Red Onion to Reopen in Thousand Oaks

A Westlake Village entrepreneur says he’s purchased the Red Onion name in bankruptcy court and will reopen the defunct chain’s Thousand Oaks nightclub-restaurant Friday.

The unit closed last year along with other Red Onion restaurants throughout the greater Los Angeles area. The chain was operated by International Onion Inc., a West Covina firm that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 1992.

Joe Preston, who also heads a satellite television network, said he has invested “in the six figures” to renovate the Red Onion on Hillcrest Drive. “I’ve lived in the Conejo Valley for 18 years and have an idea of the kind of place residents will enjoy,” he said.

Under its former owners, the Thousand Oaks Red Onion drew repeated complaints from neighbors and police for alleged fistfights, noise and underage drinking.