Brendan’s out: ‘Not enough customers to make it’

All three locations are now closed



Courtesy of Brendan’s
All three of the Irish pubs in Ventura County are now closed.

Brendan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant locations in Camarillo and Newbury Park have closed for good, the last of what was once a chain of three pubs in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, a company spokesman said

Workers on Friday were removing linen and other items from inside the Brendan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant at 1755 E. Daily Drive in the Camarillo Plaza.

The Brendan’s location in Newbury Park, at 495 N. Ventu Park Road, which opened in 2012 as part of the Palm Garden Hotel, has also closed this week, said Shawn Julian, chief operating officer for the chain.

Julian said the company had no plans to reopen any new locations in Ventura County.

He blamed a lack of clientele for the chain’s demise.

“Just not enough customers to make it,” Julian said. “He invested a lot in this place and was never able to really get the return.”

He was referring to owner Jonathan Siegel, an Ireland native and tech entrepreneur who opened the first Brendan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in December 2010 at a 6,500-square-foot building in Camarillo that formerly housed a Sizzler.

Siegel named the chain after longtime restaurateur Brendan Searls, a Ventura resident who came to the U.S. from Ireland in 1985. Searls no longer is with the company.

A third Brendan’s Irish Pub and Restaurant at 30315 Canwood Street In Agoura Hills, which opened in 2012, closed last year.

It’s unknown at this time whether or not the restaurant will reimburse those who have a gift card for the eatery.