FORMER LANDMARK—A workman prepares to cover the spot where the Du-Par’s Restaurant sign was recently removed. The eatery has closed for good in Thousand Oaks. DuPar’s Restaurant and Bakery, a Thousand Oaks landmark, closed July 31, leaving only the memory of the signature pancakes Conejo Valley residents have enjoyed for almost 50 years.

The comfort foods offered by Du-Par’s, including meatloaf, chickenfried steak and ovenroasted turkey breast with all the trimmings—dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce—were reminders of days gone by.

Local clubs such as Kiwanis and Republican women can still meet in the banquet rooms between the restaurant and the connecting Best Western Thousand Oaks Inn where Du-Par’s catered the food. Owner Biff Naylor said he’ll continue to do the catering for banquet room events inside the former Du-Par’s kitchen for six months to a year.

Naylor, who was an owner of Tiny Naylor’s, a waffle restaurant on E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Moorpark Road, now the site of Denny’s, said he once competed for business with the original Du-Par’s. The restaurant was then located where Big 5 Sporting Goods is now, on West T.O. Boulevard near Moorpark Road.

When it opened in 1961, people would ride horses to the restaurant and tie them to a hitching post outside, said Thousand Oaks economic development manager Gary Wartik.

In 1991, DuPar’s was approved for demolition to make way for a modern shopping center. It relocated to its current site, at the time occupied by a Howard Johnson’s. A bus that took travelers to and from the Los Angeles Airport used it as a pickup and drop-off point.

“Since it moved around the corner, it hasn’t performed as it did in the other location,” Wartik said.

Naylor was retired from food service when he purchased the Du-Par’s restaurant chain in 2004 and then expanded it.

“Recently the lease came up for renewal, and the property owner wants to put in a bistro with a bar that would be more conducive to the hotel,” Naylor said.

Until then, the 17 displaced employees can move to a DuPar’s in Oxnard, Granada Hills, Studio City, San Diego or Los Angeles. The majority of them will transfer, Naylor said.

Or they may find employment in one of the other new restaurants opening in Thousand Oaks. Famous Dave’s Ribs is coming to the former Applebee’s site on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, and two restaurants whose names haven’t yet been announced are ready to go where Marie Callender’s and Josephina’s were, also on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Wartik said.

Wartik said he felt bad that Du-Par’s closed but was “not surprised since it had been on the closing block for more than a year.”

The Ventura County Environmental Health Department had found in the past as well as recently that the restaurant needed some improvements.

In July, environmental health inspectors found a dozen violations at Du-Par’s, including a problem with employee handwashing facilities that were cited as being unclean, without paper towels or soap or in disrepair. A potential food hazard was also noted due to unsafe temperatures.

Food or food-related items weren’t stored so as to be protected from contamination, and raw meat was stored too close to other food products that could have been contaminated by the meat. Damage to the old walls, ceiling and floors made surfaces rough and therefore difficult to clean.

“Everything has been fixed, so there will be no problem when the inspector comes by again,” Naylor said.

He said there are four sinks for employees to wash their hands and only one didn’t have soap or paper towels. He also said he appreciates inspectors keeping them aware of things that employees might be overlooking.

This wasn’t the first trouble the restaurant has had with food inspectors.

Du-Par’s lost its food permit and was ordered closed on Jan. 29, 2008, after 22 violations were found during a routine environmental health inspection. Violations included live cockroaches, food and food utensils being stored directly on the floor and employee personal items stored with food and in preparation areas.

Also cited were floors, walls or ceiling in unsanitary condition; equipment unclean and maintained in an unsanitary condition; raw meat stored next to other food products that could be contaminated by the animal product; unsanitary wiping cloths and plumbing in disrepair; holes, gaps and crevices not maintained to prevent vermin; no soap or paper towels for hand washing in a restroom; and an employee using tobacco within the food area.

The restaurant regained its permit the next day after passing a follow-up inspection.

In November 2008. the restaurant was back to 16 violations found during a routine inspection that included the observation of an employee not properly washing hands, flying insects around food, unsafe food refrigeration temperature, a toilet in disrepair and evidence of cockroaches.

When inspectors followed up in December 2008, there were still four violations, which included soap and/or paper towels not provided in a restroom for hand washing and equipment in disrepair.