Wood Ranch Barbeque looks for a location where it can launch its planned expansion.

Wood Ranch Barbeque and Grill of Moorpark could be part of a chain restaurant in the very near future. At least that’s what Eric Anders, the head of the establishment, is hoping for.

“We’re looking frantically to find another location, somewhere between Calabasas and Oxnard,” he said. “We’re looking for a high-traffic area with excellent parking and a neighborhood that has some businesses, so we can draw a good lunch business as well as dinner.”

Anders said the 2-year-old Barbeque and Grill was designed with the creation of a Southern California chain in mind. “We expect to open one or two a year,” he said. “We draw so many people from Agoura to Ventura, it’s what our customers are asking for.”

The existing restaurant is located at 540 New Los Angeles Ave.

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Here’s a slightly premature “Welcome Home” for Mabel Chase, co-owner of the City Bakery and Cafe in Ventura, who will be back in Ventura County within two weeks. Chase, her husband George Keenen (the other co-owner) and their son have spent the past year in England. Keenen is expected back in May.

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When Chase does get here, look for at least one change at City Bakery.

The restaurant has been serving dinners Wednesdays through Fridays since January. And now, said chef Reece Keck, the soon-to-return owner is looking to add Saturday nights to the lineup. “I could picture extending it even further this summer,” Keck said.

Keck, the original chef at Ventura’s Voila Cafe (now Cafe Zack) has prepared the dinner menus--which change weekly--since the restaurant began featuring them. Each week’s fare includes one fish, one poultry, one meat, one pasta, one pizza and one vegetarian dish.

“I feel like that’s going to meet everyone’s requests,” said Keck, “but it also gives me a lot to play with.” Keck said she decides on specific menu items pretty much at the last moment. “It’s just kind of whatever my mood is.”

City Bakery is located at 2358-C Main St.