Tom Marshall, general manager of Wheeler Hot...

Tom Marshall, general manager of Wheeler Hot Springs spa and restaurant in Ojai, Wednesday officially became the new owner of another Ojai establishment, Nora’s Bistro.

And, of course, changes tend to go hand-in-hand with new ownership. Although Marshall said the cooking staff will remain the same, it now will be overseen by Wheeler chef Gael Leocolley. And there will be some corresponding changes in the menu.

“We are going to have bistro food with an Italian flavor. We’ll certainly keep the pizzas. We’ll expand the salads, we’ll expand the pastas, we’ll expand the entrees,” Marshall said. “We’ll even throw in some things that are not Italian, like a good (Spanish) paella. We’ll have some seafood.”

Nora’s hours have been expanded to 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (it used to be open until 10 p.m.) seven days a week. That’s something of a gamble, Marshall realizes, for the usually quiet late-night streets of Ojai.

“If you go for a walk down the main street at night, it’s beautiful, but it’s sort of depressing. You can’t have a cappuccino or dessert in too many places,” Marshall said. “We’ll have to see what this will do to the habits of the town. The habits have all been skewed toward earlier hours.” Nora’s is at 423 E. Ojai Ave.

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The Ventura County Fair has some more amateur baking contests coming up, so if you’ve been bragging about your culinary skills, now’s the time to show what you’ve got. Entries will be taken from 7 to 10 a.m. Friday for various biscuits / roll, bread, cake and muffin categories. Call 648-3376 for specifics.

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Wednesday marked the official opening of the Empowerment Place, a “learning center” in Ventura that offers personal growth and classes in a variety of areas, including movement therapy, dream interpretation, Shiatsu release therapy and food preparation.

One of those upcoming food courses, taught over four Tuesdays beginning Sept. 6, is the hands-on “Delicious Macrobiotic Cooking.” Local chiropractor Douglas Gainor will discuss the philosophy of balance and order between humans and the environment and how it relates to what we eat. The course will be taught at City Bakery. Cost is $125. If you sign up two weeks in advance, you receive free enrollment in a one-day “Movement Therapy” class. Call 648-7004.