Gino's Bistro in Newbury Park Indicates Gino to Retire in the Coming Months

Gino's Bistro (circa 2010)

Gino of Gino's Bistro in Newbury Park has announced he will be retiring in the coming months, with an anticipated closing date likely the first week of January 2016. (FOLLOW-UP: Gino's last day of operation was December 31st.)

Gino has been in the restaurant business over 40 years and has owned a number of restaurants, including Gino's Bistro (since 2008), Di Gennara in Woodland Hills and Dolcetto's in Agoura Hills.

He is hosting what looks to be his last wine tasting dinner this Sunday, November 1st. 

On a personal note, I've enjoyed Gino and his food over the years and I know many others that have too. He will be missed, but we hope he enjoys retirement!

Gino's is located at 1620 Newbury Road in Newbury Park, next to Cronies. Phone is 805.498.3188. 

ginosbistro.com

(Note: Thanks to Julie Freedman of Newbury Park, who gave us the heads up.)

Five Threads Brewing Company Opening Tonight in Westlake Village

Five Threads Brewing Company is opening its doors tonight at 31133 Via Colinas, Suite 109, Westlake Village (west of Lindero Canyon Road) offering locally brewed craft beers in its tasting room. 

Five Threads? The five threads represent the five ingredients of beer: Water, Malt, Hops, Yeast and "You and Me." 

Open Wednesday through Sunday (closed for brewing on Monday/Tuesday). Visit www.fivethreadsbrewing.com for more information.

M∙A∙C Cosmetics Opening at The Promenade at Westlake This Fall

Update 10/29/15: M-A-C Cosmetics is now open at The Promenade at Westlake. www.maccosmetics.com 

Posted 8/12/15: The Promenade at Westlake welcomes the world’s leading professional makeup authority. M∙A∙C Cosmetics is scheduled to open its newest location at The Promenade at Westlake, this fall. A favorite of professional makeup artists, M∙A∙C Cosmetics will offer guests its finest quality, prestige makeup and services. 

The Promenade at Westlake is located at 100 Promenade Way, Westlake Village

Hours: Monday – Thursday: 10am-8pm, Friday – Saturday: 10am-9pm, Sunday: 11am-7pm

www.maccosmetics.com / www.shoppromenade.com

Industry Bar & Grill Now Open at The Summit at Calabasas

UPDATE: Industry Bar & Grill closed sometime in the latter part of 2017.

Industry Bar & Grill is now open at the former location of Wolf Creek at The Summit, 26787 Agoura Rd, Calabasas. They have been open about a week and just received their liquor license yesterday for dinner service at 5pm. Offering a variety of entrees, salads, shared plates, burgers and more.  Visit their Facebook page for more information.

Nice, large outdoor fire pit at Industry Bar & Grill

Cre8 Pizza Opened this Summer in Simi Valley

Update 6/25/16: Cre8 Pizza closed its doors a couple months ago. 

Cre8 Pizza, Salad, Crepes and Gelato opened at 1263 Simi Town Center Way, Suite H-5 this past August. Cre8 offers freshly prepared dough, sauces and other items for its selection of salads, pizzas and savory and sweet crepes. And they also offer 16 flavors of gelato and sorbettos.

This is a "Cre8 your own pizza" type of place, like Pieology, MOD Pizza, PizzaRev and others, offering a variety of toppings of your choosing. You can also Cre8 your own salads. I notice the price on their menu at www.cre8pizza.com is $7.49, which from my vantage point is very reasonable. For more information, call 805.285.5644. Located in the building just east of Jefferson Way at Simi Town Center Way, near Firehouse Subs and Chipotle.

SweetFrog Frozen Yogurt and Wingstop Coming Soon to Camarillo Village Square

As mentioned a few months ago, a SweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt and a Wingstop will be opening soon at the Camarillo Village Square at the corner of Las Posas and Arneill.

SweetFrog is located next door to the new Drive-thru Starbucks that opened on September 17th. When open, which will be soon, they will offer numerous flavors and toppings, as well as dairy free and sugar/artificial sweetener free options. 

UPDATE: SweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt opened on Wednesday, December 2nd at 2306 Las Posas Road, Camarillo. Wingstop opened in December too.

Wingstop will be located in the former non-drive-thru home of Starbucks in the plaza, situated between Subway and Panda Express. This will be the 2nd Ventura County Wingstop location, joining the Oxnard location that opened in Rose Avenue in March 2015. www.wingstop.com

Studio Movie Grill Anticipated to Open at Simi Valley Town Center on October 22nd

Update October 19, 2015: Simi Valley Town Center indicates an October 22, 2015 grand opening date. Visit the Simi Valley Town Center Facebook page for updates.

Guests will be offered Grand Opening special ticket pricing at $9.00 for adults, $7.00 for matinees, and $6.00 for children. Military, Student & Senior discounts will also be offered. 100% reserved seating is available online now at www.studiomoviegrill.com. 

From October 26 - 29, SMG Simi Valley will host its signature community-wide Cans Film Festival Food Drive. Moviegoers who donate four or more canned goods or non-perishable food items during the food drive will receive a free ticket to any movie that day. All donated items will go to benefit The Samaritan Center, Simi Valley’s social services organization

In addition, SMG offers its Special Needs Screenings for families raising children with special needs. Established over seven years ago, these regularly scheduled screenings offer first-run family movies, free to children with special needs and their siblings. All others pay the before–noon matinee ticket price. The series launches at SMG Simi Valley with Ghostbusters on Saturday, October 31 at 11:00am in partnership with the Simi Valley Unified School District’s Student Support Services.

At SMG Simi Valley, 5% of the proceeds from any item on the menu marked with the SMG Chefs for Children badge will be donated to Simi Valley Unified School District’s Student Support Services. 

Construction coming right along at the Studio Movie Grill at the Simi Valley Town Center

Studio Movie Grill (SMG) Simi Valley will be located at the 628,000 sq ft Simi Valley Town Center. The theater will occupy 41,311 sq ft, with 9 screens and over 950 seats.

SMG's spacious auditoriums will feature stadium seating and fixed lounge seats, individual dining tables, and a contemporary casual entry and bar area. The theater will also feature signature SMG design appointments combining crisp architectural details with natural materials.  The interiors will be modern with a selective mix of textiles, stone surfaces, warm-woods, and modern furniture classics.

SMG operates 23 locations in 10 states. For additional information, visit www.studiomoviegrill.com.

Little Calf Creamery and Cafe Coming to Home Goods Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks

Update 10/16/15: Little Calf Creamery and Cafe will be opening for lunch for the first time this Sunday, October 18th, at 11 am.

Original Post 7/23/15: Yesterday a CVG Facebook follower made us aware that the Little Calf Creamery and Cafe is coming to the former home of the Greenhouse Cafe in the Home Goods Shopping Center (now the Conejo Valley Plaza) at 652 East Janss Road (at Moorpark Road).

Little Calf Creamery and Cafe is a family restaurant serving artisan ice cream, sorbets and delicious salads, sandwiches, soups and burgers. Ice cream will be made on premises in small batches, with 11 year-round flavors and eight seasonal/rotational flavors.

Milk supplied for the ice cream will come from rBGH and rBST free California cows. Baked goods will be made from scratch daily. 

For updates, visit www.facebook.com/Littlecalfcreamery or visit www.littlecalfcreamery.com.

Baxalta Incorporated Spun Off From Baxter International, Inc. on July 1, 2015

Baxalta Inc. was formed on July 1, 2015 as a spin-off from Baxter International, thus explaining why some of your local Conejo Valley Baxter employee acquaintances may have changed their LinkedIn profile to Baxalta. 

Baxalta (NYSE: BXLT) is a $6 billion global biopharmaceutical company developing, manufacturing and commercializing therapies for orphan diseases and underserved conditions in hematology, oncology and immunology.  Headquartered in Northern Illinois, Baxalta employs 16,000 employees worldwide and has a current market valuation of about $22 billion, which is higher than Baxter International's current market cap (as of 10/16/15) of $18.4 billion.

And if you're looking for a local job, Baxalta is one of the largest employers in the Conejo Valley.

Learn more about Baxalta at www.baxalta.com.