<\/p>\n
This story was originally shared from VCStar and kan findes her<\/a>.<\/p>\n How big is the opening-soon\u00a0Dave & Buster\u2019s<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0i\u00a0Thousand Oaks<\/strong>?<\/p>\n So big that it\u2019s hard to imagine the location\u2019s previous tenant,\u00a0Sports Authority<\/strong>, ever needing quite so much space to sell basketballs, athletic shoes and\u00a0yoga gear before the store closed in\u00a02016.<\/p>\n When it debuts at 11\u00a0a.m. Monday,\u00a0the first Dave & Buster\u2019s within the\u00a0805 area code\u00a0will instead offer 32,000 square feet of dining, arcade games and\u00a0sports-TV viewing.\u00a0The kitchen, hidden from view by two pairs of swinging doors, adds another 5,000 square feet to the project.<\/p>\n The business employs more than 200\u00a0people in a mix of full- and part-time positions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great place to work because we promote from within,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Brad Balderson<\/strong>, who started with the company nearly 15 years ago and worked his way up to general manager. He moved to\u00a0the Conejo Valley\u00a0from his previous post at Dave & Buster\u2019s in\u00a0Milpitas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Den\u00a0Janss Marketplace<\/strong>\u00a0location is the 15th Dave & Buster\u2019s in\u00a0Californien<\/strong>, and the 123rd\u00a0in the history of the\u00a0Dallas<\/strong>-based chain, which launched in 1982.<\/p>\n Proceeds from a Feb. 28 pre-opening VIP preview will go toward a donation made by Dave & Buster\u2019s to the\u00a0Ventura County Community Foundation<\/strong>\u2019s fund for survivors of the\u00a0Borderline<\/strong>\u00a0shooting. The check will be presented during a pre-opening ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Monday, said\u00a0Popeye Vasquez,<\/strong>\u00a0regional marketing director for Dave & Buster\u2019s.<\/p>\n The opening comes just as the chain has revamped its menus, which are described in media materials as \u201cchef-crafted.\u201d<\/p>\n Dishes include the plant-based\u00a0Impossible Burger<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0($14.99), ancho Caesar grilled chicken lettuce wraps ($10.49) and Philly Cheesesteak Sliders & Goldfingers, aka breaded chicken ($16.29).<\/p>\n \u201cShareable and snackable\u201d options include avocado toast with Mexican street corn ($10.99), a particular favorite of\u00a0Byron Generalao<\/strong>,\u00a0executive kitchen manager for Dave & Buster\u2019s operations on the West Coast. But he and Balderson\u00a0have been known to split\u00a0an order of Cantina Nachos made with buffalo chicken or green chile\u00a0steak ($13.79), Generalao\u00a0said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Patrons can order\u00a0a la carte<\/em>\u00a0and\/or choose\u00a0from a range of\u00a0Eat & Play Combo<\/strong>\u00a0packages that start at $17.99.<\/p>\n The cocktail list has also been retooled, with \u201crecrafted recipe\u201d notations next to drinks like the\u00a0Jameson<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Long Island Tea.\u00a0Other options include a strawberry watermelon margarita made with strawberry-puree ice cubes and Green Ghost Glow Kones, in\u00a0which the titular glow comes from a waterproof\u00a0lighted plastic\u00a0cube<\/a>\u00a0at the bottom of the glass.\u00a0(At the preview, I dug through the ice of my finished drink for the cube,\u00a0wrapped it in a napkin and stashed it in my purse for another day.)<\/p>\n Beers\u00a0on tap include regional selections like\u00a0805<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Firestone Walker Brewing Co.<\/strong>og\u00a0Danish Red<\/strong>\u00a0og\u00a0Hoppy Poppy<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co<\/strong>. The usual suspects \u2013\u00a0think\u00a0Corona\u00a0<\/strong>og\u00a0Coors Light<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0are available in bottles.<\/p>\n With its dimmed lighting and mirrored walls, the arcade has the disorienting feel of a casino floor. Games range from such longstanding favorites as\u00a0Skee-Ball<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0Bling King<\/strong>\u00a0claw machine loaded with rubber duckies to\u00a0Dragonfrost<\/strong><\/a>, a seated virtual-reality attraction in which four guests at a time embark on a \u201cwinter quest to save the kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou literally don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re in Dave & Buster\u2019s anymore. You are up in the air, riding a dragon,\u201d said\u00a0Ventura<\/strong>\u00a0resident\u00a0Ondrey Nebesky<\/strong>, who tried the attraction with wife\u00a0Haruka Nebesky<\/strong>. The minute their first session was over, they got back in line to go again.<\/p>\n In addition to a TV-free dining area, a bar area with 24 HDTV screens overhead and the\u00a0D&B Sports Bar<\/strong>\u00a0with still\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0TVs, the new Dave & Buster\u2019s includes a private event space that can be divided into two smaller rooms and a store-like area where patrons\u00a0exchange tickets for prizes from poop-emoji pillows to\u00a0Xbox<\/strong>\u00a0games.<\/p>\n As of March 4, the business\u2019 hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.<\/p>\n Weekly specials will include two-for-Tuesdays ($2 beers, $2 tacos and two free game plays, the latter with a $10 Power Card purchase), half-price games all day Wednesdays, and all-you-can-eat wings and unlimited video game play for $19.99 on Thursdays.<\/p>\n During happy hour (4-7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays) and late-night happy hour (10 p.m. to closing Sundays through Thursdays), specials include half-price cocktails, $2.50 domestic pints, $1 off 22-ounce drafts, $1 off glasses of wine and $3 off bottles of wine (145 W. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 130,\u00a0https:\/\/www.daveandbusters.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n In\u00a0Newbury Park<\/strong>, the owners of\u00a0Great Harvest Bread Co.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0have announced plans to close on March 2. Signed by\u00a0Jim and Lupe Costello<\/strong>, a\u00a0post to the business\u2019 website reads, \u201cAs most of you know, we have been trying to find new owners for our bakery for the past two-plus years. We have been\u00a0unsuccessful in doing so. Our lease is up, and for many personal reasons, we have concluded that we are unable to commit to continuing on indefinitely.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are thankful to all of you for allowing us to be part of the community, part of your meals, part of your holidays and part of your lives for the past 15 years.\u00a0We feel truly blessed for having had the privilege of serving our community throughout these years,\u201d the Costellos wrote.<\/p>\n Call for updated hours (2092-H Newbury Road,\u00a0805-376-0111,\u00a0http:\/\/www.conejobread.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n In\u00a0Ojai<\/strong>, the combination British-goods store and tea shop\u00a0Plaza Pantry<\/strong>\u00a0closed Feb. 28, after nearly 37 years of business at 221 E. Matilija St. Owner\u00a0Beryl Tognazzini<\/strong>, a native of\u00a0Dover, England<\/strong>, who was a teacher\u00a0before settling in the\u00a0Ojai-dalen<\/strong>, said she felt that, at 86, the time had come to retire.<\/p>\n \u201cI nearly gave up last year, because of what they wanted in the way of\u00a0permits,\u201d said Tognazzini, who prepared English breakfasts and afternoon teas with little more than a grill and a microwave. Importing packaged foods had\u00a0also become more complicated in recent years, she added.<\/p>\n \u201cI will miss the companionship of the people who came by. I met so many fascinating and friendly people through the years,\u201d said Tognazzini.<\/p>\n She and her hand-knitted tea cozies will be missed.<\/p>\n To the north, the long-awaited\u00a0Rosewood Miramar Beach<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0i\u00a0Montecito<\/strong>\u00a0is now officially open.\u00a0Located on the grounds of the original\u00a0Miramar Hotel<\/strong><\/a>, which closed in 2000 and passed through several hands before it was demolished in 2012, the luxury resort developed by\u00a0Caruso<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0features 161 guest rooms and suites \u2014\u00a026 of which have private terraces directly over the sand.<\/p>\n Executive chef\u00a0Massimo Falsini<\/strong>\u00a0oversees the resort\u2019s\u00a0seven restaurants and bars, including the oceanfront\u00a0Caruso\u2019s<\/strong><\/a>, den\u00a0Miramar Beach Bar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0og\u00a0Malibu Farm at Miramar<\/strong><\/a>, an outpost of\u00a0Helene Henderson<\/strong>\u2019s farm-to-table spot\u00a0on the Malibu Pier (1759 S. Jameson Lane, 805-900-8388,\u00a0https:\/\/www.rosewoodhotels.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n To the south,\u00a0Calabrese Cafe<\/strong>, a restaurant from the brother-sister combo of chef\u00a0Bobby Calabrese<\/strong>\u00a0and fitness trainer\u00a0Autumn Calabrese<\/strong>\u00a0appears to have opened and closed\u00a0late last year at 26787 Agoura Road, the former address of\u00a0Industry Bar & Grill<\/strong>\u00a0og\u00a0Wolf Creek Restaurant & Brewing Co.<\/strong>\u00a0p\u00e5\u00a0The Summit at Calabasas<\/strong>shopping center.<\/p>\n In a Dec. 12 response to a would-be\u00a0patron\u2019s\u00a0query\u00a0on\u00a0Yelp<\/strong><\/a>, \u201cRobert C.<\/strong>\u00a0of Calabrese Cafe\u201c\u00a0blamed the closure on \u201ca catastrophic water main break late last night. … We have updated our status to \u2018temporarily closed.\u2019\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0status now reads \u201cscheduled to reopen on Feb. 1, 2020.\u201d The owners have not responded to subsequent Yelp comments, or to comments on the business\u2019\u00a0Instagram account<\/a>, which was last updated on Dec. 9.<\/p>\n When I stopped to peer in the windows on\u00a0Feb. 24, the restaurant was\u00a0dark inside, with furnishings and menu boards still in place. As of this week, calls to its phone number are answered by a recording that states the mailbox is unable to accept messages because voicemail was never set up.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-coverage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}