New Valley Fair Eateries Launch Nov. 1st

Westfield Valley Fair is about the launch their revamped dining terrace (conceptual image below), and we have a final list of new restaurants:

• Cafe Central - pastries, salads, Blue Bottle coffee
• Chipotle
• Loving Hut - vegan
• Old Port Lobster - lobster rolls!
• Pizza Vino - pizza, sandwiches
• Sajj Mediterranean - falafel, shawarmas
• Sarku Japan - teriyaki
• Sarku Sushi Bar
• Super Duper Burger (sweet!)
• Tava Indian Kitchen

Returning eateries are:

• Boudin
• Chicken Wow
• Haagen-Dazs, Jamba Juice, McDonald's
• Panda Express
• Ruby Thai
• Youji

Source: SVBJ

OKTOBERFEST @ The Market | Oct. 12th | Noon - 11:30pm

Octoberfest is coming to the San Pedro Square Market next weekend! Sounds like they are planning a huge event featuring German food, beers, and entertainment. Info and ticket links below:

Join Downtown San Jose's Most Unique Culinary & Entertainment Venue for Oktoberfest 2013!

Free entry to the public or participate by purchasing your official Oktoberfest Stein & Liter beer package featuring discounted group pricing. BUY TICKETS HERE

Enjoy festive outdoor beer gardens highlighting five specialized beer houses serving the finest selection of authentic German beers on tap plus some Craft German Bottled Beers at our very own Market Beer Company.

Enjoy our many Artisan Market Culinary options serving delicious German food including mouth watering Brat & Sauerkraut, delicious warm handcrafted Pretzels, handcrafted German Chocolate Ice Cream & much more.

• Join the festival fun and make new friends at our large family community tables 
• Participate in The Market's twist on Oktoberfest Games & Activities
• Our "Market Bar" will be serving unique German Inspired Cocktails
• Discounted *Buddy 6-pack of Tickets available

Festival Event Activities:

• Bring the whole family on Saturday October 12th beginning at noon for Oktoberfest Activities, Games &  Performances.
• Also enjoy the Sharks game televised on all screens!
• Festivities conclude at 11:30pm

Event is open to all ages, but guests must be 21 years of age or older and present valid ID to purchase all steins, beer & liqour. Additional festival beer tickets available for purchase at the event.

BUY TICKETS HERE

5th Annual San Jose International Short Film Festival Opens Oct 17th @ CineArts Theater Santana Row

The stellar San Jose Short International Film Festival kicks off next week with a greatly expanded offering! They are celebrating their 5th year by showing over 120 films (up from 70 last year). The festival will also expand to two screens for the first time and has added three new sets of short films:

• Family Block (for kids aged 6-15)
• Sci-Fi Block
• Documentaries Block

These are of course in addition to their normal assortment of dramas, thrillers, comedies, feel-good movies, international films, and local productions. I have attended this festival for the last three years and have never been disappointed (the comedies were really awesome in 2012)! For more information just keep on reading or hop on over to the San Jose International Short Film Festival website over here!

San Jose International Short Film Festival Opens October 17th at CineArts Theater Santana Row

San Jose, CA – The 5th Annual film festival opens in San Jose with an incredible lineup of short films from across the globe, featuring selected entries from Tribecca, Cannes, Sundance and other top festivals.  With over 120 films cultivated from the hundreds of entries submitted, these World Class productions include stunning performances and visuals by some of the most talented up and coming filmmakers in world.

With over 20 short film screening blocks that feature every genre of film imaginable, there is something for everyone, plus industry guests, filmmaker panels, after-parties and more.

This year the San Jose International Short Film Festival kicks off Thursday, October 17th with the Red Carpet "Opening Night Screening & After-Party" and continues through Sunday October 20th.

The SAN JOSE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL (SJISFF) distinguishes itself as a festival that caters to filmmakers and their craft. Beginning with the Red Carpet event and "Premiere Selection" screening & Opening Night After-Party in the heart of beautiful Santana Row.

Multiple screenings are held each day at CineArts Theater, with its All Stadium Seating and State of the Art Digital Presentation that include "Make ‘em Laugh", "The Ink & Paint Club" our tribute to Animation Shorts, “World Cinema”, featuring the best in short foreign film., and "The Human Experience”, a block of life-affirming films that resonate and make you think. And much more.

Tickets on Sale Now

Ticket and Screening Information: www.sjsff.com

October 2013 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• SJDA Creates a Strategic Action Plan to improve Downtown over the next 15 months including the following recommendations:
• Increase use of retired and reserve officers Downtown through PBID funding
• Create a one-time global headquarters incentive package for Downtown
• Extend the High-Rise incentive program
• Dedicate a share of future parking meter revenues to promoting Downtown
• Streamline regulations and reduce fees to encourage more festivals and events
• Have the city hire a senior urban designer with a Downtown focus
• Map Downtown's potential development sites along with allowable height and proximity to transit
• Advocate for the A's stadium and an underground high-speed rail alignment
• Centralize homeless resources
• After a decade of planning, the $130 million expansion of the Convention Center is ready! 125,000 SQFT of space has been added, increasing the total size to 550,000 SQFT. The community is invited to an opening celebration on Oct 10th from 4:30-9:00pm.
• Little Italy received $360,000 in donations to acquire two dilapidated homes and turn them into the future Italian American Cultural Facility and Museum.
• Bel Bacio Imported Italian Coffee is coming soon to 350 W. Julian in Little Italay
• Groundwerx are installing RGB pixel light strings on the 32 palm trees that make up the Circle of Palms that could even be programmed for light shows and synchronized with music
• Downtown Ice returns Nov 15th.
• Willow Glen Yogurt and Ice Cream Co. has opened a concession in Camera 12 Cinema
• Da Kine Island Grill opens at 23 N. Market with Hawaiian and Island-style recipes

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Content 5.4 Pick Up Party!

The latest edition of Content is going to be released this Thursday, and per tradition they will be throwing a party at a cool local venue to celebrate. This time, it will take place at ICA and include a free drink and appetizer courtesy of Cafe Stritch for subscribers (I love both these places). This also happens to be the same day as the opening celebration for the Convention Center Expansion, just a short walk away. So much going on!

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Our Pick Up Party is NEXT WEEK!
We hope you can make it!

Come celebrate the release of another great issue at San Jose's ICA. Subscribers enjoy a free drink with appetizers by Cafe Stritch, pick up your magazine and meet other Content subscribers and contributors.  You can also pick up a few tips and tricks about buying and collecting art.  Starting at 7pm ICA curators will take you on a tour of the 33rd Annual Art Auction Exhibition that presents 200 original works in a range of mediums by California’s rising and established contemporary art stars.  You’ll also get the inside scoop on navigating the upcoming Silent and Live Auction events and of course, you can bid on and buy artwork in the Silent Auction gallery.  View the auction works now and listen to the artists describe their work through a free audio tour that you can access from the online gallery. 

RSVP: Email / Facebook

Guest Post on Off-site Alcohol Sales Permits

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I wanted to thank Josh for allowing me to bring to light what may seem like a very technical and inconsequential issue in San Jose that is actually a very important problem that impacts the lives of many owners and employees of small businesses and residents who live in neighborhoods that are saturated with stores that sell off-site hard alcohol and other spirits.

Specifically, the City of San Jose’s troubling policy of approving essentially all off-site alcohol sales permit requests in areas that have been deemed "over-concentrated" by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) as long as the applicant is a big "full service" grocery store like Walmart. Case in point, the city recently approved a liquor license for a Walmart neighborhood market at 4080 Stevens Creek Boulevard even though ABC deemed the area over-concentrated with liquor licenses. And now, the City is looking to rubber stamp yet another request by Walmart to obtain an off-site alcohol sales permit at their location in the Westgate Shopping Center; again, this area is also deemed over-concentrated with liquor licenses by ABC and experiences a fair amount of crime.

Residents, neighbors and merchants have come out in big numbers opposing these alcohol permits in their neighborhoods because they are rightfully worried about the increase in crime and decrease in property values that typically occurs in neighborhoods that are over-saturated with off-site hard alcohol sales. In fact, the San Jose Police Department has stated at public hearings for these permits that an increase in hard alcohol sales in a community results in an increase in crime; which in turn results in decreased property values and other various problems.

Despite this fact, the planning commission and city council consistently continues to approve off-site alcohol sales permits for stores like Walmart regardless if the area is in a high crime area and/or is over-concentrated with liquor licenses. However, if the store requesting an off-site permit is a convenience store or stand-alone liquor store, the commission and council have decided that these small mom and pop businesses are not worthy of the same treatment. In fact, the City's policy is to deny any off-site alcohol sales permits for small businesses that are not "full service grocery" as they are all grouped together as attracting crime and mischief which may be the case for some but certainly not all. Such a blanket policy is both unfair and reeks of greedy tax revenue favoritism of big businesses like Walmart over our small mom and pop businesses that are often run and owned by real people and employees who actually live in San Jose.

Furthermore, when asked what actually constitutes "full service grocery" the city apparently does not even have a working definition or required sales percentage of what that means. So if only 4% of Walmart’s floor space is "grocery" they are still considered full service grocery by the City even if 20% of their floor space is alcohol sales and the rest, other goods. However, if a convenience store has the same percentages they are "a liquor store" and under the city's policy will not be given any new off-site alcohol sales permits because they aren't Walmart essentially and don't generate as much tax revenue for the City.

This unfair treatment of our small businesses over big box stores like Walmart and the approval of off-site alcohol licenses in areas that are already over-concentrated with off-site sales permits and/or are in high crime areas has to stop. This short sighted and greed influenced planning on the City's part will have the long term effect of pushing out mom and pop businesses that have been around for decades while also continuing to increase crime and decrease property values as more and more off-site alcohol permits are granted above and well beyond what should be allowed. The city can start to rectify this problem by denying Walmart’s request for an off-site alcohol sales permit as the Westgate Shopping Center which is already “over-concentrated” with off-site alcohol permits.

If you are interested in more information or updates on this issue or would simply like to comment, please send an email to keepwestgateshoppingcentersafe@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Resident

Downtown San Jose Cameo

Check out the locations used in the TouchPal X app video below. Notice any familiar places?


TouchPal X from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

One South Market Rises Above Ground-Level!

Just a quick post to let you all know that One South Market is now rising up beyond street level. It won't be long until we see a crane in the sky! Thanks Jeff Arko for sending this in.