New Restaurant Provides Hope for High Street

From the balcony of the Red River steakhouse, Moorpark’s High Street looks like a pretty relic, an old shopping district with few remaining shops and little traffic.

Mark Bailey hopes to change that. On Jan. 29, he plans to open Red River, a new steak and seafood restaurant, near the corner of Bard Street. Bailey and nearby merchants hope the eatery will give people a reason to go downtown.

“I think High Street can be a magnet, once we get something up and going,” Bailey said. “We have something different to offer that will pull people down here.”

The restaurant, nearly ready for its grand opening, occupies a two-story building that in the past has housed another restaurant, a bar and an antique shop.

Turnover is nothing unusual on High Street. Once Moorpark’s commercial center, the four-block downtown thoroughfare has seen its customers lured away to newer stores and restaurants on Los Angeles Avenue.

Although the city has launched several efforts to breathe new life into the area--such as adding new lampposts and benches--the sidewalks remain empty. Even a weekend farmers’ market, launched last summer to lure new customers to the street, had to move for lack of business.

Bailey, a Moorpark resident who has worked for several national restaurant chains, is aware of the problems. But he remains convinced that diners can be drawn to High Street. Noting the success of the local Wood Ranch Barbecue, another southwestern-flavored homage to red meat, he said city residents are ready for a steakhouse that isn’t a freeway drive away.

“I see the demand,” he said. “I see a town that’s on the verge of keeping the dollars here. I mean, look at Wood Ranch--it’s booming.”

Linda Bredemann, owner of the Magnificent Moorpark Melodrama & Vaudeville Co. farther west on High Street, said Red River may be what the area needs. Theater patrons from out of town often ask her where they can eat before or after shows.

“It’s going to be good for both of us,” Bredemann said. “My people need some place to go, and he has a built-in trade.”

She has already started telling patrons about the restaurant’s opening. “He should already be taking reservations,” she said.

With a handful of employees and more than a dozen volunteers, Bailey has spent about five months renovating the building, tearing down an interior wall, installing a downstairs bar and hanging chandeliers made from antlers. He plans to show off his work to local business leaders during a preopening party Tuesday evening, then open for dinner the following afternoon, giving his staff a few days to iron out any problems before the first weekend.

“You’re crazy if you open on the weekend,” Bailey said.