New Yorks Times Article RE: Downtown San Jose

Awesome article in the New York Times about San Jose entitled "Fresh Start for a Rebirth Stalled by a Recession." I think it actually does a pretty good job at conveying the current situation Downtown. As an added bonus, the article also mentions a new development in North First featuring 1,750 apartments sitting on top of retail called Crescent Village. The folks from the development forum think it will be built on the site of a former Sony campus. For the full NYT article click here!

Alaskan Adds ANOTHER Flight, San Jose to Los Cabos

Yet another Alaskan Airlines flight is in the works for our newly remodeled airport. This time, it's an international flight to Los Cabos, Mexico--a popular tourist destination with many great beaches and hotels. This is the first international flight SJC has added in quite some time [CORRECTION - Voltaris added a flight to Mexico on June 30th]. Pending approval, the new route kicks off Nov 20th with service 3 times per week. For more info, you know the drill.

Lou's Village is Being Resurrected in Willow Glen!

Remember that new 41,000sqft development in Willow Glen? Well it turns out that one of their anchor tenants is none other than Lou's Village, one of San Jose's original flagship restaurants. Lou's plans to open up in 2012 on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Willow St. For more details, click here!

 

Sherman Cellars Wine Tasting Coming Downtown!

I was reading A Perfect Finish's newsletter--a damn good wine bar on 1st, btw--and stumbled on this bit of news that somehow fell through the cracks of everything else I read about downtown. As of Aug 3rd, we will officially have a wine tasting room in Downtown San Jose! An added bonus is that it will be right around the corner from one of the few wine bars in San Jose (and the only one I know of that is open until 2am on Fri and Sat in Silicon Valley).

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Wine Tasting Comes to downtown San Jose!
Sherman Cellars, 40 Post Street (just down from A Perfect Finish) will celebrate the Grand Opening of their Winery Tasting Room, Tuesday August 3, at 12:00 noon.  Join us, our city Councilman, Sam Liccardo and other dignitaries for the newest tasting room in Santa Clara Valley


Sherman Cellars will feature the wines ofCreekview Vineyards of San Martin.  The winemakers, Teri and Greg Peterson make an incredible array of whites and reds from Santa Clara Valley fruit, including their own estate vineyard.  From Santa Clara Valley Chardonnay to their big Melody Estate bordeaux style red their wines always please. 

After August 3, Sherman Cellars will be open for tasting: Wednesday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm.  

288-WINE (9463)

Bowling for Downtown San Jose?

I go out of the country for a few days and all sorts of San Jose development news pop up. Let's start with this one... trendy bowling may finally be coming to downtown San Jose. Lucky Strikes was supposed to lease the ground floor of The Globe back in 2007, but the recession shut that deal down. Now it looks like Lucky Strikes is reevaluating this opportunity AND Tavern + Bowl is also in the running to take over that spot. The retail space has been soundproofed years ago in anticipation of a bowling alley and is pretty much ready to go when the owners of The Globe (CIM) decide which proposal to accept. For more details, head on over to the San Jose Business Journal.

Video: San Jose - A City Fueled by Innovation, Creativity and Opportunity

Video: San Jose - World of Innovation

Challenges of Local Small Business Owners

Alright everyone, brace yourselves... it's incredibly rare, but I'm actually going to say something negative about San Jose. Often to grow you have to take a critical look at yourself and make a conscious decision to improve. I think that's exactly what we need to do in order to improve the retail scene in San Jose, especially high-potential, burgeoning areas like Downtown.

A couple days ago I had the great pleasure to meet with the proprietor behind Satori, a phenomenal new tea shop located in San Pedro Square next to Peggy Sue's. After hearing her challenges in opening up the store, I decided to break that section out of the blog post I'm planning for their upcoming grand opening. I'm doing this for 2 reasons: 1.) I think this topic requires special attention and applies to many current and potential business owners and 2.) Satori doesn't deserve to have anything negative in their grand opening post--they are 100%, positively, without a doubt the type of business that downtown needs more of... unique products, local character (including local art), community focus, and a new experience for downtown patrons.

Okay, now for the stuff I hate to write about, so I'll make it quick. The proprietor decided to put her entire life savings into a store selling what she's truly passionate about--awesome tea!--and she wanted to do it in the heart of San Jose. How long should it take to open up a small tea shop in San Jose? Two months? Three? Well, it actually took an entire year... every day of which means lost revenue and a lower probability for success. How much should it cost for business licenses and permitting in a 1,000sqft space in an area the city is actively trying to drive retail to? No need to guess, I'll just say it... $15,000. Huh?

I think something is not right with the situation above. The message we send out to business owners should be "COME TO SAN JOSE! WE ARE A CITY BUILT ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND WILL MAKE IT RIDICULOUSLY EASY FOR YOU TO DO BUSINESS HERE!  That type message doesn't seem to always align well with reality, and I have heard this from several business owners that I have spoken to, not just Satori.

If you ask anyone that really knows me, I really do love San Jose more than any other city on the planet.  I hate writing anything negative here, but this is one kink that we need to iron out before districts like Downtown can become the magnetic retail destinations they should be. Santana Row is great an all, but we need places where local businesses offering unique products and services can also thrive and grow the collective soul and culture of our great city.