Du-par’s to Make Sentimental Journey Home : Dining: Gathering place known for its pie and loyal patrons will return as part of the Thousand Oaks Inn, hotel officials say.

Once the central gathering place of Thousand Oaks, a place for pie and friendly conversation, Du-par’s Restaurant & Bakery plans to return to the city two years after the original restaurant was demolished to make way for a shopping center.

Officials at the Thousand Oaks Inn--the former Howard Johnson’s near the old Du-par’s--said Monday that they have reached agreement with the diner chain to open a restaurant in the hotel.

“We’re certain that there are people in Thousand Oaks who have missed Du-par’s since it closed,” said Jane Gorney, vice president of operations for BON Innkeeping Inc., the Westlake Village company that manages the hotel.

“We’re hoping there will be a return to the very steady following that they once had,” she said.

Officials at Du-par’s Sherman Oaks office declined to comment on plans for the restaurant, but hotel officials said they expect Du-par’s to duplicate the food and atmosphere that made it a popular fixture for 30 years at Moorpark Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

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One local resident, who in 1991 gathered 1,000 signatures in a failed attempt to save the restaurant, said he is eager to see it return.

“Even if it’s only 50% of what the old Du-par’s was, I think there will be a lot of people who will want to return to their old traditions,” said Nick Renna, a retired electronics engineer who moved to Thousand Oaks in 1964.

“Whether or not they can recapture what they once had remains to be seen,” he said. “Everyone knew each other at Du-par’s. It was a very comfortable place to gather.”

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Renna said the restaurant was known for its pot pies and desserts but, more than anything, people gathered there to see friendly faces.

The diner, which many considered the central meeting place in the city, predated the city’s incorporation by four years, according to Steve Rubenstein, executive director of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“It was the place that buses would stop to drop people off and pick them up,” Rubenstein recalled. “People would stop in before a game of golf in the morning, or late at night after work. When they decided to demolish it, people were really disheartened because it was truly a city landmark.”

In March, 1991, the Thousand Oaks City Council approved a $5.5-million, 26,895-square-foot shopping center, which forced demolition of the diner at 33 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

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All along, Du-par’s officials expressed their desire to relocate in Thousand Oaks, but hotel officials said it was only a few weeks ago that they finally closed the deal.

“When we finally came to an agreement with them, we were thrilled,” Gorney said.

Gorney said the familiar name will help establish the Thousand Oaks Inn, which took over the Howard Johnson’s at 75 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd. on Jan. 6. She said the diner is expected to open in the next two months.

“I know a lot of people who will really be looking forward to it,” Renna said. “It would be nice for us to regain what we lost when they tore that place down.”