Council OKs Plan for Shopping Center : Thousand Oaks: The decision means that a Du-par’s restaurant that has been a fixture for 30 years will be demolished.

The Thousand Oaks City Council approved by a 3 to 1 vote Tuesday night plans for a new shopping center at the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Moorpark Road, dooming Du-par’s Restaurant to demolition.

Mayor Frank Schillo dissented, saying road improvements that will have to be made in conjunction with the development will tangle traffic on Conejo Boulevard. Councilman Bob Lewis was absent.

Village Co., which owns the 2.5-acre site, plans to level the 30-year-old restaurant at 33 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd. to make way for a $5.5-million, 26,895-square-foot development, said owner Larry Janss. The shopping center will house a men’s clothing store and sporting-goods chain.

Longtime customers who protested the demolition of the restaurant, bakery and cocktail lounge said Du-par’s has served as a rendezvous point and unofficial town hall for more than 30 years.

“It represents in many people’s minds a symbol of the city,” customer Nick Renna, 62, said before the meeting.

Renna, a Thousand Oaks engineer, said he visits the restaurant at least three times a week. “The idea that they’re going to eliminate it, destroy it for a shopping center, isn’t to me a fair trade-off,” he said.

Council members decided to review the Planning Commission’s unanimous decision to approve the development because of its highly visible location near the freeway and two major thoroughfares, Moorpark Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

The closure of the restaurant was not an issue in their decision, they said.

“I hate to see Du-par’s go,” said Councilman Alex Fiore. “For me it holds a lot of fond memories. But all things considered, it’s almost a slam dunk for this particular project--it meets all the requirements.”

Earlier this month, operators of the restaurant chain removed the red-and-white Du-par’s sign that was visible from the freeway.

Janss said Du-par’s management is planning to close the restaurant on April 21 and may relocate in Thousand Oaks. The restaurant will be demolished in early May, he added. Managers of the restaurant chain were unavailable for comment.

Du-par’s first opened in 1960, four years before Thousand Oaks incorporated and before many of its patrons settled in the area.

Last Saturday, Renna attended an impromptu farewell gathering attended by 75 to 100 patrons.

“The place was as full as I’ve seen it,” he said. “It was a pretty good crowd of people bemoaning it and saying goodby.”

At the council meeting, Renna submitted petitions signed by about 1,000 Du-par’s patrons in favor of keeping the restaurant at its present location.

Others said it may be time to make way for new development.

“They don’t want to see Du-par’s go,” said William Rolland, a property owner who owns a bank building near the development. “But if we can get a decent project in there, I think it’s time to accept it.”