tea at its first location in Downtown Carpinteria. Learn more at thebeachbowl.com.

UPDATE: It does not appear that Beach Bowl will be opening at The Collection anymore.

Aroha New Zealand Cuisine to Open in the Coming Months in Westlake Village

UPDATE: Aroha permanently closed its doors in November 2018 after the devastating Woolsey Fire.

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Aroha New Zealand Cuisine opened in September 2014 at 30990 Russell Ranch Road, Suite C in Westlake Village, sharing a parking lot with Lure Fish House and The Counter Burger. 

The restaurant is owned by husband/wife team, chef Gwithyen Thomas and his wife, Justine Thomas, who is blogging about restaurant updates at justinethomasmusic.blogspot.com. What a story...Gwithyen and Justine met and fell in love through his cooking while she and her family were vacationing in New Zealand.

"Aroha" (pronounced Uh-Row-Ha) means love in Maori, the native language of New Zealand. The restaurant is described as classy/casual with a menu that specializes in New Zealand cuisine and draws inspiration from French, Italian, Japanese and Singaporian cuisine. The menu will offer many gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options.

To learn more, visit www.aroharestaurant.com and www.facebook.com/ArohaRestaurant.

Aroha (ˈɑːrɒhə) — love, compassion, or affectionate regard. [Māori]

Aroha is a classy casual restaurant founded by award winning chef, Gwithyen Thomas, and his wife Justine. Gwithyen and Justine met and fell in love through his cooking while she and her family were vacationing in New Zealand.

The menu specializes in New Zealand Cuisine and draws inspiration from French, Italian, Japanese, and Singaporian cuisine. The food is locally sourced and changes seasonally to provide the freshest and highest quality. The menu is allergy friendly with many gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options. Justine's many food allergies drives their dedication to providing a safe environment for all customers with allergy restrictions.

The opened layout restaurant is designed to provide a relaxing atmosphere for customers looking for a flavorful and beautifully presented meal without a formal setting.

Aroha will be opening in Q3 of 2014