Axolotl Traditional Mexican Food Now Open in Camarillo

UPDATE: Axolotl opened briefly after this was posted.

Axolotl Traditional Mexican Food is coming soon to the former, extraordinarily short-lived home of Culichi Town Mexican Food at 1755 E. Daily Drive in Camarillo. Culichi Town opened this past March. See www.axolotlrestaurant.com and follow their Facebook page for updates.

City of Thousand Oaks Concludes Districting Process and Adopts Five-District Map

The Thousand Oaks City Council adopted an ordinance establishing the City’s first City Council district map and district-based elections.

Starting with the November 2024 election cycle, residents of Thousand Oaks will vote for one City Councilmember to represent the district they live in. Districts 4 and 5 are up for election in 2024, and Districts 1, 2, and 3 are up for election in 2026.

On March 15, the City received a letter challenging the City’s at-large election system and asserting that the system violated the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The City of Thousand Oaks began the districting process in April 2023 to protect itself from financial and legal risks and hired National Demographics Corporation as the demographers and Tripepi Smith to assist with community outreach efforts.

The City launched the process by creating a dedicated districting website, maptoaks.org, which provided background information about districting, a schedule of upcoming meetings, a form to submit communities of interest, mapping tools, draft maps submitted throughout the process, and answers to frequently asked questions. The website was regularly updated with new and relevant information throughout the process.

To gather public input and feedback on the district formation process, the City of Thousand Oaks held five public hearings and four community workshops:

  •     May 9, 2023 - First public hearing

  •     May 11, 2023 - Virtual community workshop

  •     May 16, 2023 - Second public hearing

  •     June 3, 2023 - In-person community workshop

  •     June 20, 2023 - Third public hearing

  •     June 22, 2023 - Virtual community workshop

  •     June 24, 2023 - In-person community workshop

  •     July 11, 2023 - Fourth public hearing and first reading of the ordinance

  •     July 18, 2023 - Fifth public hearing and second reading of the ordinance

The community workshops gave residents an opportunity to learn more about why the City was pursuing a move to district-based elections and share input on communities of interest, and draft maps once they were available. The City’s demographer also demonstrated how to use the mapping tools made available for the public to create maps.

In addition to community workshops, the City encouraged Thousand Oaks residents to get involved in the process through regular outreach emails, phone calls to community-based organizations, social media posts, flyers, and pop-up events.

At the public hearings, City Council received an overview of the process, reviewed public comments, and examined draft maps submitted by the public and created by the demographer. After extensive public feedback and engagement in the process, the Council selected Map 106 B for adoption at the July 11 City Council meeting. Map 106 B divides the City into five districts and follows the legal criteria set forth in the CVRA.

    District 1 encompasses Newbury Park up to Ventu Park Road and follows the 101 Freeway as the northern border.

    District 2 includes the area surrounding Wildwood Regional Park, California Lutheran University and Los Robles Hospital. The district follows Moorpark Road on the northeast and includes Conejo Creek Equestrian Park. The southern region of the district follows Janss Road, down Lynn Road and goes west along the 101 Freeway.

    District 3 includes the communities east of Moorpark Road and follows Avenida de Las Flores as the southern edge. This district includes Lang Ranch Park and its surrounding open space.

    District 4 includes the Westlake Village area and the eastern side of Newbury Park from Ventu Park Road, containing the surrounding residential and commercial areas.

    District 5 includes the core of Thousand Oaks and takes in the business areas along Moorpark Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard up to Westlake Boulevard. The western region of the district includes the California Botanical Garden.

For more information regarding the districting process and to see the district in which you reside, visit maptoaks.org.

Hot Motha Clucker Thousand Oaks Now Open

Hot Motha Clucker recently opened at 1610 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, next to Nothing Bundt Cakes. We tried it tonight and my son said it was delicious and “better than Raising Canes.” He tried the “Tenderific Two” - two Nashville chicken tenders seasoned with mild heat, each on a piece of Texas toast served with house sauce and pickles on a large bed of fries. And he ordered the fried pickles on the side. I tried it all and agreed that it was excellent.

Their website did not reflect the Thousand Oaks location as of today, but their Yelp page at www.yelp.com/biz/hot-motha-clucker-thousand-oaks appears recently updated.

Julio's Agave Grill in Westlake Village to Close Its Doors on July 1st

Julio’s Agave Grill announced in a Facebook post today that it will be closing permanently on Saturday, July 1st. Julio’s, which opened on Monday, November 19, 2018 in the Westlake Commons at 2809 Agoura Road, indicated that all gift cards from Julio’s will be honored at sister eatery, Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant in Thousand Oaks.

Blue Agave Tacos & Beer Coming Soon to the Agoura Hills City Mall

Blue Agave Tacos & Beer will be the new occupant at 5879 Kanan Road in the Agoura Hills City Mall. This is the former location of the Village Bakery and Cafe, which moved across the parking lot adjacent to Maral Cuisine. We’ve heard this Blue Agave is connected to the Blue Agave Restaurant & Tequilas in Downtown Ventura. No other info at this time, so stay tuned.

Rambo's Hot Chicken Opening at the Simi Valley Town Center on Friday, June 23rd

The grand opening of Rambo’s Hot Chicken at the Simi Valley Town Center is Friday, June 23, 2023 at 5 p.m. Located at 1555 Simi Town Center Way, Suite 275. They offer chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, seasoned crinkle cut fries, mac and cheese and more.

Visit www.ramboshotchicken.com for more information.