Brendan's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Camarillo Will Be Opening January 28th (Now 15th)

UPDATE 1/2/20: Brendan’s announced today that it is closing its doors after operating here for nine years. Sorry to see them go!

January 14th update: They changed it up on us and annonced a "soft opening" 5pm Saturday night, January 15th! Brendan's is officially open.

January 11th update: Brendan's set to open on Friday, January 28th!

See their video at www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150379456790302&oid=144953932207556&comments

I had the good fortune today of stopping by the nearly completed Brendan's Pub and Restaurant in Camarillo today (1755 E. Daily Drive) and was treated to a spectacular assortment of Irish paraphernalia shipped directly from Ireland. The owners (including Brendan himself) are sparing no expense in ensuring this pub is completely authentic, including the bartender (who today was helping put finishing touches in the restaurant section of the pub.

Curtis the general manager could not give us a specific date but they will be opening their doors within the next week or two. They will be serving Guinness beer by the pint, with the foam hanging over the rim of the glass. (I may have to start acquiring a taste for Guinness so as not to embarrass myself here.) Among other things, Curtis mentioned that the corned beef and cabbage here is the best he's EVER tasted! Other things we noticed were two professional grade dartboards and an entire dart area, a beautiful bar, cool booths in the restaurant area and a fireplace.

Visit www.brendans.com or their Facebook page www.facebook.com/brendansirish to learn more (and while you're in Facebook, you gotta check out www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyGuide!

Peking Inn Restaurant in Camarillo

Years ago one of my most favorite Chinese restaurants in the area was Chen's Szechwan in Thousand Oaks, but they closed many years ago. Replacing Chen's as one of my personal favorites is Peking Inn in Camarillo at 330 N. Lantana Street at the corner of Lantana and Daily. Their phone is 805.987.8188. No website to my knowledge.

I've been eating at Peking Inn for many years now and continue to enjoy it, as do my fellow lunch buddies. Some of our favorites are the Kung Pao Chicken, Mandarin Beef, Lemon Chicken, Beef Szechwan Style, and Sweet and Sour Shrimp. They also serve a nice Ginger Fish dish that I enjoyed so much, so often, that I finally burned out on it.

For non-meat eaters, they make some really tasty bean curd dishes. I order one dish that I don't believe is on the menu...bean curd (cubed) that is NOT fried, with vegetables in brown sauce. One gal that I know ordered the Vegetarian Kung Pao Chicken and while it didn't look too appetizing to me, she seemed to enjoy it.

Meals come with fried wonton chips, hot tea, soup (Hot & Sour or Egg Flower Soup...most people I know get the Hot & Sour), rice and fortune cookies. They keep you busy eating the whole time you're there!

Peking Inn also serves up dim sum on weekends and...shame on me...I've still not tried it. I'll have to make plans to try it out with my family.

Service is generally really responsive. From time to time if they get really busy there are slight delays, but what I like is that I can get in and out easily. Pricing is quite reasonable. You'll leave quite satisfied for $9 or $10 at lunch. The decor is a bit dated but I guess if you've ever been to Beijing it would fit in. They could spruce it up quite a bit but I'd prefer they just leave it be and continue satisfying my Chinese food appetite at reasonable prices.

Revolution Surf Company in Newbury Park Closed Its Doors in November

Camarillo Location on Daily DriveSurf's Down! Just realized there was something missing from the Conejo Gateway Plaza at 701 Wendy Drive near the intersection of Old Conejo Road in Newbury Park. Revolution Surf Company closed its doors last November and consolidated its inventory into its other location at 1775 Daily Drive in Camarillo. That's only about 7 miles away.

Fresh & Easy Camarillo at Las Posas and Arneill

As mentioned last week, Fresh & Easy is building a new location in Camarillo near the corner of Las Posas and Arneill. You can't miss it. It is on the north side of Las Posas, west of Arneill, next to Phelps Medical Center. I can't even remember what used to be there now. Here's physical evidence of the construction.

Thousand Oaks Has a Pending Application to Subdivide Commercial Office Condominiums

Not much happening with condo sales at Songbird Office Park, on Old Conejo Road near Wendy Drive, where 31 buildings were constructed within the last 2 years on the 13 acre property that used to be owned by Talley Corporation, a machine shop manufacturer for missile and airline parts. Most of the 30 condo commercial offices have sat vacant. So, about a year ago Thousand Oaks got an application asking for permission to subdivide those condos so as to add 47 more commercial offices for a total of 77. Then, the property was foreclosed upon and 1st California Bank now owns them. City Planner Pam Leopold said she is not sure if the new owner still wants to subdivide them.

Calleguas Water District to Relocate Water Supply Pipeline in Thousand Oaks

Calleguas MWD to Relocate Vital Water Supply Pipeline in Thousand Oaks

On January 3, the Calleguas Municipal Water District (Calleguas) will begin construction activities to relocate a 48-inch diameter pipeline that provides water service to much of the Thousand Oaks area. Originally installed in 1965, the Conejo Valley Feeder delivers water to residents and businesses in the central and western portions of the valley.

Under the $1.4 million project, Calleguas will construct 500 feet of pipe within a new steel casing paralleling the existing pipeline along Olsen Road under the State Highway 23 bridge. In recent years, the California Department of Transportation made seismic related improvements to the highway bridge. The location of these improvements on top of Calleguas’ pipeline require that a segment of pipe be relocated to ensure continued water supply reliability and public safety.

During construction, vehicular traffic will be constrained in both directions to allow construction crews adequate space to install the new pipe and connect it with the existing pipeline beyond the bridge’s support columns. The left of the two eastbound lanes will be closed for the duration of the project, scheduled for completion by May 2011. The right eastbound lane will remain open and be modified to allow vehicles to either continue along Olsen Road to Simi Valley or access the northbound highway onramp. The left westbound lane on Olsen Road will also be closed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily. Project updates will be posted to Calleguas’ web site at www.calleguas.com.

View Larger Map

“Maintaining flow through this regional supply pipeline is essential for reliable water service to literally tens of thousands of water users in the area,” said Susan Mulligan, Calleguas General Manager. “We are working closely with Caltrans and the City of Thousand Oaks to design a traffic control plan that minimizes impacts on local commuters while enabling our contractor adequate space to work. We apologize for any inconvenience for area residents and are committed to completing the project as
quickly as possible.”

Calleguas is one of twenty-six member agencies of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the primary urban water supplier in Ventura County, providing water service to a population of over 600,000. Through a variety retail water agencies and companies, Calleguas provides water to the cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Port Hueneme as well as surrounding unincorporated areas.

Thousand Oaks Public Works Department's Street and Drainage Preparation Pays Off

Last year public works employees were out in the rain clearing a fallen tree limb. So far, during the recent rains, that's not happened. That may change if wind starts blowing as some predict.

The millions of dollars Thousand Oaks has put into its drainage and streets system was put to the test over the past week with record rainfall. The public works department of 200 workers directed by Mark Watkins passed with an excellent grade. There was only an occasional pothole reported and quickly filled. The city pays more to pave streets with asphalt rubber made out of recycled tires. The rubber pavement wears better as proven after recent rain storms. Now, with windy weather predicted, the public works department is ready with chainsaws and woodchippers to clear any downed trees that might fall on public property due to roots not getting a good grip in saturated ground. To report any service needs call (805) 449-2499.

Chick-fil-A Plans in T.O., Camarillo Are Being Carefully Scrutinized by City Planners

Thousand Oaks City planners are still reviewing the design of the 2,200 square foot Chick-fil-A building proposed to replace Weinerschnitzel, 3771 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard. There will be no date set for it to go before the planning commission until issues of drainage and grading are settled. There's not a lot of flexibility on the site to make new building requirements work. For a while Chick-fil-A looked around at other sites in Thousand Oaks that would also offer a drive-thru, but came back to the Weinerschnitzel site, a city official said. Maybe some time next year fried chicken breast sandwiches will replace hot dogs, chili and cheeseburgers.

In Camarillo, city planners are suggesting Chick-fil-A take a look at other sites than where the company has applied to build. The Camarillo Promenade is a carefully designed environment that has been tirelessly developed to meet a standard that is pedestrian friendly. The drive-thru proposed conflicts with the village retail setting described in the area's specific plan. The retail center is at Ventura Blvd. East of Los Posas. The city's community development department has not accepted the restaurant's application, saying it's incomplete. Planners like the company, just not the drive-thru in the Promenade.

Update on 2010-12-24 01:06 by Nancy Needham

Thousand Oaks City Planner Pam Leopold said a new application was filed with the city today that appears to overcome several obstacles slowing down the previous application from Chick-fil-A. Now, the chicken sandwich restaurant wants to build a 2,197 square foot building with only outdoor dining and a drive-thru. The parcel did not accommodate interior dining, Pam said. Watch out for the wrecking ball, little Weinerschnitzel guy.

New Fresh & Easy Stores Coming Soon in Camarillo and Ventura

I don't have the specific dates, but two new Fresh & Easy stores are coming soon at 2249 Las Posas Road (at Arneill) in Camarillo and 2260 E. Thompson (at Seaward) in Ventura. And there ya have it. Visit www.freshandeasy.com for more information. Personally I'm a Fresh & Easy fan as I can usually count on getting in and out of the store extremely quickly with the self serve approach. I enjoy buying snacks, bakery items and pre-packaged meals at F&E but also buy other things. Prices seem pretty reasonable. Don't get my wrong, I still stop by Trader Joes and other markets but there is something uniquely different about F&E that brings me back.