What The Erewhon-For-Lassen's Swap Says About The Lakes At Thousand Oaks In 2026

For twenty years, The Lakes at Thousand Oaks worked as a pretty place to eat before a show at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center across the street. Two lakes, a lawn, koi, Fogo de Chão, California Pizza Kitchen. You went for dinner. You went home.

That reading is out of date. The tenant list turning over in 2026 is not a routine refresh. It is a shift in what the center is actually for, and if you already live in Thousand Oaks it changes the calculus on a Wednesday morning, a Saturday afternoon, and the twenty minutes between parking and curtain.

The Lassen's-to-Erewhon swap is the real signal

Lassen's Natural Food & Vitamins occupied the anchor grocery slot at The Lakes for more than a decade. It was where you ran in for supplements or a bag of bulk oats on the way to something else. Erewhon, a Southern California-based organic grocer and wellness brand, is opening a new location with a cafe at 2150 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, moving into the former home of Lassens Natural Food & Vitamins at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks. A company representative told What Now LA the site will open in Summer 2026.

That is a different kind of tenant. Erewhon's format layers fresh organic produce, prepared meals, and wellness beverages with a Tonic Bar for juices, smoothies, and specialty drinks. The store is a destination in Los Angeles. It draws people who plan a trip around it and stay for an hour. Dropping that model into a lakefront pad with a lawn and a play area does something Lassen's never tried to do: it turns the grocery run into the visit.

The knock-on effect matters for anyone who parks here twice a week. A center anchored by a cafe-grocery pulls foot traffic across the whole morning and midday, hours The Lakes has historically ceded to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods on Westlake, and the Lassen's regulars who were in and out in ten minutes. If Erewhon lands the way it has elsewhere, expect the lakeside benches and the SunLife counter to feel meaningfully busier by 10 a.m.

"Our vision for The Lakes at Thousand Oaks has always been for it to be part of a thriving and vibrant downtown for the community."

That is Caruso's stated positioning, tied to the City of Thousand Oaks pushing to strengthen the downtown and create a pedestrian-friendly civic center. Read alongside the tenant moves, it is less a mission statement and more a description of what is being built in real time.

Before Erewhon lands, Sora arrives

The other big 2026 change reaches the center earlier. Sora Temaki Bar's second location is planned to open within The Lakes at Thousand Oaks in Spring 2026, after its original rooftop site at the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles. Sora is part of Savta Hospitality Group, a family-owned collection that also runs Savta, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, and Michelina, an Italian restaurant.

A hand-roll bar is a specific bet. It works on repeat visits, quick counters, and a menu format that plays as well for a solo lunch as it does for a light dinner before a show. That fills a gap in the current lineup, which skews toward sit-down dinners and one fast-casual pizza option.

Set the two 2026 arrivals against what has already been at The Lakes and the tilt becomes clearer:

The historical churn is real. Umami Burger closed on 1/4/20 after nearly eight years, Sabor Cocina Mexicana closed in March 2020, and P.F. Chang's closed in August 2022. Those departures left the center leaning heavily on two anchors and a health-food store. The 2026 lineup rebalances it toward daily use.

Thousand Oaks Boulevard is moving in the same direction

The Lakes is not repositioning in isolation. The blocks around it are turning over on a similar clock, which is the part most residents miss because the openings are spread across half a mile of frontage.

• Sette Sorelle opened in February 2026 as Jacopo Falleni's latest Thousand Oaks concept, showcasing shareable plates, house-made pastas, and seasonal Italian fare. It offers indoor dining, a covered patio, a lively bar, and side or private rooms for groups.
• The former Chef Burger space at 1771 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., next to 7 Eleven at Los Feliz Drive, is slated to reopen as the second brick-and-mortar location of La Poblana Mexican Grill, whose other location is at 540 N. Moorpark Road near Wilbur. Before opening, the operators are remodeling the 600 square foot space to add a 140 square foot restroom and equipment room.
• Laidrey Coffee Roasters announced a fourth location coming to Thousand Oaks, with timing likely late 2026 or early 2027. Their nearby Agoura Hills location opened last April at 5021 Kanan Road, and they are known for specialty, organic, small-batch roasted coffee, pastries, and curated coffee products.

Three separate operators, three different price points, all making the same read on the corridor. That is the piece of information a resident can act on: this is not a one-tenant story at one shopping center. Thousand Oaks Boulevard between the Civic Arts Plaza and Moorpark Road is filling in the mid-day and mid-week hours it has historically been quiet on.

The developer relationship is worth naming. Caruso has been in the area for 29 years and owns The Promenade at Westlake, Village at Moorpark, and The Lakes at Thousand Oaks, and has run annual traditions like the Tree Lighting Ceremony at The Promenade. The Lakes and the Promenade have historically split roles, one civic and one retail. If Erewhon comes in and holds, that split narrows.

A Wednesday that only works because of what is already there

The programming most residents overlook is what makes the new tenant mix pay off. Every Wednesday on The Lawn, the Kids Club runs live music, storytelling, and puppet shows for kids, parents, and caregivers, and the 2026 series is running from June 3 through June 24 in collaboration with Apple TV. Before that, FIT4MOM's signature Stroller Strides class meets every Wednesday from 9:15 to 10:00 a.m.

Here is a Wednesday morning that reads differently once Erewhon is in:

1. 9:15 a.m. Stroller Strides on The Lawn with FIT4MOM.
2. 10:00 a.m. Kids Club programming starts on the same lawn.
3. 11:00 a.m. Cafe and Tonic Bar at Erewhon for a break, groceries handled on the same trip.
4. 12:30 p.m. Hand rolls at Sora if you are staying through lunch.
5. 7:30 p.m. Come back for a show at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center directly across the street.

Under the old tenant mix, steps three and four were a coffee at SunLife and a drive somewhere else. That is the practical shift.

What this means if you already live here

For residents, the takeaway is not about buying or selling anything. It is that the downtown you have been driving through is quietly being rebuilt around daily-use tenants and weekly programming instead of destination dinners. Erewhon in the Lassen's slot, Sora next to Fogo de Chão, Sette Sorelle two blocks west, La Poblana taking the Chef Burger space, Laidrey somewhere on the map by year-end. That is five moves in a twelve-month window on one boulevard.

The center at 2200 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard is worth a fresh look this year. So is the walk between it and the Civic Arts Plaza, which has always been shorter than it feels. The Lakes covers 7.5 acres with two lakes, fountains, waterfalls, a children's play area, and the weekly Kids Club for children 10 and under, adjacent to the Bank of America Performing Arts Center, which makes it a natural pre and post-show stop. The bones were always there. The tenant mix is finally catching up.

If you have been on the same Thousand Oaks weekend loop for a decade and want a local read on how the neighborhood around your home is changing, the team at Sarah Quaker lives and works in the Conejo Valley and follows this corridor closely. Request Your Free Home Valuation when you are ready to see what the shifts on the Boulevard mean for your block.