In 1990, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill entered...

In 1990, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill entered the restaurant scene when its proprietors opened an establishment in Newbury Park. Within a year, the budding Westlake-based chain had added another restaurant in Simi Valley.

Now, in its fourth year, Baja Fresh has expanded to six operations, also including Westlake, Woodland Hills, Beverly Hills and, as of mid-February, in Camarillo.

The Baja Fresh menu features healthy and, as the name would imply, fresh fare. The folks who run the chain boast that their traditional Mexican food is grilled rather than fried, that the chicken is skinless, that no lard is used in preparation of the food, that the tortilla chips are made with cholesterol-free canola oil and that the salsa is fresh.

Dennis Lopez, Baja Fresh corporate director of operations, said the Camarillo location, the baby of the chain, started up, at least in part, because of customer demand.

“We had a lot of requests from people visiting our other locations,” he said. “They really wanted us to put a restaurant there. We just happened to find a location that was perfect for us.” Baja Fresh Mexican Grill is at 1855 Daily Drive, Suite D, Camarillo.

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Business has been so brisk at Wheeler Hot Springs spa and restaurant, owner Tom Marshall said, that the folks on the restaurant end of things are now looking for an additional cook for their Saturday and Sunday brunches.

So what are they most looking for in a candidate? Consistency, Marshall said. And, he said, “they should have line-cook experience, and they should have fine dining experience. . . . It’s not coffee shop experience or fast-food experience that will do it.”

Wheeler has received plenty of recognition of late, not the least of which was placement among the Top 10 restaurants in a 1994 Santa Barbara County restaurant guide. And it isn’t even in Santa Barbara County. Wheeler is located above Ojai, at 16825 Maricopa Highway.

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Good news for carnivores.

Mark Pogeano, manager of Champ’s in Oxnard, said the former steakhouse, which turned into a steakhouse/bar and grill, and then into a bar and grill--will return, in part, to its beefier roots.

Around the beginning of summer, he said, customers can expect to find barbecue ribs and tri-tip on the menu. Champs is at 1900 S. Victoria Ave.