After 31 years doing business in Thousand...

After 31 years doing business in Thousand Oaks, Du-pars coffee shop closed its doors in 1991. To the dismay of many longtime customers, it was the end of an era.

Well, a new era is about to begin. Just as dramatically as Du-pars left, it is returning. On Monday, a new member of the 56-year-old Du-pars chain is scheduled to open at 75 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., right next door to the previous location.

The big question is, will it be just like its predecessor?

“We’ll have the same menu,” said Linda Williams, a bookkeeper in the Du-pars executive office. “But we won’t be identical, because it’s not going to look the same inside.” The inside, she said, will consist of two separate coffee shops and a bar.

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Calling all cooks. The 27-year-old Santa Paula Citrus Festival, to be held Aug. 5-7, will be highlighted by its inaugural Citrus Recipe Contest. Deadline to enter is July 22.

“Santa Paula has been known historically as the citrus capital of the world,” said Jim Garfield of Santa Paula’s Cal West Real Estate, the contest organizer. “We just decided to do the contest because the citrus festival has very little to do with citrus, unless we specifically tie it in to something.”

If it weren’t for the contest, said Garfield, the most citrus you’d be apt to see at the festival would be at the Chamber of Commerce lemonade stand.

Contest rules, as you might suspect, are pretty straightforward: Use citrus.

The food item can be anything--main dish, salad, dessert, beverage, etc. And the ingredients must include either lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, avocados or some combination of the above. “But not all of them, please,” said Garfield.

Entrants may submit as many dishes as the want. If you’re interested, call 525-5523.