Cafe Topanga Closed, Tara's Himalayan Cuisine Coming Soon to Newbury Park

Update 2020: Tara’s is now Bollywood Spice Indian Cuisine bollywoodspiceusa.com

Update 7/29/17: Well, that was quick! Tara's Himalayan Cuisine has been open now about a week, according to Jonathan Stewart of Jonathan Stewart of Jonathan Stewart Photography. His initial indications are...good food and good service!

Cafe Topanga Pasta & Pizza at 171 N. Reino Road in Newbury Park has closed its doors but a new eatery is coming soon. Tara's Himalayan Cuisine. Tara's will offer up authentic Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian cuisine.

Tara's has locations in Los Angeles (near Culver City) and Artesia. According to its website:

“Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine is about family, yours and ours. Serving authentic Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine, we invite you to experience a true taste of home.

We use mountain grown herbs and spices from Nepal and whenever possible, locally grown vegetables. Our yak is Colorado raised. All of our dishes use the finest ingredients, and are prepared with a light touch. Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine is the dream of Tara Gurung Black. Born in a tiny mountain village in Nepal, she started her training in Nepalese classical and cultural dance at age eight. This inspired Tara to theme the restaurant according to classical and cultural Nepalese tradition.

While performing one day in Los Angeles, she had an overwhelming desire to share her Nepali culture with the people of Los Angeles. That is how and why Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine came to be.”

— tarashimalayancuisine.com/about-us

Stay tuned for updates or check tarashimalayancuisine.com or check the Tara's Ventura County Branch Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/thcventura.

So long, Cafe Topanga, and best of luck in your future endeavors.

Assisted Living Facility Being Built at the Top of the Conejo Grade in Newbury Park

Update 7/4/17: Photo showing progress to date. Photo shows smoke in the air from a 50 acre fire on the north side of the 101 on the Conejo Grade near Camarillo Springs exit. Firefighters nailed it as usual, the smoke cleared, and fireworks went off without a hitch.

Progress being made on the 130 unit Sage Mountain Assisted Living facility adjacent to the 101 in Newbury Park.

Posted 10/20/16:

Grading has started at 3499 Grande Vista Drive in Thousand Oaks

What's that you see going on at the top of the Conejo Grade on the north side of the 101? Grading is underway for the 130 unit Sage Mountain Assisted Living facility. This facility will contain 98 assisted living units and 32 memory care units, including studios and 1 bedroom apartments.

See a conceptual mock-up of the facility from the eastbound 101 at THIS LINK. 

Address of the project is 3499 Grande Vista Drive, Thousand Oaks.
 

The view down the Conejo Grade from this location.

Baja Fresh Westlake Village Has Closed Its Doors (Re-Opened June 2, 2018)

Update 6/2/18: Well some great news! This Baja Fresh location has re-opened after extensive renovations were made.

The 2nd oldest Baja Fresh location in a chain that was once as many as 300 eateries has closed its doors effective 6/29/17. Located at 30861 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Westlake Village (at Lindero Canyon), this location originally opened in July 1991. The original Newbury Park location on Kimber Drive opened in 1990, then later moved to The Village at Newbury Park, where ultimately it closed its doors on January 10, 2012.

Jennifer W tipped us off on the CVG Facebook Page about this.  The doors are locked, the inside is in a bit of disarray and the phone number is not in service. A phone call to the Thousand Oaks Baja Fresh on Moorpark Road confirmed that the Westlake Village location is closed.

All this said, this was a franchised location of Baja Fresh, so there is an outside possibility of someone else picking it up. We shall see what happens.

Baja Fresh is a local success story, culminating in its acquisition by Wendy's in 2002 for $275 million. The chain grew to roughly 300 locations. But then things went downhill. Wendy's sold the chain for just $31 million in 2006. Baja Fresh and its subsidiary since 2007, La Salsa, were sold again last September for $27 million.

There are two Baja Fresh locations in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi. So next time you're in the United Arab Emirates, grab me a Baja Burrito. I've been a Baja Fresh fan all these years and wish the best for remaining locations in the area.

Natas Pastries Bakery & Cafe Opening This Summer in Thousand Oaks

Another update: Natas Pastries Thousand Oaks closed its doors in January 2020.

Update: Natas Pastries is now open at 2388 Thousand Oaks Boulevard as of early September.

Natas Pastries will be located directly across from the Thousand Oaks Toyota dealership (not that I had to tell you given the reflection in this photo).

Natas Pastries is a Portuguese bakery and cafe that has operated in Sherman Oaks since 2005. It claims to be the only Portuguese bakery in Los Angeles.

Natas is named after its signature pastry, nata, a crisp puff pastry shell filled with custard. Mmmm!

Well welcome Natas to the Conejo Valley as they plan to open a location at 2388 Thousand Oaks Boulevard (at Pleasant Way, near Harold's House of Omelettes) in the recently closed Pizzeria La Piccola location.

A sampling of some of the menu items includes:

• Portuguese Sweet Bread French Toast

• Caramel Crunch Belgian Waffle

• Chourico e Queijo Sandwich (Grilled Portuguese sausages/Chouricos, grilled onions, tomatoes and melted cheese, served with kettle chips and salad) - I'm sold on this one.

• Chicken Panini Sandwich

• Caprese Salad

• Caldeirada (Seafood stew of sea bass, salmon, cod, shrimp, clams and mussels, served over rice or potatoes)

Learn more at www.nataspastries.com.

Good morning, we're open regular hours today and tomorrow, July 4th, open until 3pm @nataspastries #LArestaurants #instafood #mydayla #laeats #losangeleseats #latimesfood #eateria #eaterla #laweekly #la #laposts #foodbeast #foodporn #foodpics #picoftheday #instadaily #instapic #nataspastries #brunch #hotspots #local #localisbetter #studiocity #shermanoaks #lafoodies #discoverLA #foodandwine #yummy #desserts

A post shared by Natas Pastries (@nataspastries) on Jul 3, 2017 at 9:21am PDT

Smashburger Thousand Oaks Has Closed Its Doors

Flashback to July 11, 2012: Smashburger opened its doors at the former home of Chuy's at 650 North Moorpark Road.

It just under five years later and Melissa B alerted me yesterday via Twitter, July 2, 2017 that Smashburger Thousand Oaks has closed.

Sure enough, Smashburger Thousand Oaks is closed, joining three other business, all in a row (White Elephant Thai, a massage business and a donut shop).

So Smashburger fans will have to drive to Camarillo or perhaps in the future in Simi Valley, where another Smashburger location is planned for the Mountaingate Plaza.

Gelson's Thousand Oaks Oakbrook Plaza Under Steady Construction

The former Albertson's / Haggen - soon to be Gelson's - in the Oakbrook Plaza at 1736 E. Avenida De Los Arboles in Thousand Oaks is under steady construction as the entire plaza receives a facelift. There's even a "Now Hiring" sign up (although there are no jobs posted just quite yet at jobs.gelsons.com.

The bankruptcy sale of the Haggen store to Gelson's took place nearly two years ago.

No specifics on the timing of the grand opening but follow the store's page at gelsons.com/store-locations/thousand-oaks---coming-soon for update.

The Gelson's Pharmacy continues to operate during construction. gelsons.com/pharmacy/gelsons-thousand-oaks-pharmacy.

County of Ventura Food Facility Closures in June 2017

The County of Ventura Environmental Health Division (EHD) protects public health and the environment by ensuring conformance with State laws and County ordinances pertaining to food protection, hazardous materials, hazardous waste, individual sewage disposal systems, land use, medical waste, ocean water quality monitoring, recreational health, solid waste, underground fuel tanks and vector control.

The EHD publishes food facility closures at www.ventura.org/rma/envhealth/community-services/consumer-food/closures.html.

The following facility closures (exclusive of mobile facilities) were noted in June 2017. Keep in mind when reviewing this that there are many possible reasons for the closures, most of which are very temporary issues.

Panaderia Yanira's Bakery, 636 W. Harvard Blvd, #B, Santa Paula;

Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions;

Date closed - 06/26/17; Date reopened - 06/27/17

Yokozuna, 250 W. Harvard Boulevard, Santa Paula;

Cockroach infestation, unsanitary conditions, no permit to operate;

Date closed - 06/23/17; Date reopened - 06/26/17

Thousand Oaks Oil, 3505 N. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks;

Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;

Date closed - 06/22/17; Date reopened - 06/23/17

Dickey's Barbecue Pit, 6100 Telegraph Road. Ste. F, Ventura;
Rodent infestation, unsanitary equipment, unsanitary conditions, no permit to operate; 
Date closed - 06/19/17; Date reopened - 06/21/17

Yokozuna Sushi Bar, 2075 N. Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard;

Cockroach infestation andunsanitary conditions;

Date closed - 06/14/17; Date reopened - 06/15/17

McDonalds, 1711 N. Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard;

Sewage backing up inside the facility, unsanitary conditions;

Date closed - 06/13/17; Date reopened - 06/13/17

Santino's Pizza, 4231 Telegraph Road, Ventura;

Rodent infestation, unsanitary conditions;

Date closed - 06/05/17; Date reopened - 06/06/17

2017 Summer Meal Service Sites in Ventura County

If you know of folks with school aged children in need of a meal during the summer months, there are some useful tools available to help them. 

An example of what you receive when you text "food" to 877877. 

No Kid Hungry has made this simple. Just text “food” to 877-877 (or “comida” for a reply in Spanish). You will receive a prompt reply asking for your address or zip code. After submitting that, you will be given local meal site options. No Kid Hungry developed this system with the USDA.

Or you can visit www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks to find a meal site via on online map.

Lastly, you can also visit the California Department of Education website at www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/summersites17.asp to find local meal sites throughout California. Or drill down specifically to Ventura County sites at www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/ap/summersites.asp?year=2017&countyname=Ventura.

Generally the sites are open from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm but contact the specific site to verify. The Conejo Valley USD sites are open until 1 pm. There are no income parameters associated with this program. You just need to be between the ages of 2 and 18.

(Special thanks to Katrina R, who tipped us off to the handy No Kid Hungry text system.)