Development

Panera Bread Coming to Ventura?

November 6, 2010 By webmaster 7 Comments

When I moved here from Dallas four years ago, one of the things I missed was the Panera Bread just down the street from my house. I enjoyed going early in the morning for coffee and danish, and I would stop there for lunch often because of the free WiFi. Even though it’s a big chain it actually fit in well in our neighborhood.

It’s been years since I thought about that place, so imagine my surprise when I saw the Panera logo while sitting in Camarillo traffic on the 101. At last! I could get that great Caprese panini close to home, and hopefully recapture that feeling I missed from Dallas. The sandwich was good, but no such luck on that latter part. This Panera is a completely different vibe from my old neighborhood gathering spot: Noisy and packed to the rim with tank-top wearing outlet mall patrons. It wasn’t pretty… kind of like being on a flight into or out of Orlando in the summer.

Just as I was losing hope I noticed this on the back of the menu: ”Coming soon to Ventura!” How great would that be? I know that there are a lot of people here who are very anti-chain restaurant and I understand that. But a consistently well-managed Panera would be awesome. It fits that huge gap we have between Jim & Rob’s Fresh Grill and Brooks for an everyday, no-brainer meal when you don’t feel like cooking. Hopefully they’ll put it behind the mall next to the new Trader Joe’s that’s going in… If you have any info about where it’s going please comment and let us know!

Filed Under: Development, Living Locally, Restaurants

They're planting trees at the River Park Mall

November 4, 2010 By webmaster 1 Comment

So it’s become an annual tradition around here… about the same time that the pumpkin patches start to show up in the fields, the weather turns warmer and the sign on the River Park Collection Mall that reads “Opening Fall 20xx” changes to another year. This year was no different. We won’t be buying any organic turkeys at Whole Foods this Thanksgiving… we’re going to have to wait until 2011 now. Although this year they actually did something more than just change the sign: They planted trees in the parking lot! Is this an elaborate hoax or a sign that they may actually be opening next year? Time will tell… Until then the biggest blank canvas for local graffiti artists remains.

Filed Under: Development, Living Locally

We need a second Trader Joe's in Ventura

July 23, 2009 By webmaster Leave a Comment

One of the things I like most about Trader Joe’s is that just about every time I go there I find something new. Even on shelves I’ve passed dozens of times I’ll find something that I somehow missed before. I also enjoy talking to other shoppers about favorite items and looking to see what’s in their carts. Of course to do this you need to be able to take your time so you can look around. Have you tried doing that at the TJ’s on Victoria lately? It’s become impossible. Baskets are everywhere, lines are long (spilling into the aisles) and the bells are ringing. And the only thing I’ll say about the parking is if you think it’s bad now, wait until the dreaded WalMart shows up.

Is it any surprise that this has happened? Our Trader Joe’s serves not only all of Ventura, but Ojai, Carpinteria, most of Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Santa Barbara on the other hand has three stores. And if you go up the hill to the other Ventura County, you’ll find four.

So here’s my proposal: Open a new Trader Joe’s in the old Circuit City store behind the mall. In doing so you’ll remove a blight from the Ventura landscape (just like Wood Ranch did recently) and you’ll have plenty of parking. I would rather see a TJ’s in downtown Ventura (as would our Ojai and Carpinteria friends) but I understand they thoroughly researched that and couldn’t find a solution for the parking situation.

Time to get on it TJ’s! Fresh and Easy cometh…

Filed Under: Development Tagged With: stores, Trader Joe's, ventura

Whole Foods Oxnard now On-Hold Foods

July 15, 2009 By webmaster Leave a Comment

According to the Star, Developer Shea Homes has blamed the economy for putting the new Whole Foods and other retail outlets at “The Collection” in Oxnard on hold until late 2010. Oh, the economy – easy scapegoat for all the bad planning of the last few years. I guess adding retail space to a city with plenty of large, empty spaces (Circuit City, Home Depot, CompUSA, etc.) isn’t too blame, right? And maybe building a high-end food store in a community struggling to sell $300,000 homes and in a city where the median income is the lowest in the county wasn’t the best idea either. Whatever the reason, that half-built eyesore will now sit there on the 101 deteriorating for over a year. Whole Foods still lists Oxnard as a store “in development”, but a year from now who knows… I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become the county’s nicest 99-cent store. Hope I’m wrong.

Filed Under: Development