Joannafina’s to Open in Downtown Ventura

Joanna Lopez-Rojas probably is as surprised as anyone to be co-owner of a new restaurant.

Sure, she and her husband, Delfino Lopez-Rojas, were honored to be asked to open a restaurant at 420 E. Main Street in Ventura.

They like downtown Ventura. They already own Un Poquito de Mexico import shop, which they opened in July just two stores up on Main Street. And for nine years they have operated Joannafina’s Mexican Cafe on South Seaward Avenue.

But another restaurant wasn’t in their plans.

“The owner of the building called us and asked if we would be interested in taking it,” Joanna Lopez-Rojas said. “First we said no. One restaurant, one store, that’s enough.”

But after some serious negotiation and pleading, the deal was done. And the new Joannafina’s Mexican Cafe Downtown is scheduled to open Oct. 10.

“The place looks like a long garage, no windows. It was very, very dark,” Joanna Lopez-Rojas said. “I kind of took it as a decorating challenge. We took the place and basically gutted it. It has a new floor, new everything. We made it look like a place at the beach, with thatched booths and brightly painted benches.”

In addition to the beach ambience, there will be other similarities between the new restaurant and the popular Seaward Avenue cafe. Namely, the Joannafina’s specialty.

“We’re going to have the tamales,” Lopez-Rojas said. “We will add maybe shrimp tamales, and more vegetarian dishes. We’re going to have fresh fruit salads. It will be the same type of menu, but we will have more healthy types of dishes.”

Lopez-Rojas said the kitchen staff from the first restaurant will alternate with the new staff at the downtown cafe, so there will be a similar taste to the food. But she said the goal is to establish an entirely separate clientele.

“We’re hoping a lot of new people will discover us. We don’t want to take one person away from our place at the beach,” she said. “We’re trying to focus on making it a nice place for people at City Hall. We’re trying to target some new people, who maybe didn’t try us at the beach.”

Joannafina’s Mexican Cafe Downtown will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

*

Cal Lutheran University’s Kingsmen Park on Saturday will present “Mosaic: A Celebration of Culture.” There will be international dancing, music, crafts, exhibits, films and lectures. And, as at any good multicultural festival, there will be more than enough food to go around.

Among the items on the buffet menu are Chinese spicy noodles, Filipino adobo, Argentinian beef chimichangas, Korean kim chee, Swedish meatballs, Hawaiian kalua pork and Mexican wedding cake.

Admission to the festival is free, but lunch will cost $7 for adults, $4 for children age 10 and younger. The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with lunch served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The university is at 60 W. Olsen Road. For more information, call 493-3302.

*

Since late August, when he took the job as head chef at the Ojai Valley Inn, Rex Hale has spent much of his time getting to know the local ranchers and produce growers.

It’s not so much that he likes to tromp around in fields, it’s a culinary philosophy.

“The best way to prepare food is to treat it as simply as possible and keep it fresh,” said Hale, who most recently was the executive chef at Jumby Bay Island Resort in Antigua, West Indies. “There’s so much great produce in this area.”

Hale said the menus at the inn’s two restaurants will reflect that abundance.

“The menus will be built upon what is locally and seasonally available, from right here, with the local farmers, with the local producers of meat, fish and game,” Hale said. “Now that we’re going into fall, we will be using things like Fuji apples, Asian pears. As far as vegetables, things like fava beans and wild mushrooms will be appearing on the menu. As far as fish items, at the moment halibut is a good catch from this coast, as well as swordfish, sea bass and rockfish.”

Hale said his menus will emphasize light and healthy fare, in line with the inn’s planned opening, next year, of a 31,000-square-foot spa.

The Ojai Valley Inn is at 905 Country Club Drive.