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.
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Hunan Restaurant in Westlake Village at 3825 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd (North Ranch Shopping Center, next to Rite Aid) closed its doors a couple months ago after 30 years in business (retirement).
Other local eateries that closed or opened (or both) in 2021 and that we anticipate to open in 2022 at THIS LINK.
Which Wich is no longer in operation at The Shoppes at Westlake after a six year run. They opened their doors on September 12, 2015.
If you were a Which Wich fan, you’ll have to drive to Hollywood and Western in Los Angeles for your nearest Which Wich.
All this brings back a childhood memory. I recall a book called “Which Witch is Which?”
UPDATE 7/19/22: RISE WILL BE OPENING ON FRIDAY, JULY 29TH AT 7AM.
Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken is opening at the Conejo Valley Plaza, 1408 N. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks, in the spring of 2022.
Rise opened its first location in Durham, North Carolina in 2012 and has expanded to 16 locations. This location will be the first location to open west of Tulsa, Oklahoma. (This location was formerly home to Jack’s Donuts.)
A description of Rise’s food from their website:
Rise serves Southern Biscuits, Righteous Chicken Sandwiches and Donuts, waitstaff-free and with a swift service line. Our fluffy, buttermilk and Cheddar biscuits are made from scratch and filled with savory ingredients ranging from crispy bacon and country sausage to fried green tomatoes and our famous Righteous Chicken. What makes our chicken Righteous? It’s tenderized, brined in buttermilk, fried to golden-brown perfection and then served on a biscuit, bun or as strips with your choice of toppings and sauces. No meal is complete without an order of Cheddar Tots, our signature cheesy, Idaho potato treats. Top off your Rise adventure with Counter Culture Coffee and one of our signature donuts, like the Maple Bacon or Cheerwine.
Learn more at risebiscuitschicken.com. Updates at www.facebook.com/RiseThousandOaks.
Dave’s Hot Chicken opened in the Mandalay Village Marketplace at 587 W. Channel Islands Blvd, Port Hueneme on December 10th. Chicken tenders, sliders and fries with sauces ranging from lite mild to reaper. www.daveshotchicken.com 805.609.3033
M on High Restaurant opened at 255 E. High Street in Moorpark (formerly Secret Garden) in late October, serving contemporary American cuisine. Entrees on their menu at monhigh.com include Mary’s Free Range Chicken Half, “M” Burger, Street Corn Agnolotti, Thai Pumpkin Curry, Tomahawk Pork Chop, Chipotle & Beer Braised Short Rib, Double R Ranch Ribeye, Roma Baked Salmon and Chilean Sea Bass. 805.991.4100
El Sancho Loco Taqueria in Newbury Park announced just before Thanksgiving that it will be opening a 2nd location in Westlake Village. There’s a photo of the new location on their Facebook page at THIS LINK that is clearly 3845A Thousand Oaks Boulevard in the North Ranch Shopping Center, which was most recently KreAsian Kitchen.
UPDATE: They have since closed.
Habanero Mexican Grill at the Oakbrook Center in Thousand Oaks (Avenida de los Arboles and Erbes Road) has reopened as Habanero Tacos & Fries.
There is a new menu at www.habanerotacos.com that features tacos, quesadillas, burritos, tortas, nachos, fries, ramen noodles and more.
The original Habanero Mexican Grill opened at the Walmart center in Newbury Park in February 2017 and is still open. This 2nd location opened in March 2018.
UPDATE: Opened in April 2022.
Clean Juice Superfood Cafe is coming soon to the Twin Oaks Shopping Center in Agoura Hills at 5811 Kanan Road. They will offer smoothies, sandwiches, salads, toasts, acai bowls, wraps and more.
Visit www.cleanjuice.com for more information and www.facebook.com/cleanjuiceagourahills for updates.
UPDATE: Westlake Village / Thousand Oaks location to open on August 4, 2022.
Our friend Amelia S was the first to notice the sign on the former Vintage Grocers / Bristol Farms at The Promenade at Westlake on October 10, 2020 that Amazon Retail LLC had applied to transfer a liquor license to the entity, which led us to discover that an Amazon Fresh store would be occupying this spot in the future.
BIZ NEWS: @ConejoJoe had it 1st but have confirmed w/ city official that Amazon is planning to open a grocery store (Amazon Fresh) in the fmr Vintage Grocers/Bristol Farms spot at Caruso-owned Westlake Promenade. They opened their 1st ever Amazon Fresh in Woodland Hills in August
— Kyle Jorrey (@KyleBJorrey) October 12, 2020
It is now mid-December 2021, one week before Christmas, 12 months later, and the store is still not open.
There are Amazon Fresh signs prominently displayed, so we suspect it will be happening at some point, perhaps in 2022.
Amazon Fresh is also opening a store at The Village at Moorpark, 742 New Los Angeles Avenue in what was previously a Staples. (UPDATE: THE MOORPARK STORE OPENED IN FEBRUARY 2022.)
They are currently hiring store associates and other positions for the Moorpark store starting at $15.85 per hour plus up to a $3,000 signing bonus. So it does sound like the Moorpark store is closer to opening than the Westlake Village store.
Learn more about Amazon Fresh at amazon.com/freshstores.
The Amazon Fresh signs have been up for awhile at the Moorpark location.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
