Janss Marketplace — Local services in Thousand Oaks

Janns Marketplace. Where to start. 3 Stars for really not knowing what it is. This place has a movie theater, a few restaurants, a few larger stores like Nordstrom Rack, Sears, Old Navy. It has a Gold's Gym next to the movie theater. It seems like it wants to be a mall, but it has a really specific set of stores that don't really jive all that well together. It's not like the stores are bad or overly dirty or disgusting it's just weird. It's not a cool hangout spot, it's more of a businesslike mall. Go there for what you need then leave. There has been some major turnover on stores there too. The Marshall's moved out. Toys R Us went bankrupt. There was a drugstore that converted to an Ulta Beauty store. There is Dojo Boom which is a big trampoline park that is pretty fun for kids and adults, but again it's another thing that makes this place odd. You also have The Oaks mall right across the street that knows what it is trying to be. To be fair I go here all the time, but it is not to hang out. It is to shop at the store or go to the movies (the movies here have recliner seats and cheaper prices unlike the seats and prices at the theater at...

Recently, I visited Dave and Busters for the first time, nephews and friends have been there since they opened up. One of the teenagers said a Chucky Cheese for older children, I add mini Vegas for all. I liked the idea to enjoy a drink and I bet the food must be really good. The prizes to collect are really cute, I adore a pink fluffy llama Alex took home awhile back. All of them, did a jurassic world virtual reality ride, it was just like chucky cheese. Late in the evening all I wanted to do is go home after we started our day around 10am. But, is not about me is about the kids having a great time and they did. Also a few months back, we visited can't think of the full name boom something, we chose a very lazy morning, the famous owner was there, the kids were active for 2 hours and the place was almost to ourselves. Great experience. Just my kind of relaxing way to do...

Rating it 5 stars for nostalgia's sake. I grew up in and around this mall, and now I take my kids to Dojo Boom there. Life really is a trip.

To the Janss Mall management. I always feel like the mall is just missing the ball. Outdoor mall, in California, middle high income community, what an opportunity. There are some great stores there, but overall the mall has a rundown feel to it.

I would take Wednesday night, bring in 5 to 10 good food trucks, pay for a decent band, hire a handful of great street performers, get Dojo Boom to run a special to bring kids and families in, make a fun night out. Run it for a full year even if it doesn't take off at first and by the end of that year it will be a Thousand Oaks Institution. Run something like that on the weekends too. It would change that mall forever.

You won't though, you'll keep blowing it, and continue on your bland boring...