Lions, elephants and tacos- Oh my!
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers FAMILY DINNERS- Lupe's Mexican restaurant on Thousand Oaks Boulevard is still operated by the Zuniga family. Thousand Oaks grew up around the eatery opened by Lupe's mother, Martha.

Animal trainers from the World Jungle Compound used to ride elephants down the street to her mother's restaurant.

"They would tie their elephants to a big oak tree, and the trainers would come inside to eat," Lupe Zuniga said.

That was when Thousand Oaks Boulevard was called Ventura Road and was only two lanes wide- one lane going one way, and the other lane going the other way, she said.

The World Jungle Compound later became Jungleland. People moved into the area, and the town grew up around Lupe's Mexican Restaurant. Lanes were added to Thousand Oaks Boulevard, and other businesses began to thrive.

Zuniga, who lived in the house behind the restaurant, grew up in Thousand Oaks before it was a city. She's seen many changes and is looking forward to a few more as she works with the Thousand Oaks Boulevard Association to help develop a specific plan for the boulevard.

When she was 6, her mother, Martha Zuniga, opened a small cafe that only served about 12 items. She charged 25 cents for a taco and 35 cents for a hamburger. That was 60 years ago, in 1947. Martha did so against the wishes of her husband, Natividad Zuniga.

"He said, 'Who will come? There is no one around here to come,'" Lupe Zuniga said.

"Our nearest neighbor was five miles away. At night, there were no streetlights, and it was very dark. We would sleep outside in the summertime, and we could see a lot of stars."

Her father would keep a rifle handy to scare off wild animals, she said. There were lots of coyotes and skunks.

Sometimes the animals were more exotic. Lions from the animal facility down the street would occasionally escape and come for a visit. Usually they would escape when they were being transferred from one cage to another. When changing cages, the lions were usually tranquilized, so the big cats were usually sleepy when her family would spot them.

Her mother would call the trainers and tell them, "Come and get your animals," she said.

One time her mother walked out the door of their home to the restaurant while carrying the family's pots and pans, which she also used at her business. All of a sudden, young Lupe heard loud clanging and clattering. Moments later, her mother ran back inside, no longer carrying anything. She told the family that as she was walking across the bridge she was startled by a gorilla swinging from her children's tree swing. She called the trainers, and they came and got the gorilla, Lupe Zuniga said.

There was a bridge between the house and restaurant because of Conejo Creek.

"Now it's covered with concrete," she said.

The local population was modest, but the restaurant kept busy. Sailors and marines traveling from Port Hueneme to San Pedro found out what a great cook her mother was, Lupe Zuniga said.

"She cooked the same food at the cafe as she fed us at home," Zuniga said.

The restaurant eventually grew to hold 75 customers. Her parents both passed away but left their three daughters a legacy of knowing the rewards of working hard.

When she was around 8, Zuniga was allowed to help out. The plates she delivered from the kitchen to the tables were very heavy, she said.

Her older sister, Lala Cristerna, has been the restaurant manager for many years and is about to retire, she said. Lupe Zuniga has a doctorate in psychology and works as a psychologist. Her younger sister, Barbara Zuniga, is a superior court judge in Contra Costa County, Calif.

By the end of this year, Lupe Zuniga and her sisters hope to have added 50 more seats to the restaurant and to also serve customers in an outdoor patio.

"We're going to try and capture the essence of a village, a small town," Zuniga said. "We want to keep Thousand Oaks the very unique country village that it is."