Ventura County Star Reports That Roxy's Deli in Thousand Oaks is Closing but Seeks Another Location

The post-mortem: Here is what used to be Roxy's as of June 28, 2011 :< Not a single remnant of Roxy's is left. We do hope they find another local home.

Originally reported June 24, 2011: Yikes! After 20 years, Roxy's Deli is closing its doors**, reports the Ventura County Star in this article. A fixture in Thousand Oaks, Roxy's has definitely been encountering increased competition over the last 5 to 10 years with the addition of Brent's Deli, Pickles Deli and Nate N Al Deli among others. Apparently a new restaurant is on its way. In the meantime, Roxy's owner indicates they are seeking another location in the area. So all is not lost...perhaps we will retain Roxy's and see another new restaurant in town...

**The VC Star article indicates TONIGHT (Friday) but Roxy's told me they are open through brunch this coming Sunday morning.

Popeyes Louisiana Chicken is Coming to Moorpark

I was passing through Moorpark today driving east on Los Angeles Avenue when I noticed a new Popeyes® Louisiana Chicken to the right of me. I was able to snap this quick shot as I sped by. While I'm personally not a big fried chicken fan, the rest of my family is. That's not to say that I won't eat some if it appears in my kitchen. This would make it the 5th Popeyes location within and in close proximity to Ventura County, with other locations in Westlake Village (on the cusp of Ventura County), Simi Valley and 2 in Oxnard. Find the specifics at http://popeyes.com/locator.php.

This Popeyes is located in the vicinity of Los Angeles Avenue near Spring Road.

And on a related note, I'm a stickler for appropriate use of apostrophes, and thus when I see the name Popeyes without the apostrophe gives me an unsettling feeling. Maybe I just have a mild case of OCD. Hmm. Hope my wife doesn't read this.

In any case, I've always made the mental assumption that this chain but of course is named after the famous cartoon character. But I looked at the menu and noticed spinach is nowhere to be found. Curious, I read about the chain's history on its website and discovered that it was named after Gene Hackman's character, James "Popeye" Doyle, in The French Connection.

Amazing how much you can learn from a quick drive through Moorpark. Just wish Popeyes would consider adding an apostrophe to their name.

Rudy's Mexican Restaurant Coming to Camarillo Village Square

Luna's Mexican used to be located there but has been closed awhile at the Camarillo Village Square (corner of Los Posas and Arneill). But there are new signs showing Rudy's Mexican Restaurant is coming soon. No website to be found but it appears this is the same Rudy's that has multiple locations in Santa Barbara.

Qdoba Opening Soon at Janss Marketplace Thousand Oaks - Get a Free Burrito! (UPDATE: Grand Opening is July 11th)

Update from Qdoba June 21st:

The grand opening is scheduled for Monday, July 11th. We have some great events scheduled for that week.

We will be at the Janss July 4th celebration serving 3 cheese queso nachos on the rooftop.

On Wednesday July 13th we will have a special from 6pm to close of $5 meal deals for folks who come out to the summer concert series at Janss.

Friday, July 15th 98.7FM will be doing a live radio remote from 12 to 2pm at our location.

Saturday, July 16th we have live DJ's spinning from 11 to 3 and we will have custom t-shirts being printed on site celebrating the grand opening that you can win.

Finally, Sunday, July 17th is kids day. All kids eat free with an adult entree purchase and we will have free face painting for the kids from 12 to 3pm!

For all the details make sure to "like" us at www.facebook.com/qdobasocal

Qdoba Mexican Grill is opening soon at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks. Don't know the specific date, but if you want a free burrito there, be one of the first 450 people to sign up for Qdoba Rewards at that location and receive a coupon for a free burrito. I did! Visit www.450freeburritos.com for details.

Local Firefighter to Bike Across U.S. to Honor 9/11 Victims - Send Off on June 29th

Local Firefighter Who Will Bike Across the US to Honor 9-11 Victims to Get Community Send-Off at Miller YMCA

Jorge Ostrovsky, a Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) firefighter and a Miller Family YMCA member, is joining other Los Angeles County firefighters as they bicycle across the United States to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9-11 and to honor those who continue to fight for our freedom and safety. This event, known as "Ride For 9-11," will start in Los Angeles July 24 and end in New York City Sept. 9. Money raised will go to the Leary Firefighters Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Miller Family YMCA will hold a send-off breakfast for Ostrovsky and nine other LACFD firefighters on Wednesday, June 29, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the Y (320 Via Las Brisas, Dos Vientos portion of Newbury Park). The public is invited to this free event.

The Leary Firefighters Foundation (www.learyfirefighters.org) is dedicated to providing equipment and training to firefighters across the United States ensuring firefighters come home in the same condition they left for work. The Wounded Warrior Project, (http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org) provides various forms of support to wounded service members, aiding in their road to recovery. The program focuses on four main areas: Mind, body, economic empowerment and engagement.

For more information about the breakfast, call the Miller Y at 805-480-0309. For more information about Ride For 9-11, go to www.ridefor9-11.org.

Applebee's is Returning to Camarillo

Applebees is open as of Monday, June 20th. Plenty of cars in the parking lot!

Original post 5/31/11: Same place as before in the Camarillo Town Center Shopping Center at 291 West Ventura Boulevard, Applebee's is staging a Camarillo comeback. As some of you may recall, all 4 Ventura County Applebee's locations closed in January 2009. While I didn't get a photo of the sign on my way to Souplantation, I can say that they had "We're Hiring" signs up and people on hand to conduct interviews. This was confirmed by the following posting to Ventura County craigslist:

Discover Applebee's Grand Opening Hiring Event!
-Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Camarillo is currently seeking experienced individuals to work in a fun fast-paced work environment for the following positions: Host, Server, Bartender, Carside Togo specialist, Food Expediter, Line Cook, Dishwasher/General Utility.
-Qualified Servers and Line Cooks should have at least one year of experience in a similar position in a casual dining restaurant.
-Professional appearance and attire required.
-For more information, visit our website: appleamerican.com
-Apply in person between the hours of 9am-5pm Monday-Friday at

Applebee's Camarillo
291 W. Ventura Blvd.
Camarillo, CA 93010

Simi Valley Marie Callender's Location Shuttered on Sunday, June 12th

As reported by the L.A. Times and other news sources, Marie Callender's parent company filed for bankruptcy protection and has shut down 31 locations nationwide. This impacted the Simi Valley Marie Callender's location at 20 W. Cochran Street.  It did not impact the locations in Ventura and Camarillo.

It seems to me that as part of the bankruptcy reorganization plan, MC's should change its name. The name Callender's is so frustratingly difficult to spell correctly without looking at the name several times that it should be changed IMHO! :> Come on, for most of us, not just in school, but for our entire lives, we struggle to correctly spell the word "calendar" with an "a" at the end rather than an "e" (i.e. calender) but I still see this word misspelled ALL THE TIME!

So there's good ole' Marie Callender's, who not only spells it counter to our decades of schooling and corrections, with an "e," but then continues to confound our brains by adding an additional "l" to the name.

If nothing else, change the name to Marie Calendar's and make it easier for us to spell it without getting brain freeze.

Yah, yah, I know the place was founded in Long Beach in 1948 by people with the last name Callender. Don Callender named it after his mom, Marie. What a great son! But the chain was sold in 1986, so 25 years and a bankruptcy filing later, maybe it's time to reinvigorate the name. Whatever it takes to make it easier to spell.

That is all. Conejo Joe's brilliant idea of the day for a company in bankruptcy.