San Pedro Square Farmers' Market Opens Today!!!

Several weeks ago there was a "controversial" post about the San Pedro Square Market, and I'm going to have to stand by everything that I said. I think that the San Pedro Square Market is going to become a landmark attraction in Downtown San Jose and it will be bringing in people from all over the bay.

If you don't believe me, today is a pretty good day to check out the market. If you do believe me, today is a pretty good day to check out the market. In summary, go check out the market today.

In 2 hours, the inaugural Saturday farmer's market is kicking off. Unlike the Friday one, this will be year round and tightly integrated with the San Pedro Square Market itself. In addition to the farmer's market, the second building (Lusardi building) will finally be open for business. Launching today is Veggie Box, which is worth a trip on it's own. You'll get a preview of Blush, a raw bar and bar-bar with an outdoor lounge that will be open until 2am after the official launch mid April. Showroom (I <3 SJ), Ay Dios Mio, and The Poppy Farm are up and running as well. A solid addition to the original building is Crepe-Paris, which serves sweet and savory crepes up until 2am on the weekends (I remember someone asking for a dessert place open late... done).

This is just the beginning. They're also launching live music every Friday. There are plans developing for a Saturday "night-market" from 6pm-midnight (there may even been a food truck or two). Epic events such as the next SJMADE + SJeats are coming. And there are new vendors launching practically every week.

For some more details on what's going down today, keep reading. Better yet, just come on down!

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 Welcome back the San Pedro Square Market Newsletter. We have an incredible array of activities and openings this month, so let's dive right in.

  Tonight we kick off a new series, officially titled Music at the Market Powered by San Jose Jazz, that will run throughout the Spring and Summer every Friday evening from 7-9pm.

  Helping us get things started will be the Vitchev/Tamburr New Quartet, featuring Vibraphonist Christian Tamburr and and Guitarist/composer Hristo Vitchev. For opening night only, there will be a second show as well, featuring jazz violinist Mads Tolling. 

Though we're opening the series more on the modern jazz side of the spectrum, future dates will incluide a wide range of musical genres and styles, showcasing an eclectic selection of local artists.

Saturday, April 7th is a huge day for us, and we're affectionately referring to it as Opening Day.  We are holding the initial installment of the San Pedro Square Farmers' Market. This is a major centerpiece of our cultural programming, and we're partnering with the very best in the business, Urban Village Farmers' Market Association. They produce the highly-respected Campbell Farmers' market, among others. Our Market is targeted toward Downtown residents, and will take place year-round, rain or shine, from 10am-2pm on West St. John St. between N. Almaden and N. San Pedro, directly in front of SPSM. There will be 40+ vendors selling the finest, freshest local food available, as well as music and special events. Opening Day will feature a visit from Leslie Jonath, author of the recently-released At the Farmers' Market With Kids.

In addition to the Farmers' Market, we are welcoming several new permanent vendors to the SPSM team. The Lusardi Building (aka the big green building at the corner of N. Almaden and W. St. John) will open for the first time, with a great roster of businesses, including several retail locations that help us focus our vision as a Public Market, as opposed to a collection of restaurants. The roster for Opening Day looks like this, with a few more pieces yet to come:

- Veggie Box, which will sell fresh produce, flowers, and an array of gourmet goods including bread, olive oil, jams, and spreads.
- Blush Raw Bar & Lounge, a restaurant and bar specializing in Sushi, Oysters, and high end cocktails. Blush's back patio is destined to become the most desirable outdoor seating at the Market. Please note that on Saturday only the bar will be open, the restaurant will follow in a few weeks.
- Ay Dios Mio, a unique boutique specializing in imported art, clothing, and kitchenware, will re-open permanently.
- Showroom, an innovative t-shirt bar, will look to continue the success they've experienced at their first location, The Usuals, located down the road on The Alameda.
-The Poppy Farm, our newest vendor, is a garden and plant store that will sell live plants, tools, books, art, and basically everything a person with a green thumb would need to beautify their life.
Still to come in Lusardi will be Treatbot, the Karaoke Ice Cream Truck, and The Little Cheese Shoppe, both of which will be open soon.

Many of our vendors will be open special hours on Saturday, please see the list below:

In the El Dorado Building, we will have the official opening of Crepe-Paris, which will open at 7am. Try a savory 'Bonjour' crepe with scrambled eggs, ham, cheddar, and hash browns. It would pair beautifully with an artisan single-origin pour-over coffee from B2, which will also open at 7am.

Little Chef Counter will debut their brunch menu at 10am, featuring such innovative dishes as Pancake Benedict, Hash Poutine, and a fresh take on Chicken & Waffles.

The Market Bar is rolling out 3 new signature cocktails in addition to our lineup of craft beers, reasonably-priced wines, and the morning standby, the Bloody Mary. They will open at 10am.

On a Roll, Robee's Falafel, and Vino Vino are all opening an hour early (10am) to coincide with the start of the Farmers Market. Crewners Barbershop will be open all day for gentlemen seeking a respite from the hustle and bustle to enjoy a straight-razor shave or an expert haircut.

On the Peralta Adobe Plaza, we have a full day of music planned. From 2-4pm The Tom & Dave Show will bring their unique interpretations of Classic Rock to the stage. From 4-6pm we have a return performance from the Stan Erhart Duo, featuring scorching lead guitar from Stan himself. From 6-8 we welcome Rockin' Blues Express for their debut Market performance. As evening turns to night the vibe will get a little more left-field, with performances form indie rockers Hotel Island Breakdown at 9 and Pantheon at 10.

We sincerely hope that you'll join us this weekend and every day here at San Pedro Square Market. We have lots more surprises around the corner, including an Arts & Crafts Fair next Sunday April 15th featuring artisans from all over the state.


We will be open on Easter Sunday with the exception of Robee's Falafel and Little Chef Counter, both of whom will be taking a well-deserved day off.

Make sure to check out our website often, we update it as often as possible. The single best way to stay up to date on what's happening here is to 'like' us on Facebook.

Saturday Stats: San Jose Stat is the Most Common University for Apple Employees

The Huffington Post recently posted an article on which colleges most Google and Apple employees have attended. San Jose State University ranked #2 overall and #1 for Apple employees. Not too shabby. I guess this helps explain why San Jose Stated ranked so high in the "Colleges that will make you rich" list. For the full article, click here.

Thanks to Dan for the tip.

Easter 2012 At the Fairmont

If you are still looking for a place to enjoy Easter brunch (or get take out for your own feast at home), I have a recommendation below:

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EASTER 2012

With your family and The Fairmont San Jose

So many great ways to celebrate with family: the grand Champagne Brunch in the Imperial Ballroom, the classic Fountain Restaurant Brunch and even a Fairmont catered meal at home, available for pick-up from 10am to 2pm. Treat your entire family to a great Fairmont memory. For Menus and Details:Easter with Fairmont . Menu items are subject to change, kindly call 408-998-1900 for any questions or to have the most current menu emailed to you.

The Fairmont San Jose is your holiday destination with events for the entire family, all season long. Sunday, April 8, 2012 Imperial Ballroom Champagne Buffet Brunch (bottomless glass) Seatings from 10am to 130pm, every half hour $62 plus tax and service for adults, $29 for children 5-12 years old Under 5 years old, complimentary Entertainment: Single pianist and children’s entertainment (special kids buffet available) Fountain Restaurant Open at 8am for breakfast, until 10am then brunch only, hotel guests may order from menu all day Seatings from 10am to 230pm, every half hour $52 plus tax and service for adults, $24 for children 5-12 years old Under 5 years old complimentary Easter To-Go Complete Easter Meal in the comfort of your home Pick up times from 10am-2pm, every half hour Complete Roast Boneless Rib Eye of Beef $229 plus tax Complete Boneless Leg of Lamb $229 plus tax Easter Egg Hunt in The Lobby Lounge Every hour from 1130am to 230pm, our resident holiday bunny will stash eggs filled with candy and even a golden egg with a very special surprise No cost to participate For Reservations or More Information, kindly call 408-998-3960 Easter Sunday @ The Fairmont - Menus Afternoon Tea is still available for this day

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk April 6th

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Two new feature exhibitions open at KALEID Gallery this Friday, April 6th, 7pm!

Of War and Peace, The Truth Just Twists, It’s Curfew Gull Just Glides
a collection of paintings by André Hart



Selcouth
new work by Shannon Amidon


Artist's Reception 7-11pm
KALEID Gallery
88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)

New exhibition opens at PHO69

Phantom Galleries presents A World of Colors and Whim by Florence de Bretagne at Pho69.
Artist's Reception 7-11pm
321 South First Street


New exhibits at MACLA, Anno Domini, WORKS, SLG ArtBoutiki, Art Ark Gallery and more! Visit the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk web site for full lineup here.

DS2 Raises $12.7M

DS2 is a company that specializes in computational design platforms and electrical equipment. They were founded in 2007 and are currently in West San Jose. They raised $12.7M in a Series C round. Perhaps in a couple of years we'll see them IPO.

Source: SJBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: Free WiFi for the City of San Jose

Wherever people go, more and more they are expecting access to all of their data whether it is work or play. Speaking of work, most of the innovation happening today in Silicon Valley is focused around the internet, whether it is software as a service, mobile apps, or underlying infrastructure. It just makes sense to make the internet ubiquitous here. Mountain View already has city-wide WiFi courtesy of Google, and Santa Clara will be next (via Silicon Valley Power). To stay on the cutting edge, we really need to make this standard infrastructure as accessible as possible.

A huge step in the right direction is the $100k upgrade of our free WiFi system Downtown. The current system was built in 2004, is slow, and drops frequently in many areas. The new system being provided by Ruckus Wireless will be substantially faster and have far better coverage. The next step will be expanding it beyond Downtown!

Veggielution Expansion!

Over the weekend Veggielution announced that they are tripling their acreage over at Emma Prusch Farm! This will allow them to greatly increase production of their fresh San Jose-grown fruits and vegetables as well as create a fruit orchard, outdoor kitchen, and a permanent farm stand. For all the details, read the press release below.

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Veggielution was founded in 2008 to change the way we think about food and create a sustainable food system in San José. The nonprofit farm has expanded every year thanks to the energy of thousands of volunteers, extensive support from the City of San José, and generous funding from hundreds of donors and foundations.

The expansion to six acres, from just under two acres previously, will allow Veggielution to substantially increase its production of fresh vegetables and fruits in order to increase access to these healthy foods for all San José and Santa Clara County residents. Over the next several years, Veggielution will need three times as many volunteers and greatly expanded funding in order to expand the farm operations and Veggielution’s many educational community programs.

“This is an extremely exciting time for Veggielution,” said Amie Frisch, Veggielution co-founder and Executive Director. “We could not have reached this point without help from the strong and growing network in this community that cares about our local food system. We will be counting on that network and on our supporters’ help more than ever in the years to come. Together we can make a tremendous impact.”

In 2010 and 2011 alone, Veggielution grew more than 35,000 pounds of vegetables, following sustainable farming principles and without the use of synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. The produce is given for free to volunteers after their labor during the farm’s near-daily workdays, sold at low prices at the Saturday farm stand at Emma Prusch Park, donated to soup kitchens, and sold at local farmers markets and restaurants to support farm operations.

“Veggielution helps people connect with the food they eat, and helps foster a sense of community and environmental stewardship in those who participate,” said Mark Anthony Medeiros, Veggielution co-founder and Farm Director. “At the farm, anyone can come and get dirty growing veggies, make friends with cool new people from their community, and buy produce at affordable prices. We’re very excited that the City of San José is supporting us by allowing us to expand our farm to include even more people.”

Expansion Plans
The proposed design for the expanded farm, prepared by local landscape architect Bruce Hill in consultation with Veggielution staff, incorporates elements of Prusch Farm Park's original 1972 Master Plan and input that Veggielution gathered from the community. The plan includes fruit orchards, an outdoor kitchen for cooking and nutrition classes, a permanent farm stand, a packing and cooling shed, an expanded greenhouse and shadehouse complex, and a mobile office. Veggielution will work with City staff on every step of implementation.

The design preserves and deepens the volunteers’ and visitors’ educational experience with signage and nods to the agricultural history of the Valley of Heart’s Delight. The increase in farmed land dramatically increases the number of volunteer opportunities for people of all walks of life and skill levels, while also allowing Veggielution to add to its existing offering of cooking and nutrition classes, Dig Crew high school youth program, off-site school gardens, and workshops.

About Veggielution

Veggielution empowers youth and adults from diverse backgrounds to create a sustainable food system in San Jose. Our urban farm engages the community by providing access to healthy and local food, creating youth leadership opportunities, and developing creative solutions to social and environmental justice issues.

Veggielution is a 2 acre non-profit community farm dedicated to creating a more sustainable food system in San Jose. We empower people to change the way they think about food by getting their hands in the soil, connecting with the land, and tasting the fruits of their labor. For more information visitwww.veggielution.org.

Apple May Come to San Jose!

This is not an April fool's joke, although this just so happens to be the exact same parcel between Bay 101 and M8trix that was mentioned yesterday. Now that Apple has bought out or leased all available space in Cupertino and most of the remaining space in Sunnyvale, they are looking at North San Jose for expansion possibilities. This space could support at least one million square feet of office space. The owner, Peery-Arrillaga, is supposedly working with Apple on a build-to-suit development on this very site. It looks like the city's new strategy of cutting fees and reducing development barriers is already paying dividends!

Source: SJBJ