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.
Le Pain Quotidien at The Commons at Calabasas recently closed its doors. That leaves the Westlake Village location at 2728 Townsgate Road the sold remaining Le Pain west of Woodland Hills.
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.
UPDATE: Furn Saj opened in last May 2021.
Furn Saj is a Lebanese bakery, with locations in Granada Hills, Glendora, and coming soon, The Summit at Calabasas, 26791 Agoura Road.
Their menu includes a variety of plates served with fresh saj bread, such as shawarma, soujouk, gyro and kebab. They also serve oven-baked mana’ish, a flatbread covered with various toppings. There’s quite a large variety of these on their menu at www.furnsaj.com/menu.
Formerly at this location were the short-lived Village Fish Market & Restaurant and more recently, Chipotle (which closed in 2018). Let’s hope for something more lasting with Furn Saj!
December 2024 Update: No updates since January. We are now at 4 years since the original announcement. Patience is a virtue :)
January 2024 Update: The signs are long gone since this original post in December 2020 but the Mayor of Calabasas indicated in January 2024 that building permits have been pulled for this anticipated new eatery. www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=769359395225750&set=a.547916184036740
The yellow signs are up at 4895 Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas. Salsa & Beer Mexican Grill Family Restaurant from Jerez Zacatecas is coming soon to the former Coco’s location visible from the 101 south.
With locations in North Hollywood and Van Nuys/Lake Balboa, Salsa & Beer offers authentic Mexican food from the town of Jerez, located in the Mexican state of Zacatecas.
The municipality of Jerez was founded in 1569 and its official name is Jerez de Garcia Salinas in honor of local politician Francisco Garcia Salinas in 1952. The original founders of Jerez came from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Back to the restaurant itself…the menu includes traditional Mexican combination plates, fajitas, sizzling spicy Molcajete dishes, Spicy Zacatecas Carnitas, Tampiquena Chicken, Carne Asada Encebollada Charbroiled Steak, their “famous” tortas and much more.
Don’t know the timing as of yet, but the signs are certainly up.
More info at www.salsaandbeernorthhollywood.com.
Porta Via is now open at The Commons at Calabasas, offering contemporary California cuisine serving seasonal organic dishes. Open for lunch and dinner with pastas, sandwiches, salads and more.
House specialties include Grilled Ora King Salmon, Parmigiano Crusted Halibut, Branzino, Pan Roasted Striped Bass, Brick-Pressed Roasted Chicken, Chicken Paillard, Orange Ginger Stir Fry, Prime French Cut Pork Chop, Grass Fed Filet Mignon, Grilled Skirt Steak, Bistro Burger and the Impossible Burger.
Learn more at portaviarestaurants.com.
Any person shopping or working at a grocery store, restaurant, or other essential business within the City of Calabasas shall wear a face covering while they are at the location. A face covering can include bandanas, scarves, or cloth masks which covers both the mouth and nose of an individual. Employers are required to provide, pay for, or reimburse their employees for face coverings as needed to protect their employees.
Residents should not purchase N95 or surgical masks, as these are limited resources needed for the healthcare community and first responders. This is intended to protect employees, customers and residents.
A grocery store, restaurant, or other essential business may refuse admission or service to any individual who fails to wear a face covering as required by this order. All grocery stores, restaurants, or other essential businesses are further required to develop and implement a written, comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control plan, to be approved by the City within 3 days from the date of this Order, which includes control measures such as social distancing; face coverings and personal protective equipment, hygiene; decontamination procedures, and training.
Real Estate Sales Open Houses and Showings. Open houses and other group real estate events and showings of a property or condominium offered for sale or lease are prohibited gatherings. Pre-scheduled showings or inspections of a property or condominium offered for sale or lease are permitted, but only if the minimum number of persons necessary to show or inspect the property are present and only if all persons present maintain six feet minimum distance, face coverings, and other social distancing requirements at all times.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is announcing modifications to operations to implement the latest guidance from the White House,
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing. As of March 18, 2020, the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas, is closed until further notice. All hiking, biking, and equestrian trails, parking lots and restrooms will remain open.
Visitors with any questions are welcome to call 805-370-2301.
The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at SMMNRA is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels.
The NPS urges visitors to do their part when visiting a park and to follow CDC guidance to prevent the spread of infectious diseases by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups; washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; and most importantly, staying home if you feel sick.
For high-risk populations, such as the elderly and people with underlying conditions, we ask that they take extra caution and follow CDC guidance for those at higher risk of serious illness.
Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus. Please check with www.nps.gov/samo for specific details about park operations.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state, and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit nps.gov/samo.
The Calabasas Tifa Chocolate & Gelato opened this week at 23655 Calabasas Road, across the street from The Commons at Calabasas. The gelato looked and tasted fantastic today! tifachocolateandgelato.com/calabasas-ca
UPDATE 9/15/20: NOW OPEN
Porta Via California Bistro Bar looks to be opening sometime in 2020 at The Commons at Calabasas, based on the prominent signage shown above. It will be located in the space formerly (and quite briefly) occupied by Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop and prior to that, Johnny Rockets.
Porta Via describes itself as a neighborhood restaurant with a world-class feel, offering hand-picked produce, wild caught seafood and all-natural meats delivered daily.
Porta Via operates other locations in Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here is a sampling of menu items at portaviarestaurants.com:
Breakfast: Omelettes, scrambles, juice bar and smoothies and more.
Lunch and Dinner: Pastas, grilled specialties, sandwiches and sides.
There’s also a weekend brunch from 9am to 11:30am on Saturday and 9am to 3pm on Sunday.
Stay tuned.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
