Open and shut: Ojai Bowls puts crafty new spin on poke, ramen and veggie-focused fare

Most people come back from a vacation in Kauai with a blissed-out sense of aloha, a tan, or a little of both. Ojai resident Don Hull flew home with an idea for a restaurant focused on food served in bowls.

"Poké bowls, ramen bowls, crafted bowls. ... The idea was to get everything under one roof," said Hull, whose career in the hospitality industry has included working at restaurants and hotels up and down the California coast. 

The result is Ojai Bowls, an order-at-the-counter spot still in its first few weeks of business in the Red Horse Plaza shopping center in the Mira Monte area of the Ojai Valley.

Hull and chef and co-owner Doug Hernandez unveiled the menu's build-your-own poké bowls ($10-$13) and signature-bowl options ($12-$15) during soft-opening service on May 31. They added ramen bowls ($9) with such create-your-own features as shoyu broth, vegan miso and/or shirataki noodles in time for the June 8 grand opening.

But they're still keeping things on the down low: Posts about menus and hours of operation have thus far been limited to the restaurant's Instagram account, bypassing its Facebook page and website.

Coming soon:L.A.-based restaurant owners see golden opportunities in Ojai

Lunch, brunch are served:Gargantua in Ojai goes from pop-up to permanent

"We're a little like a pop-up restaurant right now, just so we don't get crushed by everyone showing up before we're really ready for them," Hull said. 

A level-two sommelier whose résumé includes stints at The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla and Pierre Lafond Wine Bistro in Montecito, Hull met Hernandez while they were both working for a health-oriented grocery chain in Los Angeles County.

"We just clicked," Hernandez said of their what-if agreement to open a restaurant together if the right opportunity ever came up.

Then it did. During a basketball tournament involving their respective children, Hull ran into the owners of the popular Ojai restaurant Osteria Monte Grappa. An informal discussion ensued about their decision to close their Mira Monte restaurant, Spin Rotisserie & Spaghetteria, in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire. It was just sitting there, waiting for a new project to come along.

"I had the idea for a restaurant in my head, but that was the conversation that made it happen — with their tremendous support and help," Hull said.

Operating under the name DHDH Hospitality, Hull and Hernandez set about creating everything from the decor to the menu's collection of "crafted," rather than build-your-own, bowls.

"After Kauai and a few trips to Southeast Asia, I knew I wanted something with dark woods and lots of greenery," Hull said. "I want you to walk in from the Rite Aid parking lot and into something that feels worlds away from that."

When it came to the crafted bowls, the goal was to offer a "nutrient-dense mix of colorful vegetables with a nice protein in the middle," Hull added. Options range from the Golden Flower Bowl ($12), a vegan selection that includes turmeric-dusted cauliflower with quinoa, avocado and enoki mushrooms, to the salmon bowl ($15), which combines miso-glazed wild-caught salmon with roasted edamame, sweet potato and sriracha aioli.

Hernandez brings his own, varied experiences to the mix.

"I'm a Salvadorian kid married to a French woman," he said with a laugh.

After growing up in L.A.'s Koreatown, Hernandez worked as a banker before realizing that food was his calling. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Hollywood and worked at several restaurants before serving as a chef at Erewhon Organic Grocer & Cafe in Calabasas and as executive chef for the Lassens Natural Foods chain.

At Ojai Bowls, he has been surprised but gratified by what is turning out to be the early best-seller: a braised-beef crafted bowl ($13) featuring local Watkin's Cattle Co. beef with crispy leeks, watermelon radish, brown rice and horseradish vinaigrette.

"We use a lot of traditional French techniques here, and braising is my favorite," Hernandez said. "I love all the steps and how each contributes to building flavor."

Desserts ($7-$9) are available, along with local beers and Revel kombucha on tap ($5) and wines — selected by Hull, of course — by the glass ($8). 

Hours are from 3-8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and from noon to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (11492 N. Ventura Ave., 805-633-9044, http://ojaibowls.org).

At The Oaks shopping center in Thousand Oaks, Go Greek Yogurteria opened May 29 at the outdoor space previously occupied by Paciugo Gelato & Caffe. The new spot offers frozen yogurt from self-serve machines (89 cents per ounce) in addition to fresh yogurt displayed in bowls ($6.95-$18 for sizes ranging from 7 to 24 ounces).

Fans of frozen yogurt will find regular flavors such as Greek honey and plain tart, plus rotating options like pomegranate and chocolate-hazelnut. Fresh-yogurt choices include rose petal and sour cherry among the "regulars," with fig, carrot, and peanut butter and jelly among the "rotating." Optional toppings range from almonds and flax seeds to dark chocolate cacao nibs and organic gummies.

Go Greek also offers sweet and savory fresh-yogurt combinations ($8.50-$9.95 for 7- and 10-ounce sizes). They include Althea, which features assorted fresh and goji berries, Greek honey and shaved chocolate. The Dodoni, meanwhile, pairs fresh basil with feta, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, cumin and crushed black pepper.

Go Greek also has locations in Beverly Hills, Glendale, Santa Monica, Woodland Hills and Las Vegas. The Thousand Oaks site is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays (190 W. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 65, 805-370-8122, http://www.gogreekyogurt.com).

But Hooters restaurant closed on June 10, capping six years of business at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks. The closure was announced shortly beforehand via signs that appeared on the doors, declaring that they would shut "forever" at 8 p.m. June 10. The address for the franchisee-operated location wasn't removed from Hooters' corporate website until sometime between Monday and Tuesday. An email sent to the chain's headquarters seeking comment did not receive a response.

A manager on Monday said there had been previous discussions about closing the restaurant after football season. About 30 employees were affected by the closure, which the manager described as "sudden."

Whoooo knew?:Hooters restaurant closes in Thousand Oaks

A LoopNet listing describes the 5,634-square-foot building at 401 N. Moorpark Road as "available" for a lease of one to five years in duration.

As previously reported in The Star, June 17 will mark the final day of business for Public School 805 at The Promenade at Westlake in Thousand Oaks. The gastropub at 120 E. Promenade Way. (https://www.psontap.com) will be replaced in "late 2018" by the region's first Shake Shack (https://www.shakeshack.com).

In Westlake Village, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill opened in early June at the same North Ranch Gateway address that closed as Baja Fresh in the summer of 2017. The remodeled location is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays (30861 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., 818-900-1846, https://www.bajafresh.com).

Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. To contact her, send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com. To have the VCS Eats newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, visit http://bit.ly/VCS_Eats and type in your email address.