Ventura's Old Sears Is Now a Japanese Food Hall That Stays Open Until 2 a.m.

On Oct. 10, YUU Japanese Food Hall and Round1 Bowling & Arcade opened in the old Sears space at Pacific View Mall, 3295 E. Main St., Suite 2. All 14 food stalls are making their first U.S. appearance, and this is YUU's first location anywhere in the country. Both businesses are open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., and food orders close at 1 a.m.

The imported ramen is getting the headlines. For a night out in Ventura, though, the bigger change is how you pay. A single order can pull from 14 kitchens. Those kitchens take orders until 1 a.m., and the food can go upstairs with you to the bowling lanes. Each section below follows from that setup.

Fourteen Kitchens, One Checkout

Most food halls make each person in your group stand in a different line. YUU gives you one cart for every stall. Here's how it works, based on the hall's own instructions and the Los Angeles Times review:

1. Order at a self-service kiosk, or scan the QR code on your table and use the mobile site.
2. Add dishes from as many stalls as you like, then pay once.
3. Your order number shows up on a screen above the kiosks and on a screen at each stall you ordered from.
4. Pick up each dish at its stall's counter.
5. Sit at any open seat. You can't reserve seats, so a large group arriving at a busy hour should plan to split up or wait.

Takeout is available. The FAQ also says you can carry your food to bowling or karaoke, as long as you return the trays. So the meal and the game don't have to happen one after the other, which matters most for a group that walks in at 11 p.m.

What the Stalls Actually Serve

The one-cart system matters because the 14 stalls are so different. Pizza and gelato share the floor with three styles of ramen. This is the roster from the opening announcement, sorted by what you'd order:

The Los Angeles Times singled out a few dishes. Okonomiyaki Hana's pancakes use a light batter similar to tempura. Curry bitSOMA cooks each ingredient separately before layering it into the curry. Onigiri Gorichan makes its rice balls with Koshihikari rice and fills them with salmon flakes, pickled plum or Spam and egg. The paper also reported that Pizzeria Da Naghino comes from Kyoto and Gelateria Il Brigante from the coastal city of Kamakura, where it makes Sicilian gelato from scratch.

That's why a single checkout makes sense here. One person can get tonkotsu, another can get pizza, and a third can skip dinner and order gelato, all on the same receipt.

How Close to Japan It Gets

According to the Los Angeles Times, the hall was three years in the making. Round One Entertainment executive Hirotoshi Takahashi told the paper that the restaurant owners and chefs were very particular about ingredients and how dishes are served. New equipment went in to match the textures and flavors back home, including a filtration system that makes soft, low-mineral water like Japan's. Some ingredients are bought locally, and many are imported directly from Japan.

"We can't say that it's 100% [the same] because of the difference in ingredients," he told the Times, "but we are confident that it's well over 80%."

Tonkatsu Keita shows where that gap comes from. In Tokyo, the restaurant has 23 seats and uses Roppaku Kurobuta pork, which the Times called "the Wagyu of pork." The Ventura stall couldn't get the same pigs in the U.S., so it uses heritage black pork. If you've eaten at the original, expect something close but not the same. If you haven't, the Ventura plate is the closest version within driving distance.

A wraparound bar sits at the center of the hall, with TVs showing live sports. The menu includes cocktails and premium sake. The Times also reported $3.99 Bud Light and wine specials all day.

Upstairs, the Night Keeps Going

Round1 runs on the same hours as the food hall, which is why the late kitchen matters. In its Oct. 18 report on the opening, Ventura Breeze listed bowling, arcade games, billiards and karaoke. Round1's own Ventura page tells a different story for now. It says "Party and Billiards are coming soon!" The Times likewise said billiards and ping pong tables will be added later. Plan around bowling, the arcade and karaoke, and check before promising anyone a pool game.

The arcade leans toward Japanese imports. A local first-look report described rows of claw and prize machines, Japanese fighting games, shooting games you play from a vehicle seat, classic cabinets and screens above the bowling lanes.

As of mid-October 2026, Round1's weekday rate pages list these prices for Monday through Thursday before 4 p.m.:

• Bowling: $8.75 per person for one game, or $34.25 per lane for 60 minutes
• Shoe rental: $5.25 per person
• Karaoke rooms: $16 an hour for one to three people, or $21.50 an hour for four to six

These are the cheapest posted hours, and the pages don't say how long the prices will last. Expect higher rates on evenings and weekends.

Why the Mall's East End Matters Now

This building sat waiting for a long time. In 2019, the Sears at Pacific View was named on a closure list and was expected to close by February 2020. In March 2026, Ventura Breeze reported the plan for the space: a 55,000-square-foot project with cosmic-lit lanes, private karaoke rooms, billiards and an arcade, set to open in the first half of 2026. The opening came in October instead, and part of the original list is still on the way.

The mall changed hands at almost the same moment. On Sept. 22, 2026, Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Conversant announced a joint venture to buy Pacific View. Pacific Retail Capital Partners said it would take over leasing and operations right away. The same announcement says the mall opened in 1964 and was last renovated in 2017. So the new owners start with an anchor that stays busy until 2 a.m. in a space that sat empty for years. No new tenants have been announced since.

Ventura is also where the concept is being tested first. The Times reported that YUU plans to open in Escondido later this year with a different set of stalls. For now, the 14 stalls on East Main Street are the only ones in the country.

Building a Night Around It Through Nov. 1

The food hall works as an add-on as well as a destination, especially in a week with plenty on the calendar. A few dated plans pair well with a late dinner on the east side:

• Foster's Donuts reopened Oct. 5 under new owners at 2294 E. Main St., about a mile down the same street. The new menu adds bagels, smoothies, coffee and doughnuts made with potato flour, per 805foodie.
• Harvest After Dark takes over the 200 block of downtown near the Mission on Oct. 24, with tarot readings, seasonal food and outdoor screenings, according to Visit Ventura.
• The Witches Night Market debuts Oct. 30 from 3 to 8 p.m. on the Ventura Harbor Village Main Lawn, 1583 Spinnaker Drive. Admission is free and more than 30 vendors are expected. Since the market closes at 8 p.m., there's still time for ramen and a few frames on East Main.
• The Día de los Muertos Festival fills seven downtown blocks around California and Main on Nov. 1, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. One line on the organizer's page says "Nov. 11," so confirm the date with Downtown Ventura before you go.

Seats at YUU can't be reserved, and those event nights will bring crowds. If you want a table for a group, arrive before the evening rush or after 10 p.m.

A 55,000-square-foot store finding a new use is part of how a neighborhood changes over time. Joe Madge pays attention to that kind of change, partly because of his background in construction and engineering. If you're wondering what the old Sears turning into a 2 a.m. anchor could mean for Ventura's east side, Madge & Hamilton Group is happy to talk it through, ideally over a bowl of Sapporo miso. Let's Connect.