Cigale Cafe in Oak Park Closed in October; Margarita's Mexican Grill Coming in 2015

The owner of Cigale Cafe at 704 Lindero Canyon Road (at Kanan) announced in October that this French eatery would be closing its doors after a successful five year run. This was sad to hear as its 4 1/2 star Yelp ratings indicate it was enjoyed by many.

Coming soon to this location will be Margarita's Mexican Grill, which recently posted mock-ups of restaurant signage on its Facebook page. Margarita's is targeting a January/February launch at its new Oak Park location. There's a sign on the front door indicating they are looking to hire experience staff on Mondays through Wednesdays from 1-5pm.

Margarita's is a family-owned eatery that opened its Santa Clarita location in 1998, where it offers breakfast, brunch, buffets, authentic Mexican food, seafood, vegan/vegetarian specialties and more. Visit www.margaritasmexgrill.com.

Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co. in Calabasas Announces It is Closed

Today on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/wolfcreekcalabasas, Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co. at The Summit at Calabasas announced it has closed its doors after 4 years in business. They indicated they will continue operating the original location in Santa Clarita as well as its brewery in Valencia. Learn more at www.wolfcreekbrewingco.com.

Post by Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co. - Calabasas.

Mandarin Buffet in Thousand Oaks Closed Earlier This Year

I missed the fact that Mandarin Buffet in Thousand Oaks is closed, and apparently has been closed all summer. Mandarin Buffet was located at 55 Rolling Oaks Drive, south of the 101 freeway off of Moorpark Road. The restaurant opened in 2007.

Sign on the door of Mandarin Buffet indicates the eatery is close(d).

Prior to Mandarin Buffet, this 5,000 sq ft location was a Coco's Bakery Restaurant. And before that, Bob’s Big Boy resided here.

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."