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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Candy Store’s Flagship Site Fizzles in Camarillo

Rocket Fizz in Camarillo, the retailer’s flagship location at 2619 Ventura Blvd., closed its doors in December. The 1950s-themed soda pop shop and candy store opened in Old Town Camarillo in 2009. The 1,850-square-foot location featured 1,400 old-fashioned sodas, snacks, candy and toys. In the last 10 years, founders Robert Powells and Ryan Morgan moved away, leaving Morgan’s sister to manage the location. But when she moved away as well, there was no one to take over. Ron Goodson, owner of the adjacent restaurant, Tony’s NY Style Pizza, bought the store from Rocket Fizz in March 2018. “The new owner rearranged the entire store where it no longer looked or felt like a Rocket Fizz,” Rocket Fizz management said in an email to the Business Journal. “He sold odd products that were not approved. He even destroyed the fish tank that was featured on the Animal Planet TV show ‘Tanked.’ The store eventually lost customers and sales as a result of this misbehavior.” Goodson told the Business Journal that the business had declined 76 percent from its heyday and was already suffering by the time he bought it. “I was hoping I could find a way to increase sales by $5,000 to $6,000 a month, but that amount never happened,” he explained. The chain is still headquartered in Camarillo and has more than 100 Rocket Fizz franchises operating across the country, including six in the L.A. market. New Chick-fil-A Simi Valley got its first Chick-fil-A restaurant on Feb. 21, when the new location opened at 2460 Sycamore Drive. Josh Alexander, franchise owner and operator, invited residents to join in opening festivities at the 5,000-square-foot location by participating in a Chick-fil-A tradition called the 12-hour first 100 campout. One hundred guests that participated in the campout received a free year of Chick-fil-A meals; the company gave away nearly $39 million through similar celebrations in 2018. “I look forward to continuing to strive for excellence every day through providing our freshly prepared food and award-winning customer service to our restaurant guests,” said Alexander in a statement. The Simi Valley restaurant will employ 135 people. Experiential Retail Samsung Group opened three new experiential retail locations across the nation last month, including one at Americana at Brand in Glendale. Samsung Experience Stores, while celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Samsung Galaxy phone, aims to introduce the newest products to consumers, including smartphones, tablets, wearables, televisions and SmartThings devices. The space features virtual reality and an immersive gaming lounge. “Our new Samsung Experience Stores are spaces to experience and see Samsung technology brought to life, to empower people to do what they never thought was possible before” Young Hoon Eom, chief executive for Samsung Electronics America, said in a statement. “We want to build a ‘playground’ for Samsung fans — a place to learn about and try out all of the amazing new products we have to offer.” Other experiential stores opened in Garden City, N.Y. and Houston. The Americana at Brand is located at 889 Americana Way. Sherman Oaks Pearl Pearl District Restaurant opened a new location in Sherman Oaks, taking over the former SOCA/Boneyard Cocina + Cantina location. The new location enjoyed a soft opening with family and friends on Feb. 8 and officially started business Feb. 11. The restaurant’s original location is in a shopping plaza at 982 S. Westlake Blvd. in Westlake Village. Whether diners visit the Conejo Valley or Sherman Oaks locations, the menus are identical, said owner Peyman Afshar. “It was a pretty fast turnaround. Basically, we had been talking to the previous owner for the last four or five months and the turnaround took us just over a month,” Afshar told the Business Journal. “We’ve made some simple changes, added a really nice wine cellar that separates the bar from the dining room to make it a little bit more comfortable. The place was pretty well off by the time we took it over.” The Sherman Oaks location is at 14015 Ventura Blvd. T.O. Sports Bar Dave & Buster’s will open a new location at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks on March 4. The new location boasts more than 40,000-square-feet of entertainment space, including arcade games and a sports bar. It also has a new menu and drink selection for the chain. The restaurant will make a donation to the Ventura County Community Fund in support of the victims of the Borderline tragedy, according to a news release. Dave & Buster’s Thousand Oaks is located at 145 W. Hillcrest Drive. Staff Reporter Amy Stulick can be reached at [email protected] or at (818) 316-3121.

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