New Live-Work Project in Downtown San Jose

Barry Swenson Building is finally moving forward on a half-acre parcel that was acquired almost 15 years ago. The empty parking lot at the corner of N. 4th St. and E. Julian St. will be transformed into a modern and unique 13-unit live-work project. These types of projects are very rare in Silicon Valley. The ground floor is setup to accommodate small businesses such as an office or store while the owners of the business would live upstairs. There is also the option to do nothing on the ground floor and live in it as a 3-story townhome.

It's a great concept that I hope we'll see more of in San Jose. In other areas these types of projects have helped transform neighborhoods. With one the highest rates of entrepreneurship in the country, this seems like an ideal time for live-work units in San Jose.

Barry Swenson Builder is going to self-fund the project, which means it can start construction immediately after getting all of the entitlements (targeted for summer).

Source: SVBJ

Searchlight San Jose: Setting Sail on the Mighty Guadalupe

Brown water adventures in San Jose... what?? Searchlight San Jose has discovered that you can do urban kayaking runs up the Guadalupe River! Head over here for all the details and check out the video below of the Stanford Kayak Club pulling off some impressive tricks near 880.

Oh, and while you are at Searchlight San Jose, you might as well "Dress Up Quetzy." Quetzy is the nickname for the statue in the middle of Plaza de Cesar Chavez that looks like a giant turd. Not a bad idea considering that any changes you make can only be an improvement over what it looks like today. This reminds me of the famous Manneken-Pis statue in Brussels that gets dressed up regularly for special events.

Milpitas Getting Massive 18-Story Tower - 4th Tallest Building in Santa Clara County

This is going to be one of the rare posts here that is not directly tied to San Jose. This news represents that times are changing in Silicon Valley and residents are going to have to start becoming more and more comfortable with high-rise buildings, even outside of traditional urban centers like Downtown San Jose.

Milpitas is about to get a whopper of a tower. While it looks short below, the proposed 18-story tower would be 277 feet high. This makes it taller than the Sobrato Tower, Three Sixty Residences, the San Jose Marriott, any of the Adobe Towers, and the Fairmont Hotel. It would be more than double the height of any building currently in Milpitas. The fact that it looks stubby belies its true size. Only 3 structures in Santa Clara County would be taller, meaning it is extremely wide and a gargantuan building for the South Bay.

The Milpitas tower would be mixed-use in every sense of the terminology. The first two floors would consist of 150,000 SQFT of retail, the third floor would have 50,000 SQFT of office space, and the next 15 floors would have 375 for-sale condos (average of 25 per floor). There is also an attached 8-story parking garage.

The tower is going to be built on three-acres that used to be a former Chevrolet dealership between two Asian-themed shopping centers. Price tag? Expect something in the $250 million to $300 million range. The builder (Singpoli) is already assembling a construction team and is planning to break ground in the next 12 months.

List of Tallest Buildings in Santa Clara County

• The 88 (San Jose) - 286 feet
• San Jose City Hall (San Jose) - 285 feet
• Hoover Tower (Stanford) - 285 feet
• Landmark Tower (Milpitas) - 277 feet
• Sobrato Office Tower (San Jose) - 270 feet

Source: SVBJ

San Jose Harvest Festival Kicks Off Today

The San Jose Harvest Festival starts today and continues all the way through Sunday. Instead of going to the mall, why not look for more unique and personal gifts at one of the largest indoor arts and crafts festivals. Over 24,000 items will be available for purchase, all handmade in the US.

The event is located at the San Jose Convention Center and also includes live music, entertainment, and kid's zone, and festival foods. Tickets are $9 for general admission, $7 for seniors, and $4 for kids. For more information, head over here.

Top Rated Craft Show Boasts Shopping, Music, Food and Prizes

(San Jose, Calif.)--- Don't be fooled by empty "door buster" deals designed to lure you to the Big Box retail stores this Black weekend. For a truly enjoyable shopping experience, visit the San Jose Harvest Festival®, November 28-30 at the San Jose Convention Center, and help support the independent artisan instead.

The San Jose Harvest Festival® is one of the largest indoor arts and craft shows on the West Coast and was recently rated among the top 200 craft shows in the country.  The show offers over 24,000 handmade arts and crafts, including original art, jewelry, photography, clothing, specialty foods, holiday decor, and more.

Many of the artists at the Harvest Festival offer bargains and show specials that can only be obtained at the event. Plus, attendees can meet the artists and can often get their purchases personalized. There will be a grab bag prize drawing each day, and the Grand Prize drawing, happening of the show, features a brand new ipad mini.

Throughout the weekend, the Harvest Festival offers upbeat live music, including performances from Tom Rigney and Flambeau, a band that blends American Roots styles into a completely original sound, mixing infectious grooves with deep musicality and spectacular solos. On Saturday afternoon, there will be a special one time performance by the Sweet Adeline's.

Gingerbread on the Go will co-host the KidZone and will feature make-and-take gingerbread cookie projects. Nature of Art for Kids, an eco-friendly company offering non-toxic art supplies for children, will also be participating by offering crafts using "green" and repurposed materials. Plus, parents can stop by the New York Life booth to obtain a free Child ID kit.

The Harvest Festival will welcome back its official non-profit partner, Humane Society Silicon Valley, a charity committed to animal welfare in every facet. Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) will receive half of the proceeds from shopping bag sales and all of the proceeds from the bag and parcel check.

Loaves and Fishes, a San Jose based non-profit organization which serves free, nutritious meals to the working poor, families, homeless and seniors, will be the food donation partner for the show. Anyone who brings a monetary or non-perishable food donation to the show will receive $2 off their admission.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincere warm wishes to you and your families from your friends at The San Jose Blog!

Wednesday Wishlist: Michelin Star Restaurants (2015 Edition)

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I'm going my 6th annual rant on needing to get some internationally recognized Michelin-starred restaurants in San Jose! The Michelin guide is the most renowned rubric for measuring culinary greatness, and for the most part San Jose restaurants have been excluded from its pages. However, I think the foodie culture is continuing to build momentum in San Jose, especially Downtown. I'm continuing to be optimistic for the future!

Michelin has three different star categories:

• One Star - A very good restaurant in its category with cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.
• Two Stars - Excellent cuisine, skillfully and carefully crafted dishes of outstanding quality. Worth a detour.
• Three Stars - Exceptional cuisine with distinctive dishes and superlative ingredients. Worth a special journey.

I created a Google doc listing all of the star recipients for 2015, along with tabs for all previous years and some general statistics. Below is an image capture from the doc. This year there were a total of 40 restaurants on the list, which is up 2 from last year and down from the peak of 47 in 2012. 53% of the restaurants are locating in SF, 25% in Wine Country, 20% in Silicon Valley (split evenly between the South Bay and the Peninsula), and 3% in the East Bay. There are two new restaurant on the list this year, Kusakabe and Maruya (both Japanese) as well as three upgrades: Saison and Benu now have the elusive 3-star rating and Acquerello was upgraded to 2 stars. No restaurants from 2014 were dropped.

I will also mention that there are some restaurants in the Michelin guide that do not get a star, but are considered "Michelin Recommended." Within this category San Jose scored a total of 10 restaurants:

• Downtown
• Vung Tau
• Back A Yard
• The Alameda
• Zona Rosa (NEW)
• North San Jose
• Smoking Pig BBQ
• South San Jose
• Bun Bo Hue An Nam
• Thien Long
• Willow Glen
• The Table (NEW)
• Fratello
• Camden
• Rangoli
• Zeni

Zona Rosa and The Table are two well-deserved additions. Unfortunately, there were some restaurants from 2014 that did not make the cut this year: SJ Omogari in Japantown, La Costa in East San Jose, LB Steak in Santana Row, and Pizza Antica which is also in Santana Row. If we don't get some stars, at the very least we'll hopefully get more Michelin Recommended or Bib Gourmand restaurant ratings in 2016. If you haven't been to the restaurants above, I can vouch that all 9 are well worth checking out.

Source: Michelin Guide

$120 Million Santana Row Office Project is a Go

Last week Federal Realty started working on their latest project at Santana Row--a six-story 232,000 SQFT office building next to the CineArts Movie Theater. The building is designed with loft-style soaring ceilings and the large floor plates that contemporary Silicon Valley companies love these days. The new office will also add one extra retail space (probably a cafe) and net an additional 500 parking spaces that can be used by shoppers during evenings and weekends.

Also on tap is an additional 500,000 SQFT of office space across two more buildings, one of which features 30,000 SQFT of retail. These are in the city approvals stage, so we won't be seeing shovels for either of them any time soon. When complete, they will finish the original vision for Santana Row. Fortunately, Federal Realty still has plenty of expansion options across the street.

Source: SVBJ

Downtown San Jose Restaurant List Updates! (2014 Edition)

I have finally caught up with updating the Downtown San Jose Restaurants database (it has been a while, sorry about that). We are up to a grand total of 250 eateries! This is yet another record-breaking number for Downtown San Jose! To put it in perspective we were at 206 eateries in 2011.

We are up to an all time high despite some notable closures such as Blackbird Tavern, Bella Mia, and Los Gatos Brewing Company. I'm sad to see those go, but there are so many great places that opened in 2014 that I think more than makes up for the losses. Here are some of the newcomers:

• C.R.E.A.M - The famous ice cream sandwich chain opens a new shop Downtown on 1st street. Open until 2am on weekends, you will almost always see a line out the door... but don't worry it moves deceptively fast.
• Paper Plane - Not only do they serve up amazing craft cocktails here, but they have a menu that is up to par with their drinks. Try the deviled eggs and pork belly chicharron.
• First to Market - Great traditional American cuisine in SoFA, brought to you by one of the same founders as Singlebarrel.
• Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse - Downtown gets a Brazilian steakhouse again! Great selection of meats and a sidebar with salads and Brazilian delicacies for when you need to take a protein break.
• Power Bowl - New healthy offering with Acai-based fruit bowls and smoothies.
• Garlic Bread - Finally open and providing tasty BBQ in Fountain Alley.
• Ozu Sushi - Sushi place taking the baton from Smile Sushi.
• Da Kine Island Grill - Traditional Hawaiian food, often accompanied by music, entertainment, and drinks.
• Nomikai - Asian tapas and fusion pizzas along with craft drinks.
• Louisiana Bistro - Cajun delicacies with a nice kick to them.
• Nick the Greek - Best casual Greek spot in Silicon Valley. Killer food at reasonable prices.
• Boba Bar Teahouse & Eatery - New Boba spot right next to SJSU.
• San Pedro Square Market
• Arepa Swing - Unique Venezuelan arepa eatery.
• Spuds - Awesome potato bar where you can get everything from BBQ pork potatoes to Italian Pesto potatoes. Great food and great service, one of my new favorites at the SPSM.
• SoFA Market (NEW!)
• Falafel Bar - Today's flagship offering at the new SoFA Market. The falafels here are out of this world and you can customize your sandwich or bowl any way you'd like.
• Vero's Coffee - Yet another outstanding coffee shop Downtown. I recommend the Mexican Mocha.
• Other Places Coming Soon
• Ramen Bar and Pizza Place in the SoFA Market
• M Lounge Bar and Restaurant (in the P.F. Chang Spot)
• The Continental in SoFA

Below is the changelog from the Downtown San Jose Restaurants Database:

1/4/2014	8 Treasure Restaurant replaced Asian Gourmet at 150 S. First
1/4/2014	Power Bowl is open at 132 E. San Fernando (was once Blendz)
1/4/2014	Ninja Star Sushi closed
1/4/2014	Added Sweet Express to the list
1/5/2014	Ozu Sushi & Grill replaces Smile Sushi
1/5/2014	Tico's Tacos Closed, the oldest Downtown restaurant I had a confirmed opening date for (1957)
2/9/2014	Added First to Market, at 399 S. 1st
2/9/2014	Added hours and Yelp info to CREAM, one of the few dessert shops open late
2/9/2014	Added Louisiana Bistro at 19 N. Market
3/22/2014	Zenon's Peruvian closed on 167 San Fernando but has been replaced with Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse
4/28/2014	La Victoria is taking over the old Tico's Tacos site at 291 N. Fourth and Julian
5/11/2014	Added M Lounge Bar and Restaurant, which is taking over the P.F. Chang's location at 98 S. 2nd Street
6/15/2014	Added Arepa Swing and Spuds (coming soon), both in the San Pedro Square Market
6/15/2014	Added Nick the Greet at 143 W. Santa Clara St.
6/15/2014	Added Mid GoGo at 185 Park Ave, #189
6/15/2014	Added Cafe Eden at 2 N. 1st St.
6/15/2014	Added Seven Seas Sushi at 130 E. Santa Clara (replaces Ninja Star Sushi)
6/29/2014	House of Siam closed (owners reopening Tee Nee Thai on The Alameda)
9/29/2014	Los Gatos Brewing Company Closed (to be replaced with gaming lounge and bar)
10/7/2014	Blackbird Tavern Closed
11/22/2014	Bella Mia Closed due to escalating rents
11/22/2014	City Restaurant at 301 E. Santa Clara Street replaced with Bobo Drinks
11/22/2014	Hydration replaced with Boba Bar Teahouse & Eatery
11/22/2014	Added Garlic Bread in Fountain Alley

If you haven't bookmarked it yet, here's the link to the spreadsheet! There is also a permanent link over to the right entitled Downtown San Jose Restaurants.