Souplantation at the Simi Valley Town Center Closed Its Doors on September 25th

Souplantation at the Simi Valley Town Center closed its doors on Sunday, September 25th.  That leaves us with the Camarillo Souplantation. 

The last routine facility inspection from Ventura County Public Health was June 23, 2016. Here are some highlights from that inspection:

• The premises and/or floors, walls or ceiling are in an unsanitary condition.
• Plumbing fixtures are leaking or in disrepair. (Repeat violation from 1/19/16 inspection)
• Equipment is unclean and maintained in an unsanitary condition.
• The floor is deteriorated and/or damaged and no longer smooth, durable and easily cleanable.
• Hand wash facilities are unclean, without paper towels or soap in dispensers, or are in disrepair. (Repeat violation from 1/19/16 inspection)

So there you have it.

Pholicious Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup Coming Soon to Pacific View Mall in Ventura

Pholicious Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup is coming soon to the 2nd floor food court at the Pacific View Mall in Ventura.

Phở is a savory Vietnamese rice noodle soup acclaimed for its flavorful broth and nutritious, healthy ingredients. While phở is a consummate Vietnamese dish, its evolution includes influences from Chinese and French (Western) cultures. 

Additionally, The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks is another future location planned for Pholicious.

More at www.pholiciousinc.com.

DICK'S Sporting Goods Opening Soon at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks

Update 9/26/16: Dick's has announced grand opening weekend on October 14-16 at The Oaks Mall, with preview days on 10/12-13 from 9am to 9:30pm. 

Open Friday/Saturday, October 14-15 from 8am to 10pm and Sunday, October 16 from 9am to 8pm. 

Grand opening appearances/events announced:

Sat 10/15 noon to 2pm: Former Los Angeles Dodger First Baseman Eric Karros (wristband required)

Fri 4pm, Sat 3pm, Sun 11am and 2:30pm: Ready, Set, Roll! Challenge - open to kids ages 6-15. Skill challenge in strength, agility and speed. Prizes awarded upon completion of challenge.

Daily giveaways...t-shirt to the first 100 people in line on Friday, mystery gift cards to the first adults in line on Saturday and again on Sunday.  Other giveaways too.

Posted 9/3/16:

DICK'S Sporting Goods at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks indicates it will be opening soon and is currently in process of searching for sales associates, store managers and bicycle technicians. at www.dickssportinggoods.jobs.

DICK'S Sporting Goods was founded in 1948 when 18 year old Dick Stack opened his first store, a bait-and-tackle shop, funded by a $300 gift from his grandmother in Binghamton, New York. He expanded his product line over the next 10 years to most of what you see in stores today.

Dick's son, Ed Stack is currently the CEO/Chairman of DICK'S Sporting Goods.

DICK'S is traded on the NYSE under symbol DKS. It has a current market valuation of $6.7 billion and pays a 1% dividend. If you bought its stock when it went public in 2002, you investment would have grown in value by a factor of 17 today.

Visit www.dickssportinggoods.com for more information.

Ventura County Library Offers Free Online Tool for Local Authors

Interested in getting your novel, memoir, poetry collection, or children's book in eBook and print-ready formats? Ventura County Library now has Pressbooks, an easy online tool that allows you to create professional quality versions of your book in popular publication formats.

Combined with other aspects of BiblioBoard Digital Library, our newest online resource, local authors now have free access to the following tools for local publication:

PressBooks: An easy-to-use online tool for authors, allowing you to create professional, print ready, quality versions of your books, memoirs, or poetry collections in ePUB, MOBI, and PDF formats.

SELF-e: An innovative collaboration between Library Journal and BiblioBoard enabling authors and libraries to work together to share self-published ebooks to eager readers looking to discover something new.

Indie California: great reads in all genres from local authors. Start reading today to find your next favorite book! 

BiblioBoard’s mobile apps available free from Apple App Store and Google Play.
Find PressBooks under BiblioBoard in the Ventura County eLibrary at www.vencolibrary.org/library-collection/biblioboard.

The Ventura County Library is available 24/7 at www.vencolibrary.org

Pizza Places in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County

Pizza is the perfect food. It is easy to order over the phone. Easy to pick up. Easy to deliver. Pizza does not require utensils and thus saves time on cleaning and dishwashing. Though often greasy, it provides us with all 4 major food groups (keeping in mind tomatoes are a fruit). Kids love pizza. Pizza can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, snacktime and dinner and does not require heating (at least in my house). And of course, pizza makes a very good accompaniment to beer. What's not to love about pizza? Here is an alphabetical list of pizza places in the Conejo Valley and neighboring areas.

Ameci's Pizza and Pasta is at 1560 Newbury Road, #3, Newbury Park (805.499.8300), 30651 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, Agoura (818.889.7722), 1724 Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks (805.493.2914), Westlake Village (DELIVERY ONLY) (818.889.7778), 302 W. Los Angeles St., Moorpark (805.529.3399) and 2780 Tapo Canyon Blvd., Simi Valley (805.581.9770)

Barone's Pizzeria is located at 30990 Russell Ranch Road, Westlake Village. (818.889.1474). baronespizzeria.com

Butler's Pizza (formerly Mulberry Street Pizzeria and prior to that, PizzaSalad) at 1655 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks 805.379.1121

Cafe Topanga is at 171 North Reino Road, Newbury Park (805.498.2166) Decent food at this place. They deliver. I've had their pizzas several times and they were pretty good.

California Pizza Kitchen is at 2200 East Thousand Oaks Blvd.,Thousand Oaks (at The Lakes) (805.777.1778) and 1555 Simi Town Center Way, #790, Simi Valley (Simi Valley Town Center) (805.522.0030) www.cpk.com

Chuck E. Cheese's is at 130 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks (805.497.2522) and 4714 Telephone Road, Ventura (805.644.9777) www.chuckecheese.com

Costco is at 5700 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village (818.597.3900), 2001 East Ventura Blvd., Oxnard (805.983.4200) and 2660 Park Center Drive, Simi Valley (805.578.3301). www.costco.com I love Costco pizza.  Huge slices of pizza for small sums of money.  My top choice for bargain pizza that is well stocked with cheese.

D'Amore's Famous Pizza is located at 2869 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks (805.496.0030) and 300 N. Lantana, #34, Camarillo (805.445.6534). www.damoresfamouspizza.com D'Amore's has baking pizzas since 1987.

Domino's Pizza locations include 2405 Michael Drive, Suite B, Newbury Park (805.499.0681), 2220 N. Moorpark Road, Suite 10, Thousand Oaks (805.496.6221), 2855 Agoura Road, Westlake Village (805.495.3834), 481 High Street, Moorpark (805.523.3030) and 665 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley (805.527.7493) www.dominos.com

Draughts is located at 398 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks www.draughtsrestaurant.com (805.777.7883) The pizza is delicious and their menu is full of great combinations.

Fresh Brothers Pizza has locations at The Promenade at Westlake (100 Promenade Way) (805.777.8448) and another location at The Commons at Calabasas (4799 Commons Way).

Greco's New York Pizzeria is at 245 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks (Janss Marketplace) (805.777.7271) Huge NY style pizzas that my family loves. You'll be hard pressed to find larger slices than these.

California Slice Pizzeria is at 1087 Scandia Avenue, Ventura (805.323.5154) californiaslice.com

Lamppost Pizza is at 1145 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village (818.879.2195), 3921 Cochran St, Simi Valley (805.522.9030) and 530 E. Los Angeles, Ste. 101, Moorpark (805.529.6220). This is a family favorite for post game gatherings and parties. 

Little Caesars has locations in Thousand Oaks, Oxnard (3), Camarillo, Moorpark, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Fillmore and Ventura (2). littlecaesars.com

MOD (Made on Demand) Pizza has locations in Simi Valley (2941 Cochran Street) 805.842.4442 and Newbury Park (1015 Broadbeck Drive) 805.214.7010 with "design your own" pizzas. modpizza.com

Papa John's is at 3321 Kimber Drive, Newbury Park (805.480.3939), 2072 E. Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks (805.241.7171), 1877 E. Daily Drive, Ste G, Camarillo (805.482.9911) 393 W. Los Angeles Ave., Moorpark (805.529.9100), 706 Lindero Canyon Road, Oak Park (818.879.2111), 1308 Madera Road, Simi Valley (805.584.8500), 2350 Vineyard Ave., Oxnard (805.278.7272), 1411 W. Channel Islands Blvd., Oxnard (805.487.7800), 2202 Tapo Street, Simi Valley (805.584.1700), and 5722 Telephone Road, Ventura (805.650.3200) www.papajohns.com

Parma Pizzeria Napoletana opened in January 2017 at 796 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks, offering up delicious New York, Detroit style and Neapolitan style pizzas. parmapizzerianapoletana.com 805.370.1370

Pieology Pizzeria opened at 593 N. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks (805.273.9500) in August 2013 and more recently in Westlake Village at 5776 Lindero Canyon Road (818.991.4999), the first in a series of "design your own" pizza places around town.

Pitfire Artisan Pizza is located in the Westlake Plaza at 966 S. Westlake Blvd, Westlake Village. www.pitfirepizza.com 805.409.4181

Pizza Hut is at 421 South Reino Road, Newbury Park (805.375.0174), 73 Rancho Road, Thousand Oaks (805.371.3700), 5146 Kanan Road, Agoura (818.991.7508), 252 Los Angeles Ave., #9, Moorpark (805.529.1199), and 2050D First Street, Simi Valley (805.522.8200). www.pizzahut.com

Pizza Man Dan's has seven locations in Ventura County, including Camarillo, Oxnard (2), Ventura (2), Port Hueneme and Moorpark. www.pizzamandans.com

Pizza Rev has locations in Camarillo (Camarillo Outlets) 805.482.0419 and at The Oaks in Thousand Oaks, serving up "design your own" pizza. pizzarev.com

Pizzeria Bianco Rosso is located at 365 Arneill Road in Camarillo. www.pizzeriabiancorosso.com 805.389.4700

Pizzeria La Piccola is located at 2388 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd in Thousand Oaks. www.pizzeria-lapiccola.com 805.497.3653

Presto Pasta is at 1025 Broadbeck Road, Newbury Park (805.498.7737), 1701 Daily Drive, Camarillo (805.445.7737) and 5722 Telephone Road, Ventura (805.658.2898) www.prestopasta.com  The pasta is pretty darn good for a very reasonable price.  As far as the pizza, the kids ordered it here one time and it looked o.k.  They have pizza too.

Roma Deli is at 2247 Michael Drive, Newbury Park (805.499.2455) www.romaitaliandeli.com Roma is known mostly for its pasta and other Italian goodies for nearly 30 years but the pizza is definitely something to consider. As a matter of fact, today we tried the "Pizza Rustica" (olive oil, garlic, fresh tomato, greek olives, ricotta, feta cheese, mozzarella and ham) and it was excellentj.

Round Table Pizza locations include 2000 East Avenida de los Arboles, Suite B, Thousand Oaks (805.492.2403), 239 W. Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark (805.529.2207), 880 Arneill Road, Camarillo (805.484.8900), 1213 South Victoria Avenue, Oxnard (805.382.1300) and 4255-8 East Main Street, Ventura (805.654.0777). www.roundtablepizza.com

Tonino's Place Pizzeria opened at 2805 Agoura Road, Westlake Village in July 2016. (805.370.3730) www.toninosplacepizzeria.com

Tony's New York Pizza is located at 3333-A Kimber Drive, Newbury Park (corner of Kimber and Wendy) 805.499.0365. Authentic, thin crust pizza. Quality is excellent and consistent.  Pizzas are nice and simple New York style that are not overloaded with too much sauce.

Toppers Pizza is at 1416 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks (805.495.4444) and 520 Arneill Road, Camarillo (805.385.4444)  Toppers in one of my personal favorites. topperspizzaplace.com

Urban Pizza is another "design your own" pizzeria with locations in Westlake Village (3835 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd) 805.418.9797 and Simi Valley (2916 Tapo Canyon Road) 805.387.0073. www.urbanpizza.com

Vittello's Trattoria at 3316 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks (805.496.3333) serves Italian food that includes pizza at both lunch and dinner.

Winners Pizza is located at 1805 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. www.winnerspizza.com 805.379.4212

Ross Dress for Less Coming to Newbury Park

Update 8/26/16: Tim H gave us the head up that Ross Dress for Less is planning a grand opening celebration on October 8th. Address is 2665 West Hillcrest Drive, Newbury Park. 805.375.0002 

Posted 3/12/16: Well I was surprised to see that a Ross Dress for Less store is "coming soon" to Newbury Park in the space previously occupied by Loehmanns and vacated in November 2010. Yes, other than the annual Halloween store here, this location has been vacant for over five years.

No word yet on opening date. Other Ross stores in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Port Hueneme and Ventura in Ventura County. www.rossstores.com

Cask Alehouse Opening Soon in Ventura

Update: Cask Alehouse opened in early December.

The former owner/manager of Anacapa Brewing Company is in process of opening Cask Alehouse at 5952 Telegraph Road in Ventura (at Victoria). Cask will feature California craft beers and wines, along with handcrafted sandwiches, salads and pizzas. Build-out continues. For updates, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/caskalehouse.

Chipotle Coming Soon to The Summit at Calabasas

And yet another update: This Chipotle closed in the latter part of 2018.

Update: The Calabasas Chipotle opened in late December.

Chipotle will soon be opening a location at The Summit at Calabasas, 26791 Agoura Road, Suite D1, in the former, short-lived home of Village Fish Market & Restaurant, which closed its doors three years ago after less than a year in business.

Chipotle is currently accepting applications for this store at THIS LINK.

Other local area Chipotle locations in Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks (Oaks Mall), Simi Valley, Malibu, Camarillo, Oxnard and Ventura (2). chipotle.com

Short-lived predecessor in this space soon to be occupied by Chipotle.