BUSINESS

Open and Shut: Verona Trattoria owners plan new spot

Lisa McKinnon

lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com, 805-437-0244

Julio Perez, chef at Verona Trattoria in Camarillo, poses in front of the restaurant his father founded in 1995. Perez and brother, Jerry Perez, plan to close the restaurant next month and open a new place elsewhere in Camarillo.

After more than 20 years in Old Town Camarillo, the owners of Verona Trattoria have something new planned for 2017. It involves a closure, a move, a name change and the addition of a full bar with a cocktail list to match.

"We're expanding the menu, too. We'll still do some Italian, but there will be more room to explore Continental cuisine, plus burgers and even some Mexican food," said Julio Perez, who as chef also runs the current restaurant with brother Jerry Perez, who oversees the front of the house.

Verona Trattoria was founded in February 1995 by their father, Pomposo Perez, now retired. It will close Feb. 28, giving the family and longtime patrons time to mark the restaurant's 22nd anniversary with final orders of veal piccata, scampi Vesuvio and pollo Parmigiana at the current address.

Verona Trattoria in Old Town Camarillo offers seating for about 50 in the form of chairs, bar stools and settees. Members of the family that founded the restaurant in 1995 plan to close the business and move to a new location in 2017.

The brothers' new restaurant is tentatively slated to open in April under a name that may or may not be Julian's Restaurant & Bar, the moniker hashtagged in a Dec. 29 post about the project to the Verona Trattoria Facebook page.

Jerry Perez said Tuesday that a lease has been signed for the new restaurant's location, but that he prefers not to publicize its Camarillo address yet "to keep the surprise."

But sharp-eyed followers of the Ventura County restaurant scene can't help but notice the recent disappearance of the "for lease" sign from a nearby building — or the appearance of gray velveteen settees identical to those in use at Verona Trattoria arranged just inside the front door of the rumored future home of the new restaurant.

Time will tell, anyway: The move and the switch to a full alcohol license will eventually lead to the required posting of a "public notice of application to sell alcohol" at the new site.

Verona Trattoria remains open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and for dinner from 5-9 p.m. daily (2485 Ventura Blvd., 805-383-7576).

In Oak Park, the restaurant On the Thirty closed in late December, less than a year after it brought creative flatbreads, craft beers, local wines and $35 pours of Old Rip Van Winkle 10-year-old bourbon to the former Leila's Restaurant space in the Oak Park Plaza (706 Lindero Canyon Road, Suite 752). A farewell sign taped in the window echoes several recent posts by patrons to the restaurant's Yelp page.

"Due to the ongoing rodent issues that the building has suffered since the beginning of May and numerous attempts to have the situation remedied by the landlord yet to no avail we are forced to close our doors," the sign reads. "We don't feel that this is a safe environment for our guests and staff. The problem is only getting worst (sic)."

On the Thirty's original location remains open in Sherman Oaks (http://www.onthethirty.com).

UPDATE AS OF JAN. 6: In Simi Valley, the original hoped-for debut date for Arby's triggered its erroneous listing among the "open" locations on the chain's website -- and in its data base when I called to confirm the news with a human. The restaurant located at a former Del Taco instead is tentatively scheduled to open its doors sometime this weekend -- perhaps as soon as Jan. 7 (1408 E. Los Angeles Ave., 800-599-2729 http://arbys.com).

In downtown Ventura, soft-opening hours are in effect for Harvest Cafe, which on Monday began serving a limited-on-purpose menu of smoothies, juices, bowls, soups, salads and gluten-free waffles and open-face sandwiches. The cafe also features BentPenny Coffee Roasters in its pour overs and other coffee drinks, with organic whole, cashew and almond milks available. Local beers and wines are also served.

Harvest Cafe's hours for this week will be from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The hours will expand starting Jan. 9. For updates, check the cafe's Facebook page and/or website (175 S. Ventura Ave., Suite 104, http://www.harvestcafeventura.com).

Would-be diners at Pick Up Stix in Ventura are greeted by a sign stating that the location is closed following the decision not to renew the lease.

The Ventura location of Pick Up Stix closed in late December. The closure followed the decision not to renew the lease, according to a sign posted on the restaurant's former front door in the Ventura Gateway shopping center (4990 Telephone Road, Suite 101). The sign directs patrons to Pick Up Stix in Oxnard; the chain also has a site in Camarillo (https://www.pickupstix.com).

CiCi's Cafe of Tarzana opened its Westlake Village location on Dec. 29 at what used to be The Counter. The new restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Westlake Village version of CiCi's Cafe opened on Dec. 29 at what used to be The Counter, located between Barone's Pizzeria and Aroha New Zealand Cuisine. Like its original location in Tarzana, the new CiCi's focuses on breakfast favorites like green tea tiramisu pancakes and huevos tomatillos, plus lunch. But with extended hours and a menu that tops 25 pages, the Westlake Village site also serves dinner. Hours are from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily (30990 Russell Ranch Road, Suite B, 818-874-3391).

Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. Her Cafe Society column appears in the Sunday Life section and Fridays in the Time Out section. For between-column updates, follow 805foodie on Twitter and Instagram and "like" the Facebook page VCS Eats.