Lolli and Pops Now Open at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks

Lolli and Pops is now open at The Oaks Mall on the lower level near Macy's Mens and Home Store Court. Lolli and Pops is a high-end purveyor of sweetness and confectionary treats, offering over 600 unique items of indulgence, with unique, candy-themed rooms. 

This company, which was founded in 2012, just opened a location at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park and also has a Glendale Galleria location.

So what kind of sweets to do these purveyors of sweetness carry? Unique sweets from all over the world, including chocolate from Madagascar, sourbelts from Spain, sodas from Japan and more. Visit www.lolliandpops.com to learn more.

Sweet! Both figuratively and literally. The Oaks is not lacking for sweets, with Lolli and Pops joining See's Candies and Sweet XO. Hmm, perhaps the next wise move at The Oaks would be to bring a dentist's office to the mall!

Lolli and Pops Sizzle from Lolli and Pops on Vimeo.

The Container Store is Coming to The Collection at RiverPark on Saturday, November 14th

Update 11/6/15: On grand opening weekend, November 14-15, The Container Store Oxnard will give away prizes every hour, including a $1,000 elfa ® space makeover.

The store is set to have 10,000 ingenious storage and organization products in 16 lifestyle sections.

They have announced that 10% of grand opening weekend sales will be donated to local Casa Pacifica Center for Children & Families.

Store hours are 10am to 9pm, Mon to Sat and 11am to 7pm on Sunday. www.containerstore.com

Update June 2015: Grand opening date of November 14, 2015 is planned for The Container Store at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard. www.containerstore.com/locations/showStore.htm?store=OXN

Original post 2/20/15: Last week, The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard announced that The Container Store will be opening later this year. The Container Store, the nation’s originator and leading retailer of storage and organization products, will offer more than 10,000 products to help customers save space and, ultimately, save time. The 25,000 square foot building is under construction next to H&M and is scheduled to open in late 2015.

The Container Store opened its first store in 1978 and has 70 store locations nationwide. The company has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies To Work For® – 15 years in a row. Visit www.containerstore.com for more information.

This is quite a nice development for The Collection and all of Ventura County, as this will be the first and only location of The Container Store here. The closest locations are at the Los Angeles Farmers Market, Century City and El Segundo.

Sephora Coming to The Promenade at Westlake This November

Nov Update: Sephora is now open.

Posted 8/17/15: Caruso Affiliated’s The Promenade at Westlake will welcome beauty retailer Sephora this November. A visionary beauty-retail concept, Sephora's unique, open-sell environment features an ever-increasing amount of classic and emerging brands across a broad range of product categories including skincare, color, fragrance, body and haircare, in addition to Sephora's own private label, SEPHORA COLLECTION. From unparalleled beauty advice to professional makeovers, guests will be able to tap into the latest products, skincare and expertise, as well as shop favorite brands like Marc Jacobs Beauty, Formula X, Bite Beauty, Fresh, Drybar, and more.

The Promenade at Westlake is located at 100 Promenade Way, Westlake Village and is open Monday – Thursday: 10am-8pm, Friday – Saturday: 10am-9pm and Sunday: 11am-7pm

www.sephora.com  / www.shoppromenade.com

Five Threads Brewing Company Opening Tonight in Westlake Village

Five Threads Brewing Company is opening its doors tonight at 31133 Via Colinas, Suite 109, Westlake Village (west of Lindero Canyon Road) offering locally brewed craft beers in its tasting room. 

Five Threads? The five threads represent the five ingredients of beer: Water, Malt, Hops, Yeast and "You and Me." 

Open Wednesday through Sunday (closed for brewing on Monday/Tuesday). Visit www.fivethreadsbrewing.com for more information.

M∙A∙C Cosmetics Opening at The Promenade at Westlake This Fall

Update 10/29/15: M-A-C Cosmetics is now open at The Promenade at Westlake. www.maccosmetics.com 

Posted 8/12/15: The Promenade at Westlake welcomes the world’s leading professional makeup authority. M∙A∙C Cosmetics is scheduled to open its newest location at The Promenade at Westlake, this fall. A favorite of professional makeup artists, M∙A∙C Cosmetics will offer guests its finest quality, prestige makeup and services. 

The Promenade at Westlake is located at 100 Promenade Way, Westlake Village

Hours: Monday – Thursday: 10am-8pm, Friday – Saturday: 10am-9pm, Sunday: 11am-7pm

www.maccosmetics.com / www.shoppromenade.com

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.