Serendipity revamping Grinder location




SWEET—Serendipity Café and Bar will have separate menus throughout the day. Courtesy of Bobbi Kazem

SWEET—Serendipity Café and Bar will have separate menus throughout the day. Courtesy of Bobbi Kazem

It’s out with the old and in with the new at 1 Los Angeles Ave.

Serendipity Café and Bar will open next year at the longtime location of Grinder Deli Restaurant and Sports Bar, which closed in July 2020.

“We are pursuing customer satisfaction,” owner Bobby Kazem said. “We will do anything to make customers feel happy and comfortable. That’s our goal.”

Kazem has dedicated about 15 years to the restaurant industry. His first job was as a dishwasher, followed by cook, cashier, server and manager.

“One by one, I came up the ladder,” he said. “I decided I should start my own business.”

His dream became a reality in 2019 when he opened Vineyard Café in Oxnard.

He hopes his new business will prevent Moorpark residents from having to drive outside of the city to find places to eat.

“We will try to have a variety of food that other businesses don’t offer,” he said.

Serendipity will have three menus: one for breakfast, brunch and lunch; one for the bar; and one for dinner.

“We have the best cheese blintzes in Ventura County,” Kazem said. “Anyone who orders our cheese blintz will be our customer forever.”

In the evenings, Serendipity will transition into a steak and fish house with an entirely different staff.

“We want to have really high-quality service,” Kazem said. “We want customers and guests to feel like they are really special.”

Kazem said he is heavily remodeling the approximately 6,000-square-foot space.

“The whole thing will be changed,” he said.

Transforming the space has not come without difficulties, especially during the pandemic.

Facing a shortage of equipment, he said he expects to open Serendipity in about three to six months.

“We’ve had a tough time with COVID,” Kazem said. “We are working hard to make it happen as soon as possible.”

Ultimately, Kazem said he is looking forward to engaging with the Moorpark community.

“We know what the population of Moorpark wants, and we will try to give it to them,” he said.