Viva La Pasta Bounces Back After Damage From Fire : Italian eatery in Thousand Oaks reopens two days after the Jan. 6 blaze.

Joseph Calderone, owner of Viva La Pasta in Thousand Oaks, would like everyone to know his restaurant is open.

Until recently that was common knowledge among his regular diners. But that was before the Italian eatery suffered about $40,000 damage in a Jan. 6 fire. The fire was triggered by the heat from a burner on a gas stove.

To get Viva La Pasta back on its feet as quickly as possible, Calderone enlisted the help of friends, acquaintances and skilled professionals. He managed to reopen the restaurant Jan. 8.

“We had a crew of 45 people working 24 hours a day so we could open. We had the plumbing company, the electric company, the carpet company,” said Calderone.

“Nobody believes we’re open. Everybody thought it would take at least a month of work.”

Viva La Pasta is at 951 Westlake Blvd., in a two-story strip mall. The fire began when the heat from the stove burner ignited a kitchen wall. The fire spread to the second level of the mall and into a real estate office upstairs, causing more than $200,000 damage to the structure, said Calderone.

Calderone said the fire occurred on the restaurant’s one-year anniversary, almost to the minute. “We opened Jan. 6, 1995, at 12 o’clock. The fire happened Jan. 6, 1996, at about 12 o’clock.”

Though the fire may be hard to top as a one-year milestone, Calderone plans to have a less-costly celebration this week or early next week. “As soon as we get out from the stress of the fire,” he said.

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Raul Rebolledo, an employee at McCarthy’s restaurant in Camarillo since 1989, recently took over the role of head chef at the establishment. The position was formerly held by Brian Barker.

“Raul had basically been the chef under the chef. When Brian left, he became the big cheese,” said Tom Kirk, general manager of McCarthy’s. “He’s just moved up the ranks.”

McCarthy’s is at 1101 Daily Drive.

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Ventura’s Leeward Winery will allow visitors to sample some of its product straight out of the barrel Saturday and Sunday at its annual Winter Barrel Tasting. Owner Chuck Brigham and winemaker Eric Cinnamon will open barrels of Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon for the occasion.

“What you’re going to find is the [barrel] wines are fairly young, but they are starting to make the change,” said Brigham. “The grapes came in in October, they’ve finished their fermentation, and now the wine is aging and it’s going to pick up its complexities and nuances.”

Leeward’s current releases of these same wines will also be available for sampling, to allow for taste comparisons. “People will be able to taste the wines in their youth, and also the wines that are mature,” said Brigham. “They will see the differences and the similarities.”

Each year at the barrel tasting, the winery showcases a soup prepared by a local restaurant. This time around, the soup du jour will be a minestrone prepared by Nona’s Courtyard Cafe in Ventura.

“We want something warm,” said Brigham. “We want people to be as comfortable as possible. Usually people spend 1 1/2 hours here. They do it nice and leisurely.”

The barrel tasting will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Admission is free. The winery is at 2784 Johnson Drive. Call 656-5054 for more information.