Local Buzz covers new businesses, restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
Local Buzz covers new restaurants, closures, local politics, goings on around town and other buzzworthy items in the Conejo Valley and Greater Ventura County. Have a lead? Contact us. Click here for an archive of Local Buzz postings.
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A Five Below store is coming soon to Janss Marketplace, next to Aldi, in the former Toys R Us space. This new Thousand Oaks location will be following in the footsteps of location at the Simi Valley Town Center, which opened October 12, 2018.
Five Below “offers high-quality products loved by tweens, teens and more, with extreme $1-$5 value, plus some incredible finds that go beyond $5!”
Learn more at www.fivebelow.com.
UPDATE: June 15, 2023 is the grand opening date.
Amy’s Drive Thru is bringing organic fast food to Thousand Oaks in early 2022. This will be the first location for the organic fast food chain in Southern California and part of its larger plan to expand up and down the West Coast throughout the next five years.
The location of Amy’s Drive Thru Thousand Oaks will be 400 N. Moorpark Road - the former home of Mimi’s Cafe.
Amy’s Drive Thru was started by the Berliners, the same family that founded Amy’s Kitchen and pioneered the organic food movement. Continuing their mission to make it easy and enjoyable for everyone to eat well, the Berliners opened Amy’s Drive Thru, a fresh take on classic American fast food, in 2015. Everything on the Amy's Drive Thru is vegetarian and made to order, including its popular and tasty burgers, fries, milkshakes, and salads all made from organic ingredients, served thoughtfully and sustainably. From menu to packaging to restaurant design, the Drive Thru operates as sustainably as possible, striving for zero waste and zero impact at each location. In 2020, Amy’s Drive Thru became one of the first and only B Corp Certified fast food restaurants.
There are currently three Amy's Drive Thru locations in the Bay Area with a fourth opening late 2021 in Roseville. The new Thousand Oaks location is part of the team’s plans to rapidly expand up and down the West Coast within the next five years.
Learn more about Amy’s at amysdrivethru.com.
County of Ventura poised to move to State’s Orange Tier Next Week - Declining Cases and Hospitalizations are a Hopeful Sign; Progress on Vaccinations Continues Despite Supply Challenges
The State of California announced today that the County of Ventura has met requirements for the State’s Orange Tier for the first week of the two-week required time frame. If the County meets the Orange Tier requirements at the next review on April 6, the County will be able to move to Orange on April 7. As with the shift to the Red Tier, the County will continue to align with the State’s framework for Orange Tier activities.
All activities authorized under the State’s Orange Tier can resume in accordance with State capacity limits and safety protocols, including:
Amusement parks: smaller parks can open outdoors with 25% max occupancy or 500 people, whichever is fewer; there must be reservations or advanced ticket sales and only local attendees are allowed (from the same county as the park’s location)
Bars (where no meal is served): open outdoors with modifications
Cardrooms and satellite wagering: open indoors with 25% max occupancy
Family entertainment centers: open indoors for naturally distanced activities like bowling alleys and escape rooms; kart racing, mini golf and batting cages are outdoors only with modifications
Fitness centers and gyms: open indoors with 25% max occupancy; indoor pools open at 25% occupancy
Hotels and lodging: fitness centers can now open indoors with 25% max occupancy; indoor pools open at 25% occupancy
Movie theaters: open indoors with 50% max occupancy or 200 people, whichever is fewer
Museums, zoos, and aquariums: open indoors with 50% max occupancy
Offices: open indoors with modifications though telework is still encouraged
Outdoor live events: open at 20% capacity; reservations required with assigned seating only; regional attendees only (120-mile radius of venue).
Retail (including standalone grocers): open indoors at full capacity with modifications
Restaurants open indoors with 50% max occupancy or 200 people, whichever is fewer; only members of same household may share a table
Shopping centers (including swap meets and indoor malls): open indoors at full capacity with modifications; common areas must remain closed and food courts are at reduced capacity
Wineries, breweries and distilleries: open indoors with 25% max occupancy or 100 people, whichever is fewer; only members of same household may share a table
Youth sports: competitions between two teams are allowed in certain sports according to the State’s Youth Sports Guidance
The State has also issued new guidance for the following activities:
Outdoor live audience events including ballparks and stadiums
Guidance for commencement and graduation ceremonies
After reaching the Orange Tier the County would need to remain in the Orange Tier for 3-consecutive weeks to be able to progress to the less restrictive Yellow Tier.
For more information on what the State allows in the Orange Tier, please visit covid19.ca.gov.
UPDATE: Nick the Greek opened its doors in mid-May.
Nick the Greek Souvlaki & Gyro House is opening soon at 3955B E. Thousand Oaks Blvd, Westlake Village, in the North Ranch Mall, in the space formerly occupied by Peet's Coffee (and prior to that, GameStop, and a long time ago, Oak Tree Deli). Some of you may be familiar with Nick the Greek at its location at 440 E. Main Street in Ventura. They offer delicious gyros, pitas, plates and bowls with souvlaki, falafel, beefteki and more, along with hummus, spicy yogurt, tzatziki, etc. You'll also find scrumptious baklava and frozen greek yogurt here too. Specific timing TBA. www.nickthegreeksj.com
UPDATE: Now open as of February 2022.
Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers looks to be opening this summer at The Commons at Calabasas, in the space previously occupied by Menchies Frozen Yogurt, near Corner Bakery and Kings Fish House.
Barneys originated in Oakland in 1978 and has locations in Santa Monica and Brentwood. Their menu has a variety of gourmet hamburgers, salads, sandwiches and hot dogs. Looks pretty good.
Burger choices include 1/2 lb or 1 lb burgers, Beyond Meat patties, turkey patties, salmon patties, garden burgers and grilled chicken breast.
Special gourmet burgers include 19 choices…Baja, Bacon Cheese, Guacamole, Gastropub, Santa Fe and more.
Learn more at www.barneyshamburgers.com.
Batchoyan Ilonggo Restaurant opened last October (somehow I missed it - I’ll just blame it on the pandemic) at 1775 E. Daily Drive in Camarillo, in the former home of Cafe India.
Batchoyan Ilonggo serves authentic Filipino food, including Batchoy, a hearty noodle soup that originated in the district of La Paz, Iloilo City in the Philippines, made with pork offal, crushed pork cracklings, chicken stock, beef loin and round noodles.
They also serve a whole host of Filipino dishes I'm mostly unfamiliar with, such as pancit, lumpia, pancit molo, lechon kawali, halo halo, leche flan and egg pie. That said, I’m looking forward to familiarizing myself with them soon.
The Mullin Automotive Museum will reopen to the public on Friday, April 9, 2021, establishing a new schedule of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday through Sunday. Fans of the museum and new visitors will see Concours “Best of Show” winners such as the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, 1938 Hispano-Suiza Dubonnet H6B “Xenia,” and the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Goutte d’Eau; as well as crowd favorites such as the 1994 Bugatti EB 110 Supersport “Le Mans” and the world’s most extensive collection of Bugatti artwork, sculpture, and furniture.
The museum will follow health and safety guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State of California, and County of Ventura to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Staff members, docents, and visitors will have their temperature taken prior to entry and must always wear protective face coverings. No personal items such as purses, bags or backpacks will be allowed in the museum. Additionally, the museum will enforce social distancing guidelines of at least six feet between unrelated groups. The museum will also increase the frequency of routine cleaning and provide hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility.
Visitors must purchase tickets in advance on the museum website. For more information about the Mullin Automotive Museum and its exhibits, visit MullinAutomotiveMuseum.com.
The museum is located at 1421 Emerson Avenue in Oxnard.
The IRS announced yesterday that the tax filing deadline has been moved from April 15th to May 17th for individual tax returns. The State of California has conformed to this change.
You can still file an extension to file your returns as late as October 15th, though you are required to pay your taxes, by May 17th or risk penalties and interest. www.irs.gov
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