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.
Post other items directly to the Community Announcements section of the site.
Tilly's is out, Skechers is coming in, to The Village at Moorpark (Moorpark Road at Thousand Oaks Blvd) in Thousand Oaks. Skechers is currently hiring. The Skechers store at The Oaks is closed.
Vons at 5671 Kanan Road in Agoura Hills
A number of folks have messaged us regarding the list of local grocery stores that would be divested if Kroger's proposed acquisition of Albertsons is approved by federal regulators. The list of 579 stores includes 63 in California.
The merger was first announced in October 2022. It would combine Kroger (which owns Ralphs and Food 4 Less, among others) with Albertsons (which owns Pavilions, Safeway and Vons, among others). Kroger/Albertsons say the merger would better help them compete with Amazon, Walmart and Costco. The fate of the merger will be decided in a trial set to start in Portland, Oregon on August 26th. The trial may last 2 to 3 weeks.
Local stores that would be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers include Vons stores at 5671 Kanan Road in Agoura Hills, 820 Arneill Road in Camarillo, and 6040 Telegraph Road in Ventura, and Albertsons at 541 S. Reino Road in Newbury Park.
As part of the acquisition, C&S retains the Albertsons brand name in California. Does that mean these stores will retain their existing Vons/Albertsons names if the acquisition goes through? Perhaps, but we shall see.
This is a rendering of the new hotel that was included in the Planning Commission meeting agenda on October 23rd. This is a view from the courtyard fountain near Buca Di Peppo and Sharky's.
There are plans in the works for a 5-story, 216 room Homewood Suites & Home2 Suites Hotel at Janss Marketplace that will be situated in the space previously occupied by Marshall's (until 2017) and dental offices (until 2019) and currently used for the Reign of Terror Haunted House.
Irvine-based Greens Development will develop and operate the hotel. There will be 173 rooms with king beds and 43 rooms with double-queen beds. Each suite will have a full kitchen. There will be 13,000 sq ft of retail space on the bottom floor. The 2nd floor will have an outdoor pool, deck and planter area.
On October 23rd, city staff and the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council approve a zoning change from 35 feet to 75 feet for the hotel. Several other structures at Janss have received zoning changes in the past, including the former Burlington (44'), Regal Cinemas (40.5') and parking structure (47' 9"). Other tenants at Janss have given a thumbs up for this development.
If the zoning overlay is approved, construction is anticipated to begin next spring with a target opening date of winter 2025. The last new hotel in Thousand Oaks opened in 2009 (Hampton Inn).
View of front of hotel, across from the parking structure in another rendering from developers.
UPDATE: Daiso Westlake Village opened its doors on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
Photo Credit to and partial view of inside of car of lucas C.
CVG Instagram follower Lucas C let us know today that Petco Westlake Village is closing. A store representative indicated that December 24 will be their final day. Petco is, soon to be was, located next to Trader Joe's at 3835 E Thousand Oaks Boulevard in the North Ranch Shopping Center.
There was some discussion via Instagram and Facebook as to what is coming next to this spot. Could Trader Joe’s be expanding? Well, according to a current North Ranch Shopping Center site leasing brochure, what looks to be happening is that the Trek Bike Shop will be moving from its existing spot to the larger Petco spot, freeing up its current space for Daiso Japan. Daiso is a Japanese variety and value store offering a wide range of household items. There are Daiso stores in West Hills and Northridge. Learn more at daisojapan.com.
We have not independently confirmed these future plans, so stay tuned for updates.
(Excerpt from site plan)
UPDATE: Lucky Strike Moorpark opened on December 8, 2023.
The City of Moorpark received an application for a Conditional Use Permit from Bowlero in July to develop a bowling alley at the former Dick's Sporting Goods, 706 Los Angeles Avenue (near the Amazon Fresh store). The application is currently undergoing review by the city and its planning commission.
If approved, the project would still need to go through environmental analysis, a public hearing and final approval. Bowlero is the largest bowling alley operator in the world, with 300 centers, including local locations at The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard and in Woodland Hills.
www.moorparkca.gov/1113/Bowlero
Local area bowling alleys in Ventura County and nearby areas at THIS LINK.
Harbor Associates in joint venture with Platform Ventures, LLC has acquired a 118,906-square-foot commercial office/R&D building in Agoura Hills for $19.275 million.
Harbor also announced the signing of A2 Biotherapeutics (“A2 Bio”) to a long-term, 75,994-square-foot lease at the building located at 30601 Agoura Road, which will serve as A2 Bio’s new global headquarters. A2 Bio has invented the Tmod™ cell therapy platform to tackle the fundamental challenge in solid tumor treatment—the ability of cancer medicines to distinguish between tumor and normal cells. A2 Bio expands its presence in Agoura Hills as it will continue to occupy ~30,000 square feet in neighboring buildings. The new headquarters for A2 Bio will feature approximately 70 percent lab and R&D space with the remaining 30 percent devoted to collaboration space.
The two-story multi-tenant building is located at the eastern gateway of the Conejo Valley, which includes one of Southern California’s major life science clusters. Stretching from northwestern Los Angeles County to southeastern Ventura County which includes Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills, the Conejo Valley is home to one of the most significant life science clusters in Southern California. Nearly 70 life and bio science firms such as Amgen, Baxter, Allergan and Takeda currently occupy approximately 4.3 million square feet of space in the Conejo Valley.
“Located at the eastern gateway of the Conejo Valley, Agoura Hills is more convenient than Thousand Oaks for bio tech recruiting talent from the San Fernando Valley, Downtown and West Los Angeles. “We were able to identify a well-located building that was prime for multi-tenant life science conversion while helping A2 Bio meet its business objectives.” said Principal Rich McEvoy.
The 11-year lease with A2 Bio is an example of the demand for space by life science and bio-tech firms across the U.S. According to CBRE, at the end of 2021, office-to-lab conversions in the 12 largest U.S. life sciences markets, which includes Los Angeles, amounted to 9.9 million square feet, up 49% from the beginning of the year.
In January of 2020, Harbor acquired Agoura Hill Business Park, an adjacent 114,325-square-foot office project in Agoura Hills, and made improvements to the building to attract the life science groups expanding into the area, which included A2 Bio. Between 30601 Agoura Road and Agoura Hills Business Park, Harbor Associates is delivering a variety of market ready R&D / lab spaces, ranging in size from 2,000 -18,000 square feet, readymade with appropriate infrastructure and designed to meet the growing demand in Agoura Hills.
A2 Bio, is expected to take occupancy in the second half of 2023. The Harbor-led joint venture will add relevant on-site amenities to create an attractive workplace environment that will help A2 Bio, and others, attract and retain talent. Improvements include an expansive outdoor meeting and social spaces, upgraded building lobby, drought tolerant landscaping, exterior building enhancements and signage.
Jay Rubin and Jared Smits of Lee & Associates advised the seller. Mark Perry of CBRE represented the buyer in the transaction. Rick Pearson of Cushman & Wakefield represented A2 in the lease negotiations.
The corner where Mimi’s Cafe used to reside and that, sometime in 2023, Amy’s Drive-Thru will be serving organic, vegetarian and vegan fast food.
We’re asked all the time when a particular new eatery will be opening, to which we usually reply “coming soon” is all we know. There’s so many places that are “coming soon” today that why don’t we just list them out here. Contact us with any additions or updates to this list.
Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken Thousand Oaks opens July 29th
Freda’s Woodfired Kitchen at the North Ranch Mall in Westlake Village
Luau Grill Hawaiian BBQ & Poke in Newbury Park (UPDATE: July 25th grand opening date)
Reopening of Corrigan’s Steakhouse in Thousand Oaks (I’ve heard it will be a new name)
New Starbucks near Thousand Oaks High School
Jamba Juice in the Agoura Meadows Shopping Center (Vons/CVS) at southwest corner of Kanan and T.O. Blvd.
Zankou Chicken still “coming soon” on Moorpark Road in the former Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
Latitude 34 Restaurant & Bar at the Camarillo Premium Outlets
Red Engine Brewing Company in Fillmore
The drive-thru Starbucks to be built at the corner of Moorpark Road and Avenida De Las Flores in Thousand Oaks is certain to be a destination for Thousand Oaks High School students across the street.
The Simi Valley Town Center is bringing back a farmers’ market on Fridays from 4-8pm, beginning March 11, 2022. Will feature food from local farms and vendors, entertainment, beer/wine/cider tasting and crafts.
Simi Valley also has a farmers’ market from 11am to 3:30pm on Fridays at the Simi Valley Civic Center Plaza at 2757 Tapo Canyon Road.
More on local area farmers’ markets throughout Ventura County and nearby areas at THIS LINK.
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