Rey Giese Tribute Exhibition @ Kaleid

A new exhibition honoring the late Rey Giese (1919-2013) is premiering today as part of the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk . Rey was the premier sign-painter of Silicon Valley and his work can still be seen throughout the area. He painted thousands and thousands of signs throughout the course of his life and worked all the way up into is his 90s.

The exhibition will showcase 75 years of his work. In addition to Rey Giese originals, a dozen contemporary sign painters will also be doing recreations of Giese designs. I would highly recommend making this your first stop on the art walk... this is pure Bay Area history and Rey Giese's work is well worth celebrating.

The exhibit and artist' reception runs from 7-11pm today at Kalied. You can RSVP (not required) right over here. His works will also be on display until the end of the month at the gallery.

SF Beer Week is Here! Check it out With the "Japantown Beer Walk"

                                                       JAPANTOWN BEER WALK-

                            LOCATION: SAN JOSE'S JAPANTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD

                                                             FEBRUARY 8TH, 2014

                                                                 TIME: 2PM - 6PM

SF Beer Week is here yet again, starting off its opening Gala on February 7^th 2014, at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. The San Francisco Brewers Guild and associates sponsor this week-long event as a collaborative effort between local breweries and participating cities throughout the Bay Area. As it states on their website, “Our purpose is to restore and preserve San Francisco’s brewing heritage, and unite those who make local beer with those who love it”; it couldn't be done in a better fashion than its week’s worth of events and activities dedicated to the craft of brewing. The contagious spirit of this eventful week and its rising fame--putting together as many as 500 events--has reached into neighboring cities, and has made its way into San Jose’s Japantown. Participants in association with the festivities have made this ongoing tradition hit its 6^th year in the Bay Area, and for San Jose’s Japantown Beer Walk it marks its 3rd year with beer tasting sweetness at every unique destination.

As it grows in popularity there is an ongoing effort between organizations to bring awareness to this cool tradition located near the heart of Downtown San Jose. I had the pleasure of participating last year for the first time. Joining me was a good friend and we had an inebriating experience walking from establishment to establishment, tasting what seemed like a good amount of quality beer. Which now reminds me; it might be his turn to buy the tickets this time around, and I should recommend dinner a little closer to the event than his house down the street. Not that the Bar-B-Q was bad (the slow cooked ribs were delicious), but I’m definitely looking forward to some sushi, or a teriyaki chicken bowl between destinations. There are a variety of great restaurants, and parlors in the neighborhood in which to dine and snack at, and it’s a good idea to take a little extra cash for any on the spot purchases you might have an itch for.

There are plenty of attractions that bring this beer walk together and if the weather permits, it should be a great one to join in on this weekend. You can take a nice long stroll with your dog to visit the many Art Galleries in the neighborhood, and if your sitter isn’t available to watch the kids; than at least one parent can enjoy the beer while the other shops at one of the many establishments and boutiques that will be open that day catering to the event between 2-6pm. Registration starts at Jack’s Bar at 12pm.

Between the many breweries that participated last year and will be participating this year, I would have to say it will be hard to predict what will grab my attention. Many will be participating and there are vast choices at the local liquor store now; all with different names, different alcohol content, and cool looking labels. So, what I will do this time around is write down on a Jacks Bar napkin my favorite brewery and the reasons why. I will challenge you all to do the same, and if you can, send it out that day on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook with the hashtag #beerlist, to see if we all can maybe agree on a favorite to remember for next time we’re at Bevmo. For the sake of the companies and destinations participating in the Japantown Beer Walk be sure to hashtag their names on your pictures and posts, and don’t forget to include cool hashtags like #japantownbeerwalk #sfbeerweek #SJcheckthisout #thisbeerisawesome….A few hours later… #ilostmyphone #waitimonmyphone #takingacab

But please people, drink responsibly. There is a need for this city’s citizens to take matters into the hands of sober good friends, family members, or at the very least cab drivers willing to drive you and your party around. Also, enjoy the many festivities presented throughout the Bay Area running until February 16^th, 2014. For more information with locations, events, and activities running throughout the Bay Area go to http://www.sfbeerweek.org/schedule/. You can find a list of breweries, locations, and buy your tickets in advance for the Japan Town Beer Walk at www.thebeerwalk.com, or at Jack’s Bar located at 167 E. Taylor St., San Jose CA for $30 ($35 the day of). Check out http://sfbrewersguild.org for a more in depth look at what’s brewing around Northern California, and be sure to remember not to drink and drive.

Lunar New Year Event @ Valley Fair this Saturday

Westfield Valley Fair is hosting a cultural event on February 8th in celebration of the lunar new year. The agenda includes Shanxi drummers, martial arts demonstrations, a traditional lion dance, and calligraphy. The kids will also be well served with craft tables, photo booths, and student art.

The event runs from 11am to 2pm at J. Crew Court and you can RSVP at their Facebook event page right over here.

You're Invited! First to Market - New restaurant opening in the SoFA District

Opening this month in the SoFA District - First to Market, an American comfort food restaurant. 

Full disclosure before I get into the nitty gritty - I am friends with one of the owners. However, he didn't ask me to blog about it - but I am, because I know you would all want to know about what this new restaurant is about. 

Also because I'm inviting you, The San Jose Blog readers, to a special soft opening! But first, a little more about the restaurant...

First to Market, located on the street level of the Agenda building in the SoFA District will bring downtown signature dishes from Chef Domingo Wolbert such as Bison Tartare, Shrimp and Grits, and Housemade Tots to name just a few. They will also be the first restaurant in San Jose to carry an authentic Southern Country Ham. Their menu will be seasonal, allowing even regulars to continue to experience new tastes as the year goes on.

Owners Joe Gradillas and Jennifer Lin were both raised and educated in San Jose. Between them, they have extensive entrepreneur and restaurant experience; Gradillas has had success with several businesses downtown and Lin has a degree in Hospitality Management from SJSU along with a Culinary Arts degree from PCI.

When asked about the origin of the name, First to Market, this is what they had to say:

"It describes a time in US history when all food was made from scratch, and processed, shelf stable or frozen foods didn't dominate the shelves of pantries and refrigerators. This was a time when "supermarkets" didn't exist, and to plan a celebration, family members would have to plan early trips to the local market, to ensure they would have everything they need and get started on preparing the meal with ample time to finish. We want the food to be reminiscent of that time, when rich flavors came from the love of preparing a meal from scratch for the entire day. However, we have a running joke that we chose the name because we are literally located on First street, between First and Market Street."

Because starting any new business can be adventurous, the owners have started a small fundraising campaign to help cushion the first months of opening. If you'd like to help them out - check out their indiegogo.com campaign here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-bring-american-regional-cuisine-to-downtown-san-jose

They haven't forgotten about where they are, the SoFA District. Art and community is a big part of that area of Downtown (First Fridays, SubZero, The ZERO1 Garage, etc) and to bring an element of that into the restaurant they will have one of their large walls dedicated to a local artist each month. Now, tooting my own horn for just a moment -- I was honored to be the first artist to showcase on their wall! As you walk in, you will see a handful of my photography pieces; I've themed my collection to include people and scenes from the South Bay/San Jose area. Be sure to check them out and see what you recognize.

Now here's the fun part - for me, and for you, of course.

You are invited to a soft-opening as my guest!

Join me, Josh, and others as we welcome First to Market to the SoFA District.

Special Event

Date: Friday, February 21st 

Time: 5pm to 9pm
Address: 399 S 1st Street, San Jose

Bring your friends and mix and mingle as you check out the newly decorated building, meet the owners, and best of all - get a chance to taste a select menu! Items will be available as appetizers to sample, FREE to guests. 

We really hope you can make it out, as we'd love to get a chance to meet with our loyal readers! Please let us know you'll be joining us via the comments, Twitter or Facebook!

If you miss the soft-opening, stop by after February 25th when they will officially be open!

Downtown Illumination Project Takes a Step Forward

The Office of Cultural Affairs nabbed a $600,000 ArtPlace America grant a couple years back to implement several art projects Downtown. The first two are moving forward with the adoption of a resolution to execute an agreement with Dan Corson, who will be responsible for the artwork at Highway 87 & Santa Clara as well as Highway 87 & San Fernando. We also have more details on the project itself.

The Santa Clara Street project will be called Sensing You and will include a mural covering the columns and "underside" of the overpass as well as LED lighting elements. Sounds great so far, no? It gets better. The project includes sensors that cause the artwork to react based on the volume of pedestrian traffic. There will also be a partnership with Google's Nitanic Lab--creators of the augmented reality game Ingress--that will allow players to have special abilities to interact with the artwork. Awesome.

Over at San Fernando Street, the project will be entitled Sensing Water. The LED artwork will vary day to day and season to season based on information taken from the Guadalupe River.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing both of these come to life, as well as the other artwork and interactive exhibits that the grant will bring Downtown!

Hat tip to Brent Pearse for sending this in.

Highway 87 & Santa Clara Street

Highway 87 & San Fernando Street

Downtown San Jose Office Vacancy Falls Below 20%

After several years of 20%+ vacancy in the Downtown office submarket we have finally broken that barrier. In the 4th quarter of 2013, vacancy dropped from 20.9% to 19.5%. The total amount of office space Downtown is 8.4 million SQFT and the average rents are around $2.74, far below most parts of Silicon Valley.

The notable 2013 leases mentioned in the Silicon Valley Business Journal article are:

• Apigee (moved from Palo Alto) - 41,000 SQFT @ 10 Almaden
• Bridge Bank - 18,500 SQFT expansion @ 55 Almaden
• Miller Morton - 15,000 SQFT @ 50 West San Fernando
• CiperCloud - 20,000 SQFT @ 333 West San Carlos

While 19.5% is still quite high--especially compared to Palo Alto and Mountain View--the trend is very positive. The previous quarter also saw a 1% drop in vacancies. With more residential towers on the way and a booming restaurant scene, I fully expect vacancies to continue to decrease. Downtown San Jose is perhaps Silicon Valley's best kept secret regarding office space. Rates are low, the area is easily walkable with great access to mass transit, easy access to the airport, hundreds of restaurants and bars, a renovated convention center, tons of hotels, the SAP center, and now we even have a patent office.

Source: SVBJ

LastLightBender

San Jose Makes Global Momentum Index!

Commercial real estate services company Jones Lang LaSalle has identified cities around the world that have the combination of strong socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum, as well as longer-term foundations for success. The company has created the "City Momentum Index" where San Jose ranks quite well and is sitting shoulder to shoulder with great international cities. At 9th place on the list, San Jose is nestled between Hong Kong (8th) and Singapore (10th). New York comes in at #6 while San Francisco commanded the top spot. LA is 15th on the list, Boston is 17th, and Seattle is 18th.

The factors in the index include economic output, population, Fortune 2000 HQs, foreign direct investment, commercial real estate construction/absorption/prices, higher education infrastructure, technology/venture capital, and innovation capability.

You never in a million years would have found San Jose on a list like this a couple of decades ago--we've really come a long way. Looking forward to seeing where all this momentum will take us.

You can access the full article over here. Hat tip to Todd Horvitz for sending this in.

Original Joe's Featured on the Travel Channel

Source: I Heart SJ