Downtown San Jose Restaurant List!!!

For a long time I have been meaning to put together a list of ALL downtown San Jose restaurants (I've always been curious as to the exact count of how many we have). The SJ Downtown Association has a pretty comprehensive list, but it has limitations since there are no filtering or sorting capabilities besides genre. So I went ahead and put together my own online spreadsheet that anyone can use!

I used to tell people that Downtown San Jose has over 100 restaurant. That simply isn't true. We have 177 restaurants and cafes downtown (!!!). I thought I had been to almost every one. It turns out that I have "only" been to 125 of them... I have 52 more to go.

The spreadsheet lists each restaurant name along with:

• Genre - my categories are a little different than the SJDA list to avoid duplicates
• Region - tried to divide downtown into corridors and districts (like SoFA) since the street addresses aren't always indicative of where the restaurant is
• Address & Phone Number
• Website - work in progress
• Year - also work in progress, if you know which year any of the restaurants opened, please feel free to email me
• Additional Notes
• A Column to track the ones I've been to

All of the columns are sortable and filterable, and if you take a look at the bottom of the spreadsheet you'll notice there is also a tab called "Restaurant Statistics." This is a live count of the total number of restaurants downtown, as well as statistics by region, genre, and year opened. 

I think this spreadsheet turned out really well, so please have a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!

A Taste of Paris Now Open!

A retail space on Paseo de San Antonio next to Philz Coffee that has been vacant for years is now home to A Taste of Paris! The cafe is run by a sixth generation French Chef and features authentic French breads, sandwiches, soups, and pastries. For more info, you can have a look at their website over here.

Sony/Irvine Development Update

I've been getting into a development kick lately since we have several new projects about to break ground. Here is some information on the Irvine development project on First St., where Sony offices used to be. The first phase includes 364 condos and 4,660 sqft of retail. The goal is to be well into construction by Spring.




Thanks to xThomasTroublex from the San Jose Development Forum for the info.

Reminder: Celebrate San Jose's 233rd Birthday Downtown Today!

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.

Renders of The Ohlone Development

Barry Swenson is gearing up for developing the tallest development in Midtown San Jose (West San Carlos St. between Downtown San Jose and Santana Row). The plan is to have 800 transit-oriented units in towers up to 150ft tall along with 25,000sqft of ground floor retail. Eventually there will be a light rail station right outside The Ohlone. This would be a bold step towards transit oriented development outside of the Downtown area.

Have a look at some of the renders below as well as additional information:







Fact Sheet: The Ohlone
Who:
A joint project by Green Valley LLLC The Ohlone is new residential and commercial development currently going through the City of San Jose’s approval process. Green Valley LLC is a joint venture by Barry Swenson Builder and Republic Urban properties. 

What:
The Ohlone is a mixed-use, transit-oriented development (TOD). The project will have a maximum of 800 units with 25,000 square feet of neighborhood serving retail, which is a net increase in the retail space in midtown San Jose. The project is also being designed with significant amounts of open space achieved by having a mix of tall buildings and underground parking for residents and shoppers. In keeping with the principles of high-density development, the buildings will have a maximum height of 160 feet. 

Where:
The proposed Ohlone Mixed Use development site is located on 8.25 acres of land along West San Carlos and Sunol Street in San Jose. The property is classified as a Brownfield site and will undergo significant environmental remediation before construction begins. Previously a VTA bus lot and light rail staging area, this development will bring homes and retail to a previously blighted site. 

Why:
The Ohlone is a significant, multiyear community investment in San Jose that will be a model for future development. Designed to comply with the goals of the City of San Jose 2040 General Plan, this project is looking forward by embracing transit, bringing neighborhood serving retail to an underserved community and providing a livable, walkable community that is an alternative to single family homes. In addition, this project will exceed the City’s Build It Green standards by including several energy saving measures and environmentally friendly features such as solar power, the collection and reuse of water runoff, green roofs and diverting waste from landfills. Even the positioning of the building has been selected to best take advantage of the sun to keep heating and cooling costs low. 

360 Residences is Converting from Condos to Rentals

Interesting news today. It looks like the 360 Residences high-rise in SoFA is in the process of being converted to a rental building. I was wondering why people haven't started moving in yet!

I think this is actually a good idea, and the 200+ units could always be converted back to condos in the future. Instead of waiting a couple years for the building to fill up, the strong rental market in the South Bay will likely fill up the building really quickly. That means more foot-traffic to support downtown restaurants and retail, particularly in the SoFA district. You can already see the difference that The 88 and Axis have made downtown, so this building can't fill up soon enough!

SJSU Construction Map

Along the same lines as yesterday's post, I found a handy construction map for the entire SJSU campus right over here. It looks like there is another project slated to start mid next year for a new student health and counseling facility. The only image I could find related to this is below:

Black Friday in Downtown San Jose!

POP-UP SHOP OPENING BLACK FRIDAY You have heard right, we are opening a pop-up retail store in downtown San Jose at 151 W. Santa Clara Street, in the vacant restaurant formally occupied by Spiedo, next to San Pedro Square. We will be opening at 9:00am on Black Friday and going into the evening so come on down, hang out and check out our exclusive offerings only available at the shop. Not only new shirts, but also some team themed scarves and beanies for braving the winter months in style. Throughout the day we have some fun things planned and more to be added this week. The guys from San Franola Co. will be hosting a granola party, sampling a healthy way to snack. Later in the day, there will be an appearance by Streetbot, the urban art & apparel truck! Vintage Sports Video Games Mini Hoops. We will be debuting 8 shirts, including two woman's shirts for the first time ever. Accepting Visa and Master Card via Square. San Pedro Square Market Special Thanks to San Pedro Square Market, soon to be San Jose's newest shopping experience.