Simi Valley is scheduled today to become...

Simi Valley is scheduled today to become the newest home of a rapidly growing chain of restaurants known as HomeTown Buffet.

The Ventura County establishment is the 44th in the 4-year-old chain. Most of the restaurants are in California--Modesto, Garden Grove, Anaheim, San Diego--with strong showings in Oregon and Texas as well.

Look for the place to have a homey, American, feel--heavy on forest green coloring and Norman Rockwell prints, not to mention the bee mascot that will hand out balloons on Thursday (family) nights.

General cost of a buffet meal (which includes dessert and drink) is $5.69 for breakfast, $5.39 for lunch, and $6.99 for dinner. Seniors are discounted 40 cents and children under age 2 are free.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the restaurant is the pricing for children 2 to 10. They will be charged 45 cents per year of age for breakfast and lunch, and 50 cents a year for dinner. Lunch for a 6-year-old, for example, would cost $2.70. So bring your calculators.

The restaurant is located at 1855 Cochran St.

Some Ventura County teens are getting an early start in restaurant and hotel business education.

Last week, 32 high school students from Ventura and Oxnard began a two-semester course aimed at teaching the ins and outs of the hospitality industry. The students meet two hours a day at Oxnard High School where, for the first semester, the curriculum will include regular classroom work, tours and guest speakers.

“We’ll have some chefs coming in--pastry chefs, executive chefs, sous chefs,” said instructor Mary Hopple of the Oxnard High home economics department. “We’ll have speakers from the hotel industry talking about the front desk, housekeeping, banquet service. We’ll have someone from the tourism board.”

During the second semester, students will get hands-on experience with internships at local hotels and restaurants.

Hopple said the idea is to show the students a viable career opportunity. “We want to show them the different levels of service in a growth industry in this area,” she said. “It’s anticipated that there will be a growth in employment in (the hospitality industry) of 42% by 2025 in Ventura County.”