Decker Kitchen New Location in Thousand Oaks

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In case you missed it, Decker Kitchen moved to a new, much larger location in the Paseo Market Place at 3731 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks in February. It was previously located in the County Line Shopping Center in Westlake Village (since opening in 2018).

Decker is a popular "farm to table" eatery serving a variety of entrees, pizzas and salads. Its new space was previously occupied by Petra Mediterranean Cuisine (2015 to 2019) and before that, Fiamme Restaurant.

www.deckerkitchen.com

Habanero Tacos & Fries Now Open in the Oakbrook Center in Thousand Oaks (NOW CLOSED)

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UPDATE: They have since closed.

Habanero Mexican Grill at the Oakbrook Center in Thousand Oaks (Avenida de los Arboles and Erbes Road) has reopened as Habanero Tacos & Fries.

There is a new menu at www.habanerotacos.com that features tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tortas, nachos, fries, ramen noodles and more.

The original Habanero Mexican Grill opened at the Walmart center in Newbury Park in February 2017 and is still open. This 2nd location opened in March 2018.

Rhineland Deli Thousand Oaks Relocating to New Location a Block Away

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Rhineland Deli will soon be relocating a block away to the Oak Leaf Square, 1817 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, near Winner's Pizza. I'm told they will be transitioning out of their current location in about a week and will target a mid-February reopening date at the new location. So you may want to stop by soon to get your fix of delicious German-style sandwiches before they temporarily close.

I’m also told, but have not confirmed, that they will be under new ownership.

They have a Facebook that’s not particularly active at www.facebook.com/RhinelandDeli.

Drive-Thru Starbucks on South Westlake Boulevard in Westlake Village is Now Open

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The new drive-thru Starbucks at 925 South Westlake Boulevard is now open. Cisco's was the previous occupant of this address, before closing in February 2018. Also new here are the NU Med Spa and First Bank.

In a trend we’ve been seeing since 2013, this drive-thru Starbucks opened and a nearby Starbucks that was not a drive-thru closed. In this case, the long-time store between Sharky’s and Yogurtland at the southwest corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake Boulevards closed.

The Starbucks at The Village at Newbury Park relocated across the parking lot to a new drive-thru location in January 2013.

The drive-thru Starbucks at the corner of Thousand Oaks Blvd and Rancho Road opened in March 2013. This was a new Starbucks, not a “replacement” Starbucks.

The drive-thru Starbucks at Janss Marketplace (where Hooters formerly resided) opened in January 2021, replacing the long-time Starbucks a block away.

The drive-thru Starbucks at the southwest corner of Thousand Oaks Blvd and Auto Mall drive opened in February 2018.

It’s always fun and a bit predictable what the response will be when we post update about a new Starbucks opening. About 50% of the comments are anti-Starbucks and the other half are either half are happy about it or ambivalent. One thing’s for sure, Starbucks never seems lacking for customers.

Patron Mexican Bar & Grill to Open Thousand Oaks Location (NOW OPEN)

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UPDATE: After long last, Patron Westlake Village opened in May 2022.

patron mulino.jpg

Patron Mexican Bar & Grill looks to be opening a new location at 3709 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, which is the address of Al Mulino Italian Restaurant. I confirmed with Patron that they do plan to open this new location by sometime later this year.

Al Mulino originally opened in July 2015. Patron has locations in Newbury Park and Camarillo.

Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers Chime In On Favorite Items at Urbane Cafe

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Today, the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page hosted its 36th day in a row of daily gift card drawings at local eateries. We’ve been raising funds from local residents and businesses and using these funds to purchase gift cards and gift certificates. In turn, we’ve been giving free publicity in the form of a drawing each day, rewarding one lucky participant the gift card. It’s been a lot of fun and we plan to continue these drawings as long as we continue to receive donations.

Donations can be made via credit card at bit.ly/CVGFund or via PayPal at paypal.me/ConejoValleyGuide.

(We’ve covered quite a number of eateries so far, including Country Harvest, Grabbagreen, Little Calf Creamery, Prawn and Basil, Parma Pizza, P&L Burger, El Sancho Loco, Hatch Cafe, Coaches Ice Cream, Tifa Chocolate & Gelato, Made in Italy, Pedals & Pints, Toppers Pizza, The Latigo Kid, Vegan Thyme, Thousand Oaks Fish & Chips, Five 07 Coffee Bar, Mouthful Eatery, Los Agaves, Side Street Cafe, Twisted Oak Tavern, Joi Cafe, Cafe Sapientia, Jack’s Donuts, Tabu Shabu, Holdren’s Steak House, Chocolatine, Q Sushi, Newberry Candy, Snapper Jacks, Novo Cafe, D’Amore’s Pizza, Pacific Fresh Grill, Bandits BBQ, Carrara Pastries, Historia Bakery, Boney Mountain Pizza Co., Los Dos Amigos and Urbane Cafe.)

Tom Holt opened the first Urbane Cafe in 2003 in Ventura and this popular fast casual eatery has since grown to 19 locations. Urbane Cafe Thousand Oaks opened in April 2015. There are also local locations in Agoura Hills, Camarillo, Simi Valley and Oxnard. Their menu includes freshly made, sandwiches, salads, bowls and soups. Their freshly-baked focaccia bread is a standout! Learn more at urbanecafe.com.

Here the Urbane Cafe menu items that received the most attention from CVG fans:

  • Cranberry Brie Sandwich received quite a bit of love!

  • Lots of support for the Farmers Market Salad

  • Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwich sounded good to many

  • Meat lovers would like to sink their teeth into the Chimchurri Steak Sandwich

  • Pesto and Sundried Tomato sandwich is loved by many

  • The Santa Maria BBQ Sandwich has a lot of supporters

  • The So Cal Sandwich is quite popular

  • The Californian Sandwich - very popular with our vegetarian friends

  • Other items receiving mentions include Cilantro Chicken Salad, Cilantro Torta, UC Banh Mi, Turkey Club Sandwich, the Ahi Salad (a favorite of mine, along with the Cranberry Brie), Bella Portobello Sandwich, Protein Salad, Fiesta Bowl and others.

Jessica remarked “GET THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Your life will never be the same.” Others echoed her sentiment. Keep that in mind as you perhaps go on a run to pre-burn some calories!

What Is Your Favorite Topper's Pizza? Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers Do Tell

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toppers pizza.jpg

Since mid-July,, we’ve been raising funds from Conejo Valley Guide social media followers and using proceeds raised to purchase gift cards at local Conejo Valley area eateries (that in turn were suggested by CVG Facebook Page followers). As of August 4h, we have raised over $2,000 from 113 individuals and organizations. If every social media follower gave a $1, we’d have well over $40,000 earmarked for local business!

To give to this fund, and every $1 helps, donate via credit card at bit.ly/CVG Fund or via Paypal at paypal.me/ConejoValleyGuide.

So a few days ago we asked CVG Facebook followers to enter the drawing by reviewing the Topper’s Pizza Place menu at www.topperspizzaplace.com/menu and choose their pizza of choice. We decided to compile the results of these responses below.

  • BBQ Chicken Pizza - mentioned 33 times

  • Cheese Pizza - mentioned 14 times

  • Chicken Ranch Dijon Pizza - mentioned 12 times

  • Vegetarian Combination Pizza - mentioned 35 times

  • Combo Pizza - mentioned 14 times

  • Hawaiian Heat Pizza - mentioned 24 times

  • Carnitas Chipotle Pizza - mentioned 16 times

  • Pepperoni Pizza - mentioned 39 times

  • Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza - mentioned 4 times

  • Sausage and Black Olive Pizza

  • Spicy Garlic Italian Pizza - mentioned 9 times

  • Meatinator Pizza - mentioned 7 times

  • BCT Pizza (Bacon, Chicken, Tomatoes) - mentioned 3 times

  • Meatball Pizza - mentioned 3 times

  • Creamy Garlic Chicken - mentioned 12 times

  • Italian Sausage Pizza - mentioned 2 times

  • Canadian Bacon and Mushroom

  • Jalapeno Combo Pizzas (with Mushroom, Pineapple, etc.) - mentioned 2 times

  • Hot Honey Pizza - mentioned 15 times

  • Buffalo Chicken Pizza - mentioned 3 times

  • Sausage Combos with Olives, Onion and Mushrooms - mentioned 4 times

  • Pineapple Pizza - mentioned 5 times

  • Chicken and Bacon

  • Chorizo Pizza

  • Pepperoni Combos (with Bacon Bits , Olives, Pineapple, Sausage, Mushroom, Chorizo or Jalapeno) - mentioned 35 times

  • Canadian Bacon Combos (with Red Onion, Chorizo, or Jalapeno) - mentioned 5 times

  • Green Pepper and Tomato, Green Pepper and Mushrooms - mentioned 3 times