Miami Beach Club is Being Razed

Now is the time to say your last goodbyes to the pink Miami Beach Club building. Demolition is under way and soon the building will become... a parking lot. Not the best news for most people that read this blog, but the positive spin is that the land is being prepped for bigger and better things in the hopefully not too distant future. I think this would be a great space for a new high-rise or an expansion of the San Pedro Square Market.

Thanks to Victor for the tip and photo!

Update: added second photo

Battle Among Talents Charity Event

Next week there is going to be an event at the Center for Performing Arts that will raise money to increase awareness for sex trafficking that is happening to kids right here in the Bay Area, including Santa Clara County. To learn more about the event, just head over here. There is also a two minute video on the site that is a real eye opener... you don't think of these sorts of things happening in our backyard.

Start Up San Jose Event Kicks off Tomorrow!

A slew of key Downtown establishments are getting together to push Start Up San Jose. The goal of this event is to fill up vacant retail space in Downtown San Jose, which will create a more vibrant and safe Downtown. The event is being championed by Councilmember Sam Liccardo, along with NextSpace and SJMADE. A vacant floor space at 75 E. Santa Clara Street is going to be brimming with San Jose entrepreneurs tomorrow and Friday. You will be able to swing by and check out some Moveable Feast food trucks, local products from SJMADE vendors, grab Barefoot coffee, or even work for a bit in a coworking space hosted by NextSpace. At night you will even have an assortment of beers to sample thanks to Beerwalk.

Next door is a really slick assortment of local vendors at Sperry Station, a new project that is well worth checking out. For more information click here.

TWO BUCK Tuesday Today

from Phantom Galleries by PG

Join us at KALEID Gallery for this upcoming TWO BUCK Tuesday, March 19th, 7pm-10pm!

Come enjoy an inspired evening of performances, live painting, $2 art, drop-in sketching table & quirky people get together! It’s open to all ages and free!

Participating Artists include:
Shannon Amidon will be demonstrating how to create packing tape transfers. Learn how to make your photographs or clip art into transparent transfers that can be used for artwork, collage, crafts and more.

Sculptor David Canavese will give a free workshop teaching you some of his papercraft skills! All materials are provided.

connections . relationships . attachments . hold us together, what are your connections? be part an installation of labels defining connections that will be attached together and presented in an art show by Valerie Runningwolf in May at gallery 25, Fresno, CA. make a label telling of your connections to what, who, where.

Lara Sophia will host another lovely costumed life drawing session. Bring your sketch pads and pencils!

LIVE ART BY:
Julie Bilyeu
Nic Caesar
John Hageman
Jean Davis
Leonista
Cecile F. Zapanta
Maricruz Mendoza
Jeff Bramschreiber
Jehoiakim Santos
David Mejia
Al Preciado and Friends
Felipe Jimenez

Jessica Neideffer will play sound healing bowls for your listening pleasure!

TWO BUCK Tuesday is March 19th, 7pm-10pm!

Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaleidgallery

KALEID Gallery
88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)
San Jose, CA 95112
info@KALEIDGallery.com
408-947-1785

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, noon -7pm
Free admission

North San Pedro Housing Project Takes a Step Forward

It looks like there is going to be a community meeting at City Hall (Wing Room 120) at 7pm on Monday March 25th to go over the planned development of North San Pedro. The project is going to be right behind City Heights, have 408 residential units (coincidental number?), and weight in at 460,106 square feet. I believe these units would be placed across three different high-rise buildings. If you happen to attend, be sure to email us or post in the comments and let us know if any new details are released at the meeting.

Hat tip to Brent Pearse for sending this in.

Cafe Stritch Now Open in SoFA!

2013 is going to be the best year for new restaurants that Downtown San Jose has ever seen. I'm going to go out on a limb (as usual) and say that by the end of the year the type of scene and energy that you can now find at the San Pedro Square Market will also be available in other parts of Downtown.

SoFA's new restaurant anchor--Cafe Stritch--officially opened over the weekend. It's operated by the next generation of the Borkenhagen family, which ran Eulipia for decades.

The ambiance is hip, modern, and artsy, with a jazz-club vibe (somewhat ironic since Eulipia was a jazz club at one point). The food and staff are excellent, there's a great bar, the outdoor seating setup is one of the most impressive I've seen Downtown, oh yeah... and everything on the menu is under $10.

The fare is essentially modern American comfort food served tapas-style. Over the weekend I tried the chicken & waffles, mac & cheese, fries, tomato bisque with a grilled cheese sandwich, and the vegan french dip which was my favorite. That last one was surprisingly excellent for a vegan entree and you have to try it even if you're not vegan! Picture vegetable tempura inside of a crisp baguette with a great dipping sauce. The total bill for food that would easily have fed 3-4 people... $30.

Some other big huge pluses about this establishment:

• Elevated stage for live musicians, which they will likely feature several times week (more live music in SoFA!)
• Second floor where they will eventually build some sort of lounge area with couches. 
• Open Sundays (many Downtown restaurants are not)
• Open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays

I can see this place improving the vibe of the entire SoFA district. This is another epic addition to Downtown San Jose and I'm thrilled with how this turned out!

2nd Annual Fashion Show for the South Bay Art Institute

The Art Institute of California - Silicon Valley is preparing "Up in the Air" for this Thursday, March 21st at the Computer History Museum. It is being produced by the Bachelor or Science students in the Fashion Marketing & Management program and will feature original designs created and styled by the students and instructors.

Frankly, I had no idea there was even a Fashion program in the South Bay. It's great to see the region start to build out proficiencies outside of tech. It will add to work and cultural diversity and make help make Silicon Valley an even more interesting place! For more information on the fashion program, click here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here are my top recommendations for places to go in San Jose this St. Patty's Day:

• San Pedro Square Market
• O'Flaherty's Irish Pub
• Trials Pub
• Rosie McCann's Restaurant 
• Britannia Arms
• Firehouse No. 1 Gastro Pub
• Cafe Stritch