STACKED: Food Well Built to Open 4th Location at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks!

Update 3/14/13: STACKED has indicated it will be opening on Wednesday, March 20th! They open at 11am, seven days a week. Their phone is 805.494.2530. stacked.com

Update 1/29/13: STACKED: Food Well Built has indicated they are targeting a mid-March 2013 grand opening date. They are currently hiring for the Thousand Oaks location. stacked.com/#locations

Originally Posted 9/19/12: According to this press release on RestaurantNews.com, The Oaks Mall will soon have a replacement for the Buddha's Belly that closed its doors on September 8th.

Founded in mid-2011, STACKED: Food Well Built will soon be neighbors with popular The Cheesecake Factory at The Oaks. STACKED has 3 current locations at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego and the Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos.

The STACKED menu features popular food like burgers, pizzas, salads, and mac ‘n’ cheese. Guests can choose from signature dishes or build their own meals selecting from dozens of proteins, toppings, dips and sauces, using proprietary tableside iPad technology (or they can order from attentive servers). Also on the menu are appetizers, shakes and desserts.

Sounds like a fun concept! Ordering via iPad!

This make your own concept seems to be growing in popularity. Reminds me of one of my family's favorite local eateries; The Counter in Westlake Village.

For more information about STACKED or employment opportunities, visit stacked.com or facebook.com/stackedrestaurants.

Santa Paula Agriculture Museum Sugar Beet Exhibits March 30 to August 11

Agriculture Museum Hosts Sugar Beet Exhibits

Cultivating Oxnard Sugar Beets; Museum of Ventura County Research Library Collection The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum will be showcasing a new exhibit, From Field to Factory, Oxnard’s Beet Generation, from March 30 to August 11, 2013. The exhibit will include never-before-exhibited photographs of the American Beet Sugar Factory in Oxnard, which was the world’s second largest beet sugar producer upon completion in 1898, and tales of the boom town that sprang up practically overnight around the factory. The photographs illustrate the rise of one of Ventura County’s most important historical crops: Sugar beets. A beet wagon fully-restored by Santa Paula resident, Richard Cummings, will be on display. Artifacts from the factory, as well as tools from of the beet trade, will also be on display.

Visitors are invited to attend the opening reception on Saturday, April 6, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m, which will celebrate two exhibits, From Field to Factory and Farm Fresh Quilts. Event will include sweet treats, no-host bar, and beet-related contests. Admission to the reception is $5.00 for the general public and free for museum members. RSVP to 805-525-3100.

Along with the opening reception, the Agriculture Museum will host several events focused on the sugar beet industry. On Sunday, April 14, at 2:00 p.m., CSU Channel Islands Professor of History, Frank P. Barajas, Ph.D., will present Oxnard Labor History. Barajas is the author of Curious Unions: Mexican American Workers and Resistance in Oxnard, California, 1898-1961. Admission to Barajas’ lecture is $5.00 for the general public and free for museum members, and includes entrance to all Museum exhibits. RSVP to 805-525-3100.

The Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum is located in historic downtown Santa Paula at 926 Railroad Avenue. Hours are 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. General admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children ages 6-17. Free for Museum of Ventura County members and children ages 5 and younger. Paid events include free admission to the galleries, and the first Sunday of every month is free general admission to the public. For more information, go to www.venturamuseum.org or call (805) 525-3100.

Thousand Oaks Police Department Says To Be Aware of Coupon Book Scam

Here is a "City Watch" alert from the Thousand Oaks Police Department. If you would like these updates directly from via email, click here for more information.

"The Coupon Book Scam"

A solicitor was selling a coupon book for $80.00 to benefit the local Boys and Girls Club. The female told the victim that if he purchased the book, he would need to go to the local Boys and Girls Club to pick up the coupon book. The victim wrote a check to a company called “La Familia Management Company” and was given a receipt with an address out of Aurora, Illinois.

The victim went to the Boys and Girls Club with his receipt only to find out he had been a victim of a scam.  The Camarillo Boys and Girls Club is not selling coupon books nor have they authorized anyone to sell coupon books on their behalf. 

If you have been a victim of this scam or have any information relating to this scam, please contact the Thousand Oaks Police Department to report the information.

City of T.O. Permit (example)The Thousand Oaks Police Department would like to remind citizens that solicitors are required to have valid solicitor permits in their possession, and to ask the solicitor to see their permit which is issued by the city of Thousand Oaks. The Thousand Oaks regulatory permit is shown to the right as an example.

If the solicitor cannot provide the permit or you are not sure if the permit is authentic please contact The Thousand Oaks Finance Division at (805) 449-2201 between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday.  If the solicitor is acting in a suspicious manner or you are unable to verify the permit through the city, please call our dispatch center at 805-654-9511 to have a deputy respond and investigate.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Ventura Opened on February 28th

Update May 2018: Dickey's Barbecue Pit Ventura has closed its doors after five years in business., joining the closure of Dickey's locations in Westlake Village and Simi Valley. 

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Burgers, BBQ and Beer are all the rage these days throughout Ventura County it seems. Today in a random stop by the Ventura Dippin Dots store with my kids, I discovered the newest BBQ place in town, Dickey's Barbecue Pit. Dickey's opened on February 28th in the Victoria Plaza.

Travis Dickey opened the first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Dallas, Texas in 1941. His sons took over in 1967 and expanded throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The company began franchising in 1994 and now they are all over the country.

According to their website, Dickey's serves up beef brisket, pulled pork, ham, polish sausage, turkey breast and chicken, with an extensive array of home-style sides from jalapeno beans to macaroni and cheese. Buttery rolls are served with every meal along with complimentary ice cream and dill pickles. We are known for our mouth-watering BBQ smothered in smoky sauce. Dickey's offers juicy pulled pork, tender ribs and brisket.

STOP THERE! Did I read, FREE ICE CREAM (with dine-in purchase)? And pickles? Sounds like a great place to bring a pregnant woman! But there's more...KIDS EAT FREE every Sunday (kids 12 and under, 1 free kid's meal for each paid adult meal of equal or greater value, dine-in only).

Well I walked over at 4pm and the line was going out the door! They must be doing something right here! Dickey's Barbecue Pit is located at 6100 Telegraph Road, Suite F, Ventura (this was previously Pizza Mizza, which closed in mid-2011). The Dickey's Ventura website is www.dickeys.com/locator/store.php?id=599 and phone is 805.212.4240.