In 2026, Ventu Park Road gained an Italian dining room, a Mexican bar with live music, a sandwich shop sign and a mochi donut tenant. Three of them took over spaces that another business had already built out and run. The fourth joined a grocery-anchored center that was already established. The buildings stayed and the signs changed.
You can see all of it on one drive. Start at the plazas by the 101, pass the Ralphs center at Hillcrest Drive, and finish at the Stagecoach Inn Museum. The inn is the one place on the road that has held onto its purpose, and in December it hosts the road's biggest holiday weekend.
Two dining rooms facing each other changed hands ten months apart
The year opened on the odd-numbered side of the street. Selvin's Restaurant closed on December 31, and new signs for Sette Sorelle Restaurant and Lounge went up soon after, according to Conejo Valley Guide. Sette Sorelle opened January 21, 2026, at 495 North Ventu Park Road. It's run by Jacopo Falleni, who also co-owns Nonna in Westlake Village. At opening, the restaurant served dinner only: 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday, with reservations at 805-864-1164.
The restaurant didn't hold a launch party. In a February 3 press release posted on The National Law Review, Falleni said:
"Rather than hosting a traditional grand opening, the restaurant intentionally chose a quieter approach, starting with a series of soft openings to fine-tune operations and create a thoughtful, genuine experience for guests."
The same release says the menu is built around shareable plates, house-made pastas and seasonal ingredients. Francesco Pesce, Cristian Trovato and Claudine Bernard lead the kitchen, and Giovanni Piero is director of wine.
The second change came in the fall, across the street. Habanero Mexican Grill had operated at the Thousand Oaks Marketplace, 520 N. Ventu Park Road, near the Walmart Neighborhood Market, since February 2017. On October 17, the restaurant announced on Instagram that it would close after 10 years in the Conejo Valley. On October 31, Conejo Valley Guide reported that Dos Bocas Mexican Restaurant and Bar was open in the same space, serving Mexican food with a full bar and live music. Dos Bocas posts updates on Instagram at @dosbocasmxbarnbp.
So this short stretch of Ventu Park Road now has two sit-down dining rooms facing each other. One added a bar and live music, and the other is an Italian dinner house from a restaurateur who already runs a well-known Westlake Village restaurant. Neither required new construction.
The plaza's smaller doors are turning over too
The same pattern is showing up in the smaller suites. In the Thousand Oaks Marketplace at 520 N. Ventu Park, also known as the Walmart Plaza, the former Jimmy John's has the Sourdough & Co. name on it. The company's own site lists the address as Suite 180 and describes sandwiches, flatbreads, soups and salads.
Here's what changed at the two addresses north of Hillcrest Drive.
| Address | Earlier occupant | 2026 name |
|---|---|---|
| 495 N. Ventu Park Road | Selvin's Restaurant | Sette Sorelle Restaurant and Lounge |
| 520 N. Ventu Park Road, Thousand Oaks Marketplace | Habanero Mexican Grill, since February 2017 | Dos Bocas Mexican Restaurant and Bar |
| 520 N. Ventu Park Road, Suite 180 | Jimmy John's | Sourdough & Co. |
A short way south, the Ventu Park Shopping Center sits at the southwest corner of Ventu Park Road and Hillcrest Drive, with Ralphs as its anchor. Mochinut was announced for the center on May 3, 2026. Mochinut sells mochi donuts made with rice flour, which gives them a chewy texture, along with crispy Korean rice corn dogs, smoothies, coffee and matcha. A September 2026 property listing for the center, at 579-591 N. Ventu Park Road, names Mochinut as a tenant next to Ralphs, the freestanding Del Taco drive-thru and Luau Grill, and describes the center as mature and grocery-anchored.
The freeway plan at the top of the road keeps the same intersections
The biggest public project near this road moves on a much slower timeline. The Ventura County Transportation Commission's Our Future 101 program covers a 27-mile stretch of the 101 from State Route 23 in Thousand Oaks to State Route 33 in Ventura.
The draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment is open for public review through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 7, 2026. Comments can be submitted in writing until then. The commission plans to choose a locally preferred alternative and an early-action phasing strategy in winter 2026, with the final environmental document due in 2027.
The construction dates are further out. The project page says initial construction funding is programmed for fiscal year 2031, construction will be phased over several years, and the work is currently estimated to be complete by 2040. It also says the program won't modify local intersections. Under that plan, the surface streets around the Ventu Park plazas stay as they are.
The one building on the road that has kept its purpose
At the south end of the road, past the freeway, the Stagecoach Inn Museum at 51 South Ventu Park Road is the exception to all this turnover. It's still the same institution, and it's where the road's December weekend happens.
Holidays at the Inn: A Grand Reunion runs over two days, according to the museum's event listing:
- Friday, December 4, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. An evening session with Santa photos.
- Saturday, December 5, 1 to 4 p.m. An afternoon session. Santa is there all day Saturday.
- Saturday, 4 to 6:30 p.m. The museum closes between sessions.
- Saturday, December 5, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The evening session. Live reindeer come on Saturday night only.
Saturday afternoon visitors can come back that night at no extra cost for the reindeer, lights and music. The museum's halls and grounds will be decorated in a historical style. The evenings include a tree lighting and roving carolers, children can do holiday crafts, and the Gift Emporium will sell seasonal items. Tickets are sold at the gate or online through the museum's website.
If you have young children, Saturday afternoon is the best value. One ticket covers Santa in daylight and the reindeer after dark.
The inn's season continues the following week. Holiday Crafts at the Inn runs Thursday, December 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It costs $20 plus a $10 materials fee, $30 in all.
That makes for an easy December evening along a single road. You can spend the late afternoon at the inn, then drive a few minutes north to dinner at Sette Sorelle or Dos Bocas, both restaurants that are new this year in buildings longtime residents already know.
Some of our clients have watched these Ventu Park Road storefronts change over decades. If you're wondering how that steady turnover compares with what's happening on your own street in Newbury Park, Tim Freund at 1000oaksrealestate.com is happy to talk it through with you, whether that's over a plate of pasta on Ventu Park or an easy phone call. Let's Connect.
