Lamppost Pizza in Moorpark Closed but Jax Pizza Opened Back in July

Having lost the Newbury Park Lamppost Pizza back in December 2011, on occasion we try to stop by the Westlake Village and Moorpark Lamppost Pizzas. But last weekend we discovered the Moorpark location is no longer there, and the space at 530 New Los Angeles Avenue is now occupied by Jax Pizza.

Upon further investigation, Lamppost Pizza Moorpark served its customers for the last time on July 21st, while Jax Pizza opened within a week as evidenced at www.facebook.com/JaxPizzaPlace.

Jax Pizza serves up pizza (duh!), sandwiches, salads, pastas, beer, wine and more. They also have Friday night karaoke. Visit jaxpizzaplace.com for more information or call 805.529.6220.

9021Pho Opened at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks on Monday, August 18th

9021Pho is opening its doors today, August 18th, at 11am. Grand opening event on August 27th.

About 9021Pho

Created by Vietnamese Master Chef Kimmy Tang, 9021Pho is a unique casual service restaurant that offers a Vietnamese-centric menu with French influences and California flair. Chef Kimmy blends a traditional Vietnamese palette of healthy, colorful vegetables, rich in antioxidants with lean proteins. With her exclusive flash cooking method, all vital nutrients are retained and minimal oil is used. Exclusive to 9021Pho, Chef Kimmy’s dishes are accented with handmade sauces made with fresh herbs, spices, and unexpected notes. Uniquely Californian, each dish is light and clean, and made with only the highest quality ingredients. Chef Kimmy was also a featured chef at the prestigious 2014 James Beard Award Gala Dinner. 9021Pho has four locations for dine-in, take out, or delivery: Beverly Hills (490 N. Beverly Drive), Glendale Galleria (1164 Glendale Galleria Way), Sherman Oaks (Fashion Square Mall, 14006 Riverside Drive), Thousand Oaks at The Lakes (2200 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.) and West Hollywood (7950 W. Sunset Blvd., Unit E). 9021pho.com

Update 5/14/14: 9021Pho in Westlake Village has closed, but the new location at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is anticipated to open real soon. On its Facebook page they indicate sometime in June.

Posted 2/9/14:

Yesterday, French Vietnamese restaurant 9021Phoannounced it will be opening a new location at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks by the end of March 2014. It will be located adjacent to California Pizza Kitchen in the space previously occupied by Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (and more recently International Organic Treats).

9021Pho serves up traditional Pho noodle bowls, rice dishes, entrees, salads and more in a casual atmosphere. Other locations at the Glendale Galleria, Beverly Hills and Sherman Oaks. Learn more at 9021pho.com.

Burger Werkz in Westlake Village Closed Its Doors Last Week

For reasons not entirely clear to me, Burger Werkz, located at the northeast corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Lindero Canyon Road in Westlake Village, closed its doors last week. I was alerted by several Burger Werkz fans via the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyGuide that Burger Werkz had closed.

There was no specific mention of the closure other than a comment on August 4th: "Our Certificate of Occupancy expired and we were forced to shut down due to reasons out of our control. We will post any updates on FB. Thanks for your support!! BW" The Burger Werkz phone number has been disconnected.

Burger Werkz originally opened on February 13, 2013, about 18 months ago.

Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery to Open at Former Mermaid Tavern Location in Thousand Oaks

It was back in May that a CVG Facebook follower tipped us off that the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery was going to be opening a location in Thousand Oaks. When we contacted Tilted Kilt, we were told that the new location would be 1345 Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

SEPTEMBER UPDATE

That was interesting, because The Mermaid Tavern is (or I should now say was) located at that address. Yet there was no mention of this on The Mermaid Tavern's Facebook page...and their website was not operational.

The Mermaid Tavern originally opened on February 4, 2012 in the spot formerly occupied by Roxy's Deli. And I learned a bit more history from Facebook followers that before Roxy's this spot was a Hodel's Country Dining.  But enough of history. Let's look to the future.

Sure enough, The Mermaid Tavern closed its doors several weeks ago and two days ago, a Tilted Kilt Thousand Oaks Facebook page appeared, indicating "Coming Soon."

Now, let's learn a bit more about the Tilted Kilt. According to its Facebook page, "A Celtic themed sports Pub featuring the world famous Tilted Kilt Girls! 'A Cold Beer Never Looked So Good'®" It is a national chain of over 80 pubs, with a casual atmosphere, plenty of flat screen TVs, pub grub and more. Tilted Kilt was named to the Inc. Magazine Top 10 franchises for 2011. Serving up sandwiches, pizza, pub grub like fish and chips and shepherd's pie, burgers, wings and more. Visit www.tiltedkilt.com for more information.

Construction in process at what used to be the Mermaid Tavern in Thousand Oaks.

Togo's Sandwiches on Madera and Royal in Simi Valley Recently Closed

CVG Facebook follower Stacy O. has pointed out that the Togo's Sandwiches on Madera and Royal in Simi Valley recently closed its doors, but the other Simi location at 2410 Sycamore Drive remains open.

There are three other Togo's in the area - Westlake Village (2761 Agoura Road), Oxnard (2710 N. Rose Avenue) and Ventura (4726 Telephone Road, Suite 1B)

Since I have not personally been to a Togo's, I asked what others thought about them: "turkey and avocado sandwich is the best!" "I like their spicy jack pastrami" "turkey and cranberry is my hubby's fav" "they're delicious - their meat is not processed" "only fast and cheap sandwich shop that makes egg salad" and many other affirmed their affinity for Togo's sandwiches. Time to check them out. www.togos.com

The Wineyard in Thousand Oaks to Close Its Doors This Thursday, June 19th

Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page follower Danielle forwarded an email sent by owners of The WineYard in Thousand Oaks, adjacent to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza:

"Friends of The WineYard, after 7 1/2 years -  we sadly say good bye. When we opened The WineYard we never expected to be here this long and we are so grateful to you for being our friends.  You and your support have meant so much to us that our decision was very difficult to make.  We have enjoyed meeting you, talking with you and sharing our lives together.

Our last day is this Thursday, June 19th. Baby's Bad Ass Burgers food truck will also be here. Come and see us this week if you can. We will miss you terribly, but the time has come to move on. We hope to see you again, but until then, CHEERS!

Club WineYard: if you have wines to pick up please come in before Friday otherwise get in touch with us for your wine pick up.  Thank you for your support!!!

With the closing, many WineYard bistro tables and chairs, furniture pieces, patio futniture, coolers, etc... will be for sale."

Elephant Bar Simi Valley to Close This Thursday

Thanks to a tip from Anastasia via the CVG Facebook page, then a review of the Elephant Bar Facebook page, followed by confirmation by this Santa Clarita Valley Signal article, we've learned that the Elephant Bar Global Grill/Wok Kitchen in Simi Valley (as well as locations in Northridge, Valencia and Burbank) will be closing this Thursday.

The Simi Valley Elephant Bar is (soon to be was) located at 1825 Madera Road.

Elephant Bar was founded in 1980 and has locations in nine states. The closure appears to be part of an effort to close down underperforming locations.

N'Awlinz Bistro Announces That Today, June 8th, It Is Closing Its Oxnard Eatery

UPDATE 10/29/14: Last week, N'Awlinz 805 Grill opened at Centennial Plaza, the former home of N'Awlinz Bistro. Same cajun style food with some menu and concept changes1

I was shocked to see the news on the N'Awlinz Bistro Facebook page today: "We regretfully announce that Sunday, June 8th will be the last day of service for NAWLINZ Bistro and will remain closed until further notice. We thank you for your patronage over the last 8 months and hope to see you soon in one of our future endeavors. Please feel free to leave your comments.  -Chef Marcus Webster."

N'Awlinz Bistro first opened its doors here in the Conejo Valley in Newbury Park location in February 2012, then closed its doors there in December 2013 to focus its efforts on its Oxnard location, which opened to the public in September 2013. The Newbury Park location on Kimber Drive now serves as a catering-only location. Note: Please invite me to your event if you plan to use N'Awlinz Bistro as your caterer. YUM!

To contact Chef Webster and his team regarding catering, visit nawlinzbistro.com or call 805.499.7400 or 805.368.5677 or chefmarcus@nawlinzbistro.com.