Local Buzz covers new businesses, restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Local Buzz covers new restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Post other items directly to the Community Announcements section of the site.
Tifa Chocolate & Gelato announced via its Facebook page today that a new location at the Courtyard Center in Calabasas at 23655 Calabasas Road. They anticipate opening by late December.
Other Tifa locations in Agoura Hills (original location at the Whizins Marketplace), The Shoppes at Westlake Village and the Los Posas Plaza in Camarillo. tifachocolateandgelato.com
Recently, the City of Thousand Oaks announced that the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is now being referred to as The Bank of America Performing Arts Center (BAPAC), Thousand Oaks. This includes the two theaters within the BAPAC, Fred Kavli Theatre and Scherr Forum Theatre.
Bank of America has always been part of the name, but to adhere to the naming rights and to promote the venue as a regional performing arts center, the name has been rebranded.
More info at bapacthousandoaks.com.
Joining a growing list of local area Subway closures is the Subway in the North Ranch Gateway (aka TJ Maxx Plaza) at 30817 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Westlake Village. This is disappointing to me personally as I’ve been to this Subway a number of times and always enjoyed it.
Folks may joke about how many Subway Sandwich eateries there are, but there really has been a noticeable drop, with Subway closures in Newbury Park (two of them) in 2016, at Janss Marketplace Thousand Oaks a few months ago, Subway in the Simi Valley Civic Center Plaza last month and the Conejo Valley Plaza Shopping Center in June 2016.
Top This Chocolate, located at 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 109, Ventura, opened at Ventura Harbor Village in late September. Choose your chocolate from premium milk, white or dark chocolate, select toppings like nuts, dried fruit, candy, cookies and salty snacks, and have your creation make into either a bar, squares or hearts. Yes, a create-your-own chocolate bar using over 50 toppings!
Visit topthischocolate.com or call 805.535.4167 for more information. Open 11 am to 9 pm daily.
The Westlake Village Trolley is back in service beginning on Friday, November 29, 2019 and will operate on Friday and Saturday nights through December 28, 2019.
The Trolley begins its run at Westlake Village City Hall at 3:00 pm and concludes each night at 10:00 pm. The free, fun service stops at all major retail centers, including the Shoppes at Westlake Village, hotels, and neighborhoods...a great way to get around town. Free, live entertainment on board the Trolley enhances the experience.
Entertainment will be offered on board the train between 6-8PM most nights!
Riding the Village Trolley is easy. Simply hop on at one of 16 stops and hop off whenever you want. The trolley is outfitted with a GPS locator device allowing riders to use their smartphone to track the trolley’s progress. The trolley is not just transportation; it is a mobile City event perfect for residents and visitors of all ages.
For more information, including all trolley stop locations, visit www.wlv.org/villagetrolley.
Amgen Tour Cyclists were a blur as they made the turn from Potrero Road to Decker Canyon in the 2016 Tour of California.
AEG announced on Tuesday that they will put the Amgen Tour of California race on hiatus for the 2020 racing season.
“This has been a very difficult decision to make, but the business fundamentals of the Amgen Tour of California have changed since we launched the race 14 years ago,” said Kristin Klein, president of the Amgen Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports. “While professional cycling globally continues to grow and we are very proud of the work we have done to increase the relevance of professional cycling, particularly in the United States, it has become more challenging each year to mount the race. This new reality has forced us to re-evaluate our options, and we are actively assessing every aspect of our event to determine if there is a business model that will allow us to successfully relaunch the race in 2021.”
California’s largest annual sporting event, The Amgen Tour of California has contributed more than $3.5 billion¹ to the state’s economy. Each year since 2006, the cycling road race has showcased some of today’s best known and most decorated international cyclists, including numerous World, Olympic and National Champions. The international competition also carries the distinction of being the only U.S.-based event that has both its men’s and women’s races listed on the UCI WorldTour calendar while being the only event of its kind that concurrently produces men’s and women’s stage races that offer equal prize money.
“On behalf of USA Cycling, I would like to thank AEG, Kristin and her team for providing an outstanding showcase for the sport in America and for our American Athletes,” said Bob Stapleton, Chairman of USA Cycling. “We stand ready to help rally additional support and resources in the hopes of resuming this event in 2021.”
The competition has also been praised for creating a global platform to feature current and next-generation U.S. cyclists, showcase the picturesque state of California, introduce the sport to millions of new fans and promote cycling as a healthy lifestyle.
Klein continued, “I would like to sincerely thank the teams, the cyclists, sponsors, volunteers, elected officials, host cities, and all of the fans that helped make the Amgen Tour of California ‘Americas Greatest Race.’ Most of all, I would like to recognize the hard work and dedication of my team who have tirelessly worked alongside me, each and every year, to develop the renowned event. I also would like to thank our governing body, USA Cycling, UCI and Amaury Sport Organisation for their continued support.”
“We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Amgen for their incredible support and partnership from day one,” Klein added. “We are proud to have stood together with them to create this amazing legacy.”
Past men’s race champions have included Tour de France General Classification Winners Egan Bernal and Bradley Wiggins; as well as Tour de France Stage Winners George Bennett; Levi Leipheimer; Michael Rogers; Peter Sagan (record 7-time Tour de France Points Classifications winner, and record 17-stage winner at the Amgen Tour of California); and Tejay van Garderen. Additionally, 10-time Stage Winner Mark Cavendish has won 30 stages at the Tour de France (2nd all-time for both races).
The Amgen Tour of California Women's Race empowered with SRAM has featured an equally impressive field of competitors including three-time Olympic gold medal winner Kristin Armstrong; current race champion, Olympic gold medalist and world champion, Anna van der Breggen; Chloe Dygert, Olympic silver medalist, current UCI world time trial champion and six-time UCI gold medalist; and Coryn Rivera who in 2019, at age 26 holds 72 national titles.
¹Based on an economic impact by Beacon Economics
Eric S reached out via the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page that the Subway located in the Simi Valley Civic Center Plaza at 2667 Tapo Canyon Road recently closed. That takes the Subway count in Simi Valley down to 3 locations. www.subway.com
UPDATE: Grabbagreen Thousand Oaks closed its doors on October 19, 2025 but the owner is opening a new, independent concept called All Good Eats and Drinks. Follow on Instagram at @allgoodto.
UPDATE: The actual opening date was March 1st!
Grabbagreen let the cat out of the bag last night on their Facebook page that they have secured a lease on a second location within Thousand Oaks. The location is the Rocket Fizz on Moorpark Road at Wilbur that closed its doors on Thursday (across from Peet’s Coffee and near Bandit’s BBQ. Anticipated opening date is sometime in the first quarter of 2020.
Congratulations to the Grabbagreen team for their successful foray into serving up healthful, nutritious, organic foods in the Conejo Valley. The location at 2835 Thousand Oaks Boulevard (at the former home of Tile City), opened in January 2017.
For updates, visit www.grabbagreen.com or better yet, their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GrabbagreenThousandOaks.
The City of Thousand Oaks, along with the Conejo Recreation and Park District and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, will be hosting a dedication ceremony of the Healing Garden on November 7, 2019 at 3:15 p.m. at the Lakeside Pavilion at Conejo Creek North, located at 1379 E Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks. Park gates will open at 2:30 p.m. Please note that access to the park will be restricted until that time.
In response to the tragedy at the Borderline Bar and Grill in November 2018, where twelve lives were taken, the City and Conejo Recreation and Park District partnered to create a Healing Garden, a place where the community can reflect, grieve, remember, and heal.
Although Conejo Creek North Park is open during construction, public access to the park will be prohibited prior to 2:30 on November 7. The public is advised to allow ample time for parking, which will be available at Conejo Creek South with shuttles available.
Healing Garden construction updates can be found at www.crpd.org/planning/planning-documents.
What: Healing Garden dedication ceremony.
Where: Lakeside Pavilion at Conejo Creek North, 1379 E. Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91362.
When: November 7, 2019. Gates open 2:30. Ceremony begins at 3:15.
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