Black Friday at Santana Row

Details about Black Friday at Santana Row!

As you all know, Thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday, and you know what that means: Black Friday is right around the corner! Don’t forget to come down to Santana Row for your all your Black Friday shopping needs (and wants)! We will be having great deals throughout the Row, plus amazing promotions in the Concierge. See below for some of the discounts being offered this Friday, 11/26: the best shopping day of the year!

Amber India – Special Black Friday Brunch starting at 10:30am - 2:30pm with regional specialties. Plus, receive 10% off gift cards (valid on $100 gift cards).

Atelier Aveda – Receive a free $10 gift card with every gift set purchase.

Beau Bijou – 25% off everything in the store. Plus, enjoy Brazilian coffee and cookies in the morning and cheese and wine in the evening.

Burke Williams Day Spa – Purchase a gift card for $105-$249 and receive an additional $25 gift card, or purchase a gift card for $250 or more and receive an additional $50 gift card.

Club One Fitness – Enroll on Black Friday & receive one complimentary personal training session and one 50 minute custom massage.

Donald J. Pliner – "Black Party": Cocktails, appetizers and an in-store Enter-to-Win drawing.

Eli Thomas For Men – Save 20-40% off storewide.

Fan Clothing – Receive 40% off of all outerwear.

Furla – Enjoy champagne and cookies, plus select styles from the winter collection will be on sale.

H&M – Opening at 7am with special discounts.

Hotel Valencia – Receive a special guestroom rate of $169.00 on Friday, November 26th 2010 only. Some restrictions apply. Promo ID: PROBFP.

InSpa – Free Skin Care sample – One per customer.

Left Bank Brasserie – $5 Mimosas and Bloody Marys from 11:30AM - 6:00PM.

Pink Stripes Boutique – Receive 20-40% off on select styles. Plus, spend $100 and receive a free designer scarf.

Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub – Happy Hour specials all day long. See restaurant for more details.

Roux Louisiana Kitchen – Enjoy 15% off your entire meal excluding alcohol with a receipt from any Santana Row shop.

Starbucks – Open at 3am for early bird shoppers.

Tales – Up to 50% off select items.

Ted Baker – Up to 30% off.

The Container Store – Enjoy free in-store Gift Wrap and Bow Demonstrations at 2pm and 4pm.  A $25 gift card will be given away at each demonstration.  Plus, spend $100 in a single transaction through November 28th and receive a $15 December Delight Card, redeemable 12/4 – 12/23/2010. Available while supplies last.  Terms and conditions apply.

Vera Bradley – Spend $100 or more and receive a free holiday tote. Plus, receive 25% off on select colors and styles.

Vintage Wine Bar – Enjoy Mimosas, mulled wine and free pastries.

Yankee Pier – Extended Happy Hour from 2pm – 6pm.

For even more saving this Black Friday, make sure to stop by the Concierge! If you purchase a Santana Row Gift card, you will receive a complimentary Santana Row water bottle (a $15 value)!

 Also, for every receipt you bring into the Concierge, you will receive a Holiday Scratch Off Card, containing discounts to Santana Row shops & restaurants, for each receipt!  Plus, every time you pick up a scratch off, you will be entered to win the grand prize: a $1,000 Santana Row shopping spree!  But wait, there’s more! If you donate a coat to One Warm Coat at their drop off location by Pinkberry, you can go to the Concierge to pick up your free Santana Row lawn chair (a $10 value)!

A Belated Congratulations to Josh Marcotte!

METRO Cover by Josh Marcotte

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Congrats to KALEID Gallery artist Josh Marcotte (aka Lost San Jose) for landing the cover shot for the current issue of METRO Weekly Newspaper! The feature article interviews Josh and his use of analog cameras along with several other San Jose photographers.

Marcotte is a photographer, writer and lifelong San Jose resident. He has been documenting his city for the past 10 years, first with a disposable camera, various 35 mm's, a 20D and most recently a 40D.

You can see more of Josh's work in his featured exhibit currently on view at KALEID Gallery through November 26th. (Exhibit details here.)

Tesla Factory Opens In Silicon Valley

I've been debating on whether to post about this for some time since the plant is located in Fremont, but I have to give Tesla some credit since they made an honest attempt to move to North San Jose first (they were blocked by government regulations on use of their loan funds). Very likely, you have already heard the news that Tesla has moved into the gargantuan NUMMI plant just a few miles away from SJ. The question I have, is how will this impact our city?

I have a few thoughts on this. San Jose has really made a name for itself for incubating and promoting green tech companies. In fact, we have the largest green tech cluster in the US and potentially the world. You can find everything from alternative energy companies to technologies making existing products more energy efficient... all right in our back yard. While green tech may not be as exciting as the .com extravaganza that made us famous in the late nineties, having Tesla nearby complements not only our existing green tech companies, but will help the region hit a critical mass for green tech much the same way we did for semiconductors and internet technologies.

Right before the turn of the millennium, I remember casually meeting the CEO of a tech company at SJC. It turns out he was planning to relocate his entire company to San Jose, and when I asked him why he told me "We want to be closer to ground zero. In our industry, this is where all the action is." We need to build that exact same kind of mentality for green tech. Green companies should be telling themselves that they have to be located in San Jose because that is where all the energy behind the green tech movement is emanating from. Having a company next door who is the leading pioneer of electronic vehicle technologies is going to help a lot in building that perception. So Tesla, welcome to the neighborhood! You can borrow the lawnmower anytime.



Tesla took possession of the Nummi automotive plant in Fremont, California earlier this month and opened the doors to employee tours on Wednesday. In the months since Tesla announced the purchase, negotiations with Nummi have enabled the repurposing of a complete paint shop, four mechanical press lines, a blanking line (used to cut sheets of aluminum before stamping), and a crane for use in the Model S production process. The purchased machinery will simply be retooled and tested before use. The Hydraulic Press Line has started to arrive; 50 trucks are en route to transport the entire line to Fremont. 

Tesla is focused on hiring the most talented people, retooling the facility, and creating the most energy-efficient and innovative automotive production process in the industry. 

For an explanation of the manufacturing process, please read Manufacturing VP Gilbert Passin's recent blog post. 

SJ Tries to Expedite $1B Worth of Development

A couple weeks ago the city council voted to to life the affordable housing requirements in redevelopment areas in order to get several major development projects moving along. A total of 4,227 units could be built very soon along the First St. Corridor alone. This will also undoubtedly help green light several downtown high-rises that have been percolating for a long time. For more information, have a look at this San Jose Business Journal article.

Celebrate San Jose's 233rd Birthday this Sunday!

This Sunday afternoon you'll have a great opportunity to tour of the Peralta Adobe and Fallon House (rarely open to the public) and get a sneak peak at the San Pedro Square Market. In honor of San Jose's 233rd Birthday, there will also be music, cake, and descendants of San Jose's forefathers on hand to chat with. All this in a location juxtaposing SJ's history with its future. Soon, the oldest building in San Jose will be surrounded by an eclectic hotspot featuring high-quality food, entertainment, and shopping. If you're wonder how exactly that will work, this event is a great one to come to. Hope to see you on Sunday!

Location	Date and Time
Peralta Adobe & Fallon House Historic Site 175 W Saint John St  San Jose, CA 95110 (Map)  DISTRICT: SAN JOSE	Sun Nov 28 (1-4pm)

Description

Celebrate San Jose's 233rd birthday with tours of Peralta Adobe and Fallon House. Built in 1797, the Peralta Adobe has been a part of historic San Jose and is said to be the oldest building in San Jose. Music, cake and relatives of the founders of San Jose will all be at the event. Attendees will get an opportunity to see the new San Pedro Square Market. This event is free and open to the public.

Santa Teresa Neighborhood Information

Santa Teresa is a region of San Jose I admittedly neglect to cover. Fortunately, there is a realtor named Sophia Delacotte that focuses on that region and has put up a website with local tips and info (news, events, school info, shopping, demographics, etc.). To have a look, just click here.

Ballet San Jose - A Great City (Part 5 of 5)

The final part of Ballet San Jose's documentary takes a step back and talks about the impact a world class cultural attraction has on the city. This is my favorite part of the documentary and I definitely recommend watching it even if you haven't seen their other pieces. You'll even get some encouraging words from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak about his hometown of San Jose. Just click the link below!

Part 5: http://blip.tv/file/4386692

Older Parts

Part 1: http://blip.tv/file/4262451 

Part 2: http://blip.tv/file/4303425

Part 3: http://blip.tv/file/4332357

Part 4: http://blip.tv/file/4365103

Restaurant.com Ad in the Sidebar

I'm not a huge fan of ads, but I ran into one that I could live with over to the right because I think it will actually add value for most readers. I go out to eat at least 5 times per week (explains all the food posts, right?), and I've managed to pick up a few tricks for saving money when dining out. In fact, here are my best tips:

1.) Costco AMEX Card - gives you 3% back on ALL restaurant purchases that accept AMEX.
2.) idine - Gives you a 5-10% discount at participating restaurants, including the tip. No cost for participation, just sign up and register your credit cards.
3.) Open Table - You get a $1 credit for making an online reservation, and sometimes a $10 credit on select restaurants. Also no cost for participation.
4.) Restaurant.com - Let's you buy $25 restaurant gift cards for $10 or less.

The 4 items above are not mutually exclusive, meaning you can stack all 4 discounts on top of one another if you get lucky, but by far the most substantial discount you can get is with item number 4, the Restaurant.com gift card. The way these work is simple. You pay $10 for a $25 gift card, but there is a small catch. You usually need to spend at least $35 and have a minimum party of 2 people to use the gift certificate. So let's say you go to a restaurant and spend $40. If you used a Restaurant.com gift, the net cost will be $25. However, Restaurant.com frequently discounts these gift cards even more. Right now, you can get an additional 80% discount by typing in "GOBBLE" at checkout. That brings the gift card price down to a ridiculous $2 and the cost of that $40 meal for 2 becomes $18.

449 restaurants within the San Jose area participate in this program, including 34 in Downtown San Jose and a few in Santana Row. So I think it would be nice to have easy access to their latest promotion right on The San Jose Blog. Their discount usually varies between 20% and 70%. Whenever you see an 80%, that is a good time to collect gift certificates. Also, once per year they have a 90% fire sale ($25 gift cards for $1). There is no better time to grab them, but the date is easy to miss and they don't advertise it in advance. Just make sure to type in the code at checkout to get the maximum discount!

Body Worlds Vital is Now Open @ The Tech

Don't miss the world premiere of Gunther von Hagen's BODY WORLDS Vital at The Tech Museum. Opens November 13.Tickets on sale now.

BODY WORLDS Vital, in its first-ever showing, celebrates the potential of the human body and the body in motion. Featuring authentic human bodies, the exhibition shows the body in health, distress, and disease. These detailed anatomical studies, compositions, and representations allow visitors a penetrating gaze at what lies beneath the skin.

The human body is built for action and experience. Intricately formed for optimal functioning, the living body is designed for survival, striving, and achievement.

BODY WORLDS Vital tells the compelling story of how best to defeat life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease through informed choices and lifestyle changes.

Physician and anatomist Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS exhibitions are the original, precedent-setting public anatomical exhibitions of real human bodies, and the only anatomical exhibits that use donated bodies, willed by donors for the express purpose of serving BODY WORLDS'mission to educate the public about health and anatomy. The bodies are preserved through a remarkable process calledPlastination enabling visitors to learn what lies beneath the skin.



Only $19 for adults.
Only $12.00 for children 17 and under
Only $17.00 for Seniors 65+ or College Students with ID.
All pricing includes admission to The Tech Museum.

Members save over 40%. Become a member today.

Audio guide rental is available for $5.00 more (English or Spanish). Add The Human Body IMAX documentary for only $5.00 more each all ages.

Whole Foods Comes to San Jose

The first Whole Foods in San Jose proper is now open on Blossom Hill. The 50,000 sqft store has some unique twists such as a Middle Eastern shawarma bar, 200 products from local vendors, 300 different types of beers, an in-store dining area, coffee bar made out of recycled materials, and a play area for kids. In fact, it's unique enough that Whole Foods will offer tours of the store to patrons.

To balance out the good news with some predictable bad news, the Downtown San Jose Whole Foods has been delayed from 2011 to 2013. Maybe that will give them enough time to put rooftop parking back in the plans for that location.