Downtown San Jose Bags Grocery Outlet

An anchor retail spot next to City Hall has been leased! Grocery Outlet is filling the void that Albertsons and Su Vianda left behind at 272 E. Santa Clara Street. They are signing a 10 year lease on the 24,000sqft space and plan to open as soon as the end of 2012.

Having easy access to groceries is a key selling point to getting more residents and residential developments Downtown. By the end of 2012, The San Pedro Square Market will also become a viable grocer since it will have a butcher shop, cheese shop, and potentially a bakery in addition to Veggie Box (which is stellar by the way) and two farmer's markets a week. Then in 2014 the long wait for Whole Foods will finally come to an end. 

With four anchor grocers Downtown (five if you include Trader Joe's in the San Jose Market Center), we'll be in great shape for residential expansion.

Source: SJBJ

New Downtown San Jose Project: Illuminating Downtown

San Jose has received a $600k grant from ArtPlace--a national organization that funds art projects--in order to build something that could potentially be incredibly cool. The project is called Illuminating Downtown and the goal is to light up parts of Downtown using art and technology. The initial focus areas will include SoFA, San Pedro Square, and Santa Clara St. & 87. The first project will be on Santa Clara St. and is expected to be installed by Winter 2013. If any of these projects will be in similar scale to The 88's interactive light feature, they can't come soon enough.

If anyone has additional info on this, please post in the comments. Thanks!

Source: SJBJ

San Jose Stage Company Presents The Buddy Holly Tribute Concert at the California Theatre

Friday, June 28, 29 and Sunday, July 1

San Jose, CA -- June 12, 2012– San Jose Stage Company presents a Buddy Holly Tribute Concert at the legendary California theatre in downtown San Jose.

For three performances only as a special benefit performance for the Stage, the stories and music of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valenz, and the Big Bopper will be performed. Not everyone knows that Waylon Jennings had a role in ‘the day the music died.’

The Buddy Holly Tribute Concert is the story of February 2, 1959, told through music as well as the narrative of Waylon Jennings, who gave up his seat on the airplane that crashed. Waylon will tell the story of the musicians, the music and the legend as it really happened.

Randall King, director of the Buddy Holly concert says of this show, “Buddy Holly, like Elvis, broke the rules of popular music and laid the foundation of rock and roll in a musical rebellion that continues to this day”

“Without Buddy and the Crickets, there would have been no Beatles.” Buddy is the guy who changed made music what it is today. The history of the evening that he died is legendary and this concert will tell the true story,” added King.

The lead role of Buddy Holly will be played by Travis Poelle. San Jose Stage Company originally co-produced "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," which ran for eleven weeks at The Stage* before transferring to San Francisco. Poelle received critical praise for his work as Buddy.

Also from San Jose is actor/singer Manuel Romero, who plays Ritchie Valenz. Also getting raves for this role, Romero has recently released a CD and has won a Latin Grammy.

Buddy Holly’s celebrated quote says it all, “If anyone asks you what kind of music you play, tell him ‘pop.’ Don’t tell him ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ or they won’t even let you in the hotel.”

Performances are Thursday, June 28 at 8 PM; Friday, June 29 with opening remarks and concert at 8 PM; and Sunday, July 1 at 3 PM.

Sponsorships are still available by calling The Stage and will include an exclusive VIP pre-show reception at the California Theatre for Friday’s performance.

Tickets are $75 and $100 and are available online at www.thestage.org or through the Box Office by calling 408.283.7142. Visa and MasterCard are accepted, and discounts are available for groups, students and seniors.

The California Theatre is located at 345 South First Street in downtown San Jose, CA and is handicapped accessible. The elaborate California Theatre opened in 1927 and is today one of the best preserved examples of historic movie houses of the ‘20s.

*Reviews for “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story”:

“Travis Poelle slings his Stratocaster like a Tommy gun while playing Holly as a defiant charmer” - San Jose Mercury News

“More than anyone else, Poelle carries the show...performing with a verve that delivers Holly’s passionate musicianship. He looks like Holly, and he rocks out irresistibly.” - San Francisco Chronicle

"Manuel Romero as Ritchie Valens had the audience roaring" - Metro

"Manuel Romero is a pitch-perfect Valens leading the ensemble on a rousing La Bamba" - San Francisco Chronicle

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SAN JOSE STAGE COMPANY

Founded in 1983, San Jose Stage Company is recognized as The Bay Area's Premiere Off-Broadway Theatre, and known for its devotion to new and cutting-edge work and for its commitment to showcasing high-quality local talent. In 1986, San Jose Stage Company set precedence as the first arts organization to negotiate and receive support from the Redevelopment Agency and the City of San Jose when over $500,000 was appropriated in support of the development of a new 200-seat theatre featuring a 3/4-thrust stage, which opened in 1990. Now in its 29th Season, SJSC continues to center its operations in this facility and has successfully produced over 138 productions and premiered 44 new works, including 11 world premieres and is acclaimed for maintaining high artistic standards, investing in local talent and supporting the region’s community of working artists while taking artistic risks. In addition to its core programming, San Jose Stage Company offers five core education and outreach programs and has housed over 200 independent performance groups. San Jose Stage Company is a vital force in the community and has earned a reputation for artistic excellence by providing high-quality, edgy theatrical experiences that engage, educate and provoke audiences. San Jose Stage Company serves an audience base of 30,000 and is recognized as a leader in the arts for a theatre of its size. For more information www.thestage.org

Saturday Stats: Elon Musk Infographic

Connecting this post to San Jose is going to be a little bit challenging. Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and they did try to set up shop in North San Jose at one point. In addition, the flagship Tesla store is in Santana Row. Okay, I'm stretching it... but this infographic is so neat that I had to share.


Created by: OnlineGraduatePrograms.com

The Usuals is Hosting Josh Marcotte's Latest Work Today

Josh Marcotte from Lost San Jose is showcasing his latest guerilla photographs at The Usuals. If you talk to him, be sure to ask about the adventures he had to take in order to get some of these photos. While checking out his work, you can also enjoy music from Seabright.

Win San Jose SaberCats game tickets!

Attention San Jose SaberCats fans! 

Want to win tickets to an upcoming game? 

(Date choices are: June 23, July 7, OR July 14)


Contest is for TODAY JUNE 21st - ENDS AT 10PM!

Please read all the details below and fill out the form! Good luck everyone!

** Contest has ended! Winners will be notified by email! **

Many thanks to iolo technologies & Fry's Electronics for the ticket opportunity!

Third Thursday Event @ San Jose Museum of Art

June 21, 2012

5–9 PM
General admission is $5 after 5 PM.

Entertainment and activities enliven the galleries for after-work fun. At 7 PM, The Glowing Stars will perform their original chiptune music (combining sound chips from video games with more traditional instruments). A mini-trunk sale will feature unique decor, jewelry, and accessories by local designers Denise Peacock-Delisch, Lindsay Lassen-Linz Design, Ellen Brook--Works on Silk, and the Bay Area Glass Institute. No-host bar.

As a special thank you to our corporate members, we invite employees of our business partners and their families (as well as SJMA’s members) to join us for free. 

Click here for more information on corporate membership (or to inquire if your employer is a member).

Wednesday Wishlist: San Jose Needs to Fall in Love with San Jose

Today's wishlist comes courtesy of Think Bigger San Jose. In order for San Jose to truly become a great city, as many residents as possible need to fall in love with our city and evangelize what we have to offer. There is so much to explore here and we should all make an effort to try out new attractions and events in our own backyard. Random example... just when I thought I had been to every museum possible in San Jose, I find out there is a Quicksilver mine museum deep in the Almaden valley and just down the street is one of the highest-rated French restaurants in the Bay Area. Even for me, I'm finding all sorts of new things about San Jose all the time.

Anyway, read Mark's post below. I think he does a great job of making his point.

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From Think Bigger San Jose by Mark

When you visit any city, the best way to learn about that city is not from a book or even the internet, though those resources are helpful. The best way to find about any city is from the locals, that is except for in San Jose. San Jose is rich in history, technology, unique foods, cultures, events, and museums, yet ask an average San Josean to point you to places of interest and they’ll probably send you to San Francisco. It’s not their fault. The people of San Jose are just under-informed, they have no idea what is actually happening within the city they live in.

Lake Cunningham with Raging Waters in the background

An anecdote that illustrates this point is that I have a co-worker who moved to San Jose from Alaska over 20 years ago, and I was talking about the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. He had no idea that San Jose even HAD an Egyptian Museum, let alone the largest in the Northern Hemisphere!
The best way to remedy this problem is advertising within San Jose. Other cities advertise their “products.” They show off the best their city has to offer. The only thing that I have seen advertised in San Jose and throughout California is the Winchester Mystery House. Yet San Jose has the Egyptian Museum, The Tech Museum, The San Jose Museum of Art, Kelly Park which includes Happy Hollow and the Historic Park San Jose, Lake Cunningham, the Guadalupe River Park and Trails, Japantown, many historic homes and churches, countless art galleries, and many other museums and districts.
So it starts with educating San Joseans as to what is available around them. Advertising can be as little as the city putting up more signage for places of interest, to as big as advertising on local and national TV, radio, Pandora, internet, billboards, magazines. But it must start within the city limits of San Jose. Making the citizenry aware of the their surroundings in a good way. If the citizens love the city, the visitors will love the city. If the citizens know the places that are uniquely San Jose, then they can pass those insights on to the visitors. Even in as the self-titled “Capitol of Silicon Valley,” word of mouth is still the best way to promote a restaurant, club, shop, store, gallery, and yes, even a city. Spread the word.