"You're not going to find a lot of tenants interested in moving into a construction site." Rick Lemmo, a senior vice president at Caruso, told the Thousand Oaks Acorn that in August 2022. At the time The Lakes, the center next to City Hall and the Civic Arts Plaza, was about 70% vacant. His point was that new tenants would hold off until Caruso finished a planned six-story, 165-unit apartment building behind the shops, which he expected in 2024.
The construction site never showed up, and the tenants came anyway. As of late August 2026, Caruso's own portfolio page lists The Lakes as 100% leased. The apartment building still hasn't broken ground. The center you can walk through this fall got there in the reverse order of the 2022 plan, and that order explains what's open now, what's still papered over, and why the back parking lot looks the same as it always has.
The 2022 Plan Put Housing First
The Lakes opened in 2005. The Acorn wrote that it was "once billed as the catalyst for the revitalization of Thousand Oaks Boulevard." Seventeen years later, that pitch had worn thin. P.F. Chang's, an original tenant and a regular stop before shows at the Civic Arts Plaza, closed for good on August 28, 2022. That left four businesses on the property: California Pizza Kitchen, SunLife Organics, Kalologie Skincare and Lassens, the grocer that had opened there in 2014.
The land under the center belongs to the city. Caruso agreed to develop and manage The Lakes under a 55-year lease signed in 2004. In 2021 the two sides struck a deal to sell the 7.5-acre property to Caruso for $2 million upfront, plus $11 million to $13 million in community benefit payments over 37 years. That deal came with approval for the apartment building. Under that plan, the housing would come first and the restaurants and shops would follow.
The Order Things Actually Happened In
Here is the actual sequence, pieced together from local coverage:
- August 2022. P.F. Chang's closes after 17 years. California Pizza Kitchen becomes the last tenant left from the center's 2005 debut.
- June 2023. WhatNow reports that Fogo de Chão is taking over what appears to be the old P.F. Chang's space at 2250 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
- October 16, 2023. Fogo de Chão opens.
- Spring 2025. Caruso doesn't renew Lassens' lease and announces Erewhon as the replacement.
- October 2025. The City Council gives Caruso a fourth extension to close on the land. The new deadline is June 30, 2028.
- August 26, 2026. Erewhon holds its grand opening, the chain's first Ventura County location.
- September 2026. The center's directory lists Savta, Sora Handroll Bar and [solidcore] as coming soon.
None of those steps needed the apartment building. Every one of them happened while the residential project sat in extension after extension.
What's Open on a Weeknight Now
The center's directory, last updated September 3, 2026, shows four open tenants. Each one stands for a different stage of the recovery:
- California Pizza Kitchen has been there since 2005 and is the only tenant left from opening year.
- SunLife Organics was one of the four tenants still standing in 2022.
- Fogo de Chão has been open since October 2023 in the space P.F. Chang's left behind.
- Erewhon opened on August 26, 2026, in the former Lassens space at 2150 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
The Fogo de Chão swap matters most to anyone with tickets next door. The Acorn called P.F. Chang's a popular pre-show stop for people heading to the Civic Arts Plaza. For about a year after it closed, the same building had nothing in it. Now a full-service steakhouse sits in that spot, and California Pizza Kitchen is still a short walk from the theater doors.
Erewhon changes the weekday picture. Lassens had been the center's everyday reason to stop by since 2014, and now that role belongs to a grocer whose closest stores used to be over the county line. Ventura County Star reporter Ernesto Centeno Araujo noted that signs for the Thousand Oaks store went up the summer before it opened, so the wait was long and very public.
The center says it's open seven days a week, 365 days a year. Its listed address is 2200 Thousand Oaks Boulevard.
Coming Soon, With No Dates Attached
Caruso's 100% leased label covers several tenants that aren't serving anyone yet. Conejo Valley Guide reported on August 26 that none of the coming tenants had announced an opening date. WhatNow said the same about [solidcore] on September 14.
Savta is going in next to Sora Handroll Bar. The original opened at The Original Farmers Market next to The Grove in February 2025. Its menu runs to wood-fired pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and brunch, with California and French influences. The name means "grandmother" in Hebrew, a tribute to the owner's grandmother and her place in the family's cooking.
Sora Handroll Bar has been on the way for a while. In 2025 its owner told WhatNow to expect a June 1, 2026 opening. That date has come and gone, and the September directory still says "Coming Soon."
[solidcore] is taking a space next to California Pizza Kitchen. It offers a 50-minute, full-body strength-training workout.
PopUp Bagels is the least certain of the group. Conejo Valley Guide spotted the brand's tagline on the storefront next to SunLife Organics, but found no Thousand Oaks location on the company's website or social media. It also isn't in the center's current directory.
Even the official rosters don't match. Caruso's portfolio page lists Kalologie and leaves out [solidcore]. The center's own directory does the opposite. For a fall dinner plan, count on the four open tenants above and keep an eye out for the others.
The Back Lot Is Still a Parking Lot
The apartment building that tenants were supposed to wait for is still on hold. The latest public update came in October 2025. On October 21, the City Council voted 4-1 to give Caruso a fourth one-year extension to buy the land and start building up to 165 apartments. Mayor David Newman voted no. In exchange for the new June 30, 2028 deadline, Caruso pays the city $100,000, which goes to the city's homeless shelter.
Chris Robertson, Caruso's vice president of planning and development, said high interest rates and inflation had made the project unfeasible. She said the company remained "strongly committed to this community." Council member Bob Engler said at the October 7 hearing that he wanted to remind the developer "that this is something that the city is looking forward to with anticipation."
The same Star article includes a detail that rarely comes up at the Erewhon checkout. The city has never received income from The Lakes. Under the 2004 lease, Caruso owes rent only after the center earns at least a 12% return on its initial investment, and that hasn't happened yet. Local coverage hasn't reported a sale closing or a construction start since that October 2025 vote.
All of this tells you what the center looks like for now. The stores and restaurants that were supposed to arrive second are already here or close to it. The six-story building that was supposed to come first is a line on a 2028 deadline. Until that changes, the lot behind Fogo de Chão and California Pizza Kitchen stays a parking lot.
If you live near the Civic Arts Plaza and want to know how a fully leased Lakes, and whatever happens to that back lot, could figure into your home's value, Kevin Goldman is happy to walk you through it over coffee. Request a Home Valuation, or just reach out and let's connect.
