Borderline announces plans to reopen in Agoura Hills

Gabrielle Renteria, Reporter

On Thursday, Nov. 28, the Borderline Bar & Grill owners released a video on their official Facebook account sharing that they will be opening a new location in Agoura Hills.

The video featured both owners of the bar announcing the opening of a new property, called the Borderline Dance Hall and Saloon. In the video, the owners said it might be a long process, but they look forward to bringing back the attributes of the old Borderline Bar & Grill that people loved.ย 

Borderlineโ€™s original Thousand Oaks location has been closed since a mass shooting there killed 12 people in November 2018.

โ€œWeโ€™re bringing everything back that made the actual Borderline feel like home,โ€ co-owner Troy Hale said in the video.

For some students at California Lutheran University who considered Borderline Bar & Grill their home, the opening was a little something extra to be thankful for during the holiday season.ย 

โ€œWhen I heard about the news of the Borderline Saloon opening up in Agoura I was ecstatic. It was the best gift for Thanksgiving I could have ever received, It [sic]made that day 10x better,โ€ said Vice President of the Cal Lutheran Line Dance Club and Borderline survivor Colby Kalisek in an email interview.

The announcement also revealed that the owners will be building a dance floor at the new location, raising hopes for the return of certain Borderline Bar & Grill traditions.

โ€œI look forward to bringing back the Borderline birthday dance tradition. We still do it at Canyon Club, but there isnโ€™t enough space to do it right, and it was always my favorite,โ€ said senior Taylor Martinez, a Borderline survivor.

Canyon Club in Agoura Hills has hosted โ€œBorderline Country Nightsโ€ on Wednesdays since last winter.ย 

The owners said they will also bring back pool tables, classic dances and even the full โ€œBest of Borderline Menuโ€ at the new location.

โ€œI would love to see Beer Pong (water pong) be brought back. Due to us being at Canyon Club it is hard because there was no place to put the tables, but also we had to go through their management first in order to ask permission to do certain activities,โ€ Kalisek said.

While models have been created for what the new location will look like, final designs are still unclear.ย 

โ€œPeople are what make a home, not a building, but it will be nice to be in a place where I can feel at home with my Borderline family,โ€ Martinez said.

Senior Taela Heath, a Borderline survivor, said she looks forward to creating fresh memories in the new space.

โ€œIโ€™m excited to go there one day, and for it to be a healing space, somewhere I can feel safe again,โ€ Heath said.

The actual date for the reopening has yet to be established, but the owners said they will keep the community updated on progress.