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.

2015 Fit 4 The Cause Miracle of Movement Gala on September 19th Was a Smashing Success

Fit 4 The Cause, a local non-profit that combines social media-fueled flash mobs with fitness education and philanthropic giving, received its 501(c)(3) status a year ago just 90 days after filing with the IRS. 

Founded by PR expert and ACE certified Fitness Pro Cindy Rakowitz, Fit 4 The Cause continued pushing the limits over the last 12 months, culminating in a packed house at the its inaugural Miracle of Movement Gala at the Sheraton Agoura Hills.

Cindy Rakowitz along with "The Duo" - Honoree Sourena Vasseghi and Chris Stevenson

What a great event!  Led by Fox Sport Radio talk show host Tomm Looney, this gala was entertaining and inspirational.

The theme of the night was "Smashing Obstacles." Honorees celebrated for smashing personal obstacles were Lisa Roub, who received the 2015 Advocacy Award and Sourena Vasseghi, recipient of the 2015 Inspiration Award.

Roub learned in April 2014 that she had breast cancer at the age of 40. After much research she opted to have a bilateral mastectomy. After the surgery, she was told that the cancer spread to her lymph nodes and would necessitate four rounds of chemotherapy. The thought of losing her hair was now a concern. But she discovered a new treatment, Penguin Cold Caps, that prevents hair loss by freezing the scalp to 40 degrees below zero on chemo days, protecting the follicles and minimizing hair loss. Roub has been cancer-free for nearly a year. She was honored for sharing her experiences with others in need of support and advice. 

Miracle of Movement Gala Honorees, Sourena Vasseghi and Lisa Roub

Vasseghi is an award-winning author and inspirational speaker who suffers from severe cerebral palsy. Although he has limited motor skills and a significant speech impediment, he is an award-winning author and inspirational speaker. But since he can't really speak to an audience, he has partnered with "interpreter" Chris Stevenson of Stevenson Fitness in Oak Park. The duo had us both laughing and crying as they took us through some of the challenges Vasseghi faces in life and how we all can learn from them. Vasseghi is an Agoura Hills resident and is married with two kids. You have to meet this guy. Learn more at sourenav.com.

We also enjoyed a conversation with NFL linebacker Brady Poppinga at the Gala. Poppinga shared thoughts on commitment and returning from injury over the course of his career. After playing at BYU, he was drafted in 2005 by the Green Bay Packers, where he played six years, then the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys. 

Two thumbs up to all of the great sponsors for this event that made it happen, with a shout-out to Champion Level sponsors Edison International, Humana/Brian Sullivan and the Law Offices of Friedman & Bartoumian.

The team from Champion Level sponsor, Law Offices of Friedman & Bartoumian 

Haggen Announced Today That it Is Exiting the Pacific Southwest Market and is Closing 101 More Stores

Haggen today announced its plan to exit from the Pacific Southwest market and realign its operations around 37 core stores and one stand-alone pharmacy in the Pacific Northwest as part of the Chapter 11 process (Haggen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 8th).

This will impact 101 stores, including all 5 stores in Arizona, all 7 stores in Nevada, all 68 remaining California stores and 21 stores in Washington and Oregon.

Impacted local stores include:

• Ventura (7800 Telegraph Road - former Albertsons)
• Oxnard (920 N. Ventura Road - former Albertsons)
• Westlake Village (5770 Lindero Canyon Road - former Albertsons)
• Thousand Oaks (1736 E. Avenida de los Arboles - former Albertsons)
• Camarillo (2400 Las Posas Road - former Albertsons)

Previously announced closures in process:

• Newbury Park (2100 Newbury Road - former Vons)
• Simi Valley (2800 Cochran - former Albertsons)
• Simi Valley (5135 Los Angeles Avenue - former Albertsons)

My how things change...a year ago, Haggen owned 18 stores in Washington and Oregon. Then acquired 146 Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington (83 in California). In August Haggen announced it was closing 27 stores, including 3 in Ventura County.

Haggen indicated it is asking the bankruptcy court for approval to conduct store closing sales. All employees of these stores will receive 60 days notice of the closures and will continue to receive pay and benefits over this period, as approved by the court.

Haggen is supportive of employees securing work elsewhere and is continuing to work with Albertson’s in its request for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to waive the restriction in the FTC Order which restricts the hiring of Haggen employees. Because this is a modification of an order entered by the FTC, the waiver will require Commission approval, which the FTC staff is seeking to obtain on an expedited basis.

On a personal note, this may be the most unbelievably quick crash and burn business acquisition that I've ever seen.

Hook Burger to Open Up Simi Valley Location This Summer (Closed April 2019)

HOOK BURGER SIMI VALLEY CLOSED ITS DOORS IN APRIL 2019. Soon thereafter, Funburger opened in its place.

Update 9/25/15: Hook Burger Simi Valley in the Walmart Center at 2490 Sycamore Drive will be opening tomorrow with a great fundraising event for Make-a-Wish Tri-Counties! On Friday/Saturday, September 25-26 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., donate to Make-A-Wish and get a free combo meal!! www.facebook.com/hookburger

Posted 5/9/15: Hook Burger is opening up a new location this summer at 2490 Sycamore Drive in Simi Valley, joining other local locations in Westlake Village (opened last October) and Oxnard. Hook Burger serves up a variety of burgers and sandwiches, like the Seared Tuna Sandwich (fresh seared albacore, homemade Asian slaw, wasabi tartar on toasted brioche bun). I stopped by their Westlake Village location and enjoyed the veggie burger as well as some might tasty onion rings. Learn more at hookburger.com.

Musical Sushi Bars in the Conejo Valley

The Ventura County Star reported earlier today that Bada Sushi in Thousand Oaks has closed its doors. Thanks for the heads up goes out to CVG Facebook follower Jessica J.

Buh-bye, Bada Sushi ... with your broken windows, termite-infested window frames & skeevy parking lot #ThousandOakspic.twitter.com/3zGQPZ84qu

— Lisa McKinnon (@805foodie) April 22, 2015

One sushi bar is gone, but another one is coming soon to the Shoppes at Westlake Village. Q Sushi will be opening there. Visit qsushibar.com for updates.

Update 1/1/16: Q Sushi's countdown clock at www.qsushi.com indicates it will be opening in about a week.

Update 4/7/16: Q Sushi now indicates they will be opening to the public on April 14th!

Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters Opening Store This Month in Newbury Park

Final Update (thanks for the reminder, Brandon H): Ragamuffin opened about a month ago!

Evidence that indeed, Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters is now open in Newbury Park

More evidence: My coffee cup at Ragamuffin. Yes, I like cream and sugar in my coffee. I'm a wimp. great tasting coffee, by the way!

Update 7/7/15: Ragamuffin is in the final stages of buildout and hopes to be opening soon.

Posted 1/4/15: Hector Diaz tipped us off that Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters is planning to open this month at the Trader Joe's/CVS/Fitness 19 plaza at the corner of Reino and Borchard in Newbury Park (111 N. Reino Road). It will be located in the space previously occupied by Parkview Cafe that became vacant earlier this year.

Ragamuffin is a small batch coffee microroaster, locally owned and grown by a husband/wife team that has true passion for premium coffee. They have been fine tuning their roasting for about four years now and this storefront location is the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign!

For updates and their online store, visit ragamuffinroasters.com or follow their Facebook page.

Buffalo Wild Wings Coming to the Simi Valley Town Center Later This Summer

Update: Grand opening date is Monday, September 21, 2015. There's a flyer on the Simi Valley Town Center Facebook page indicating the first 100 customers receive free wings for a year. There's no phone number or hours but I assume they open at 11 a.m., consistent with other locations.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a casual dining restaurant and sports bar specializing in chicken wings and sauces. There are 1,080 Buffalo Wild Wings locations around the world.  Buffalo Wild Wings opens on the west side of the Simi Valley Town Center, near the new Studio Movie Grill. Learn more at www.buffalowildwings.com. Also visit the Simi Valley Town Center Facebook page for updates.

And if you're looking to invest in Buffalo Wild Wings, check out stock symbol BWLD on the NASDAQ exchange, currently trading at $161.92 and a total market cap of over $3 BILLION. That's a LOT of wings!