Studio Movie Grill Anticipated to Open at Simi Valley Town Center on October 22nd

Update October 19, 2015: Simi Valley Town Center indicates an October 22, 2015 grand opening date. Visit the Simi Valley Town Center Facebook page for updates.

Guests will be offered Grand Opening special ticket pricing at $9.00 for adults, $7.00 for matinees, and $6.00 for children. Military, Student & Senior discounts will also be offered. 100% reserved seating is available online now at www.studiomoviegrill.com. 

From October 26 - 29, SMG Simi Valley will host its signature community-wide Cans Film Festival Food Drive. Moviegoers who donate four or more canned goods or non-perishable food items during the food drive will receive a free ticket to any movie that day. All donated items will go to benefit The Samaritan Center, Simi Valley’s social services organization

In addition, SMG offers its Special Needs Screenings for families raising children with special needs. Established over seven years ago, these regularly scheduled screenings offer first-run family movies, free to children with special needs and their siblings. All others pay the before–noon matinee ticket price. The series launches at SMG Simi Valley with Ghostbusters on Saturday, October 31 at 11:00am in partnership with the Simi Valley Unified School District’s Student Support Services.

At SMG Simi Valley, 5% of the proceeds from any item on the menu marked with the SMG Chefs for Children badge will be donated to Simi Valley Unified School District’s Student Support Services. 

Construction coming right along at the Studio Movie Grill at the Simi Valley Town Center

Studio Movie Grill (SMG) Simi Valley will be located at the 628,000 sq ft Simi Valley Town Center. The theater will occupy 41,311 sq ft, with 9 screens and over 950 seats.

SMG's spacious auditoriums will feature stadium seating and fixed lounge seats, individual dining tables, and a contemporary casual entry and bar area. The theater will also feature signature SMG design appointments combining crisp architectural details with natural materials.  The interiors will be modern with a selective mix of textiles, stone surfaces, warm-woods, and modern furniture classics.

SMG operates 23 locations in 10 states. For additional information, visit www.studiomoviegrill.com.

Painting with a Twist Opening Soon in Old Town Camarillo

Update 10/10/15: Painting with a Twist grand opening set for Thursday, October 15th.

Posted 7/28/15: Painting with a Twist looks to be opening soon at 2298 E. Ventura Boulevard in Old Town Camarillo (at the intersection of Arneill), next to the El Rey Cantina.

Painting with a Twist provides customers with paint, a canvas and brushes that lead to a fun evening with friends and a finished piece of art.  And yes, you receive professional instruction to create your work of art as well as access to wine.

For updates, visit paintingwithatwist.com/camarillo.

Explorers' Emporium in Simi Valley May Be the Most Unique Store in Ventura County

Update 11/3/17: Owners announced via Facebook that they will be moving out of state 1/1/18 but that their online store will remain open.

Explorers' Emporium may well be the most unique store in Ventura County. 

A friend from Simi Valley has a son who has an interest in fossils. He received a good deal of help on his project at the store and told me I had to check it out.

I stopped by and it took me awhile to take it all in. Explorers' Emporium is a small store yet carries a jaw-dropping, eclectic assortment of items geared towards creative types.

An entire section of the store contains replicas of dinosaur teeth and other items like shark teeth. There is a huge assortment of archery supplies, Dungeons & Dragons gaming, crafts, steampunk, Renaissance Faire costumes, science projects, board games and much more.

There's an entire display of dinosaur replica items, like teeth and claws available for purchase for both educational and hobby/collecting use. I on the other hand couldn't help but purchase these Tyrannosaurus rex teeth for a few hard to shop for friends.

Located in the Stone Gate Shopping Center at 5766 E. Los Angeles Avenue (at Yosemite) in the east end of Simi Valley. Explorers' Emporium opened this past summer but its owners have been providing creative, science and learning programs to the local community for over 25 years.

Emplorers' Emporium offers a variety of programs, both on-site and at local schools and organizations, including fossil/dinosaur programs, archaic man programs, Dungeon and Dragons encounters, science/nature workshops, Magic: the Gathering sessions, Tandy leather classes, miniature/figurine painting, music, gaming and more. Visit www.explorersemporium.com/programs.php for details.

Learn more at explorersemporium.com or call 805.791.3002.

Renaissance Fair and Steampunk garb available for purchase at Explorers' Emporium

History Repeats Itself as Nordstrom Rack Premieres Today at Janss Marketplace

I didn't do a count, but there were easily hundreds and hundreds of folks on hand today for the grand opening of the new Nordstrom Rack at Janss Marketplace, in a space on Hillcrest Drive previously occupied by Sears (which now occupies less space). It was pretty crazy, yet casual, as locals enjoyed special treats, music, raffle and a first look at this new store, barely a half mile walk from the Nordstrom store at The Oaks mall across the street.

Funny how history repeats itself. Fifty five (yes 55) years ago, the headline of a Thousand Oaks Journal news story on Wednesday, November 16, 1960 was "THRIFTY DRUG OPENS NEW 1000 OAKS STORE THURSDAY" and further noted "Giant Throng Expected at Ventura Blvd & Moorpark Rd For Thurs. Grand Opening."  Ventura Blvd is now Thousand Oaks Blvd, the Conejo Village Shopping Center is now Janss Marketplace, and Thrifty Drug Store became Rite Aid many years ago, but that store is still there!

Image courtesy of Thousand Oaks Library Special Collections

Lots of excitement about that new Thrifty store apparently because they awarded Blue Chip Stamps on over 20,000 items!! I'm dating myself by remembering Blue Chip Stamps, a customer loyalty program that went by the wayside in the 1980s. Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, acquired Blue Chip Stamps as a company in the 1970s. Sales were $126 million in 1970 but dropped to pretty much nothing by the 1990s.

The Oaks Mall Announces Three New Eateries Coming in Summer 2016 - Pizza Rev, Urban Plates and Chipotle

In addition to the previously mentioned De-Lite-Ful Low Carb Restaurant coming to The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks sometime early next year, there are three additional eateries coming to the The Oaks towards to the summer of 2016. 

PizzaRev is a "build your own" fast-casual pizza place with other local locations in Camarillo, Oxnard and Woodland Hills. 

Chipotle...well, I'm pretty sure you already now about Chipotle Mexican Grill, with other local locations in Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Oxnard, Ventura and Malibu.

Urban Plates - This is a restaurant with locations in San Diego, Irvine, Dublin, and soon, Playa Vista, serving "made from scratch" salads, entrees, braises and stews and sandwiches. "Farm to plate and won't break the bank" is what they say at www.urbanplates.com.

These eateries are planned as part of the new construction that is planned west of Lazy Dog Cafe.

Updates at www.shoptheoaksmall.com.

Nordstrom Rack at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks to Open This Fall

Back in December 2013, Nordstrom announced plans to open a 40,000 sq ft Nordstrom Rack, 145 West Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks in fall 2015.

The store will be opening on Thursday, October 1, 2015. They will be having a grand opening event at 8am with gift card giveaways, breakfast, music, treats and more. Store will be opening at 9am.

Regular weekday hours are 10am to 9pm.

This two-story store will occupy a portion of the existing Sears location, while Sears will continue occupying an anchor position on the primary floor of the existing store.  

Get updates at shop.nordstrom.com/st/nordstrom-rack-janss-marketplace.

REI Woodland Hills is Opening Its Doors on Friday, September 18th

REI Woodland Hills is opening its doors on Friday, September 18th, with grand opening specials at 6220 Topanga Canyon Boulevard (at Erwin Street). REIprovides outdoor enthusiasts with top-brand gear and clothing for camping, climbing, cycling, fitness, hiking, paddling, skiing, travel and more. Also offering a complete bike shop, with a full range of professional bike shop services to help keep you biking the streets and trails year-round. 

Visit www.rei.com/stores/woodland-hills.html for more information. This REI store is about 3 miles closer to the center of Thousand Oaks than the REI store at The Collection at RiverPark that opened about 2 1/2 years ago (my how time flies!).

ZARA Anticipated to Open This Fall at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks

ZARA is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. There are over 2,000 ZARA stores around the world, including 54 in the United States. ZARA carries women's, men's, and children's clothing, shoes, fragrances and accessories.

ZARA is the flagship chain store of the Inditex (Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A.) group, the world's largest apparel retailer, operating over 6,600 stores worldwide. The fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Uterqüe, Stradivarius, Oysho and Bershka.

ZARA is anticipated to be opening this fall at The Oaks Mall on the first floor, north side, directly across from Nordstrom and below The Cheesecake Factory.

They are currently looking to hire staff! Visit www.joinfashioninditex.com for more information about applying. More on ZARA at www.zara.com.