Tea Alley now open Downtown

The Historic District in Downtown San Jose has a new boba spot. Tea Alley serves up their drinks in cool little light bulbs that twinkle while you drink--a neat techie twist to milk tea. They also have a kitchen serving up stuffed chicken breast and other snacks.

The location is conveniently located next to a Light Rail stop at 40 South First Street. Given there is plenty of nightlife within two blocks, Tea Alley is also open late. They open at noon and close at midnight Monday through Thursday, 2am (!) Friday and Saturday, and 11pm on Sunday.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

BALDWIN opened their first Bay Area store at Santana Row

San Jose has scored another exclusive retail launch. BALDWIN is a boutique clothing retailer featuring premium American-made denim. The Kansas City-based label was lauded by both GQ Magazine and Vogue. Their first location in Northern California just opened last week at Santana Row.

To celebrate, BALDWIN is hosting a grand opening celebration from March 22-25. Visitors will receive a complimentary tote bag and 20% off a purchase of $200 or more.

For more about BALDWIN, check out their website over here.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is returning to Downtown San Jose

WWDC 2018 will take place in San Jose for the second year in the row. This is Apple's largest event and it will take over the McEnery Convention Center as well as various other parts of Downtown from June 4-8.

The conference starts with a keynote that goes over the latest software releases for MacOS and iOS devices. Often times, major new hardware is announced as well. Last year the Apple Homepod as well as new iPads and an iMac Pro were all revealed.

The 2017 event appeared to be a huge success. Thousands of attendees roamed Downtown and multiple parallel events related to the Apple community also took place in the area. Feedback from attendees on location was very positive. The true test of success was that Apple chose to run the event in San Jose again this year instead of returning the conference to Moscone in San Francisco. Hopefully the 2018 event will be even better than last year's conference.

If you are a developer and are interested in attending, all you need to do is sign up for a lottery by March 22nd for a chance to spend $1,599 on a conference pass.

Source: SVBJ

St. Patrick's Day in San Jose

Rick Jensen from the San Jose Downtown Association has some great recommendations for St. Patty's in the latest edition of Downtowner Online. O'Flaherty's is always going to be a great option, but if you can't make it in (and it is guaranteed to be packed), there is a new Mexican Irish bar on E. San Fernando called San Patricios that is worth visiting. Check out Rick's recommendations below and subscribe to the newsletter over here.

Saturday – St. Patrick’s Day – Happy St. Patrick’s Day, San Jose! Don’t forget to wear green while you celebrate in downtown SJ at one of our many dining options. Spend the evening feeling festive and lucky with a drink in hand at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub St. Patrick's Day Celebration, a downtown favorite venue which is packed every year on this holiday!
Besides O'Flaherty's, Liveandlocalsj.com reports other music options: 

• St. Patrick’s Day Concert with Peter Daldry, Cap and Iain at Art Boutiki
• Jay Meduri Tribute to Van Morrison at Poor House Bistro
• Casey Wickstrom & the Irish Rogues at the Brit

San Jose's Vietnam Town getting major upgrades

Vietnam Town is a 20-acre commercial and retail development near Happy Hollow and Kelly Park. The project has had ups and downs including multiple sales and bankruptcies, but it does feature several great shops, Vietnamese restaurants, and cafes.

The next phase for Vietnam Town is called District One, a 100,000+ SQFT project with dozens of retail condos (store owners will buy part of the building as opposed to leasing) and another parking garage. The new development is inspired by Santana Row and will feature entertainment/programming centered around Asian holidays and celebrations. Instead of just more shopping and restaurants, the focus will be on creating a lively atmosphere.

The Vietnam Town owner is working on final city approvals and hopes to open District One by 2019.

Source: SVBJ

March 2018 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Even though the San Jose Redevelopment Agency has been shut down for years, the Successor Agency is still intertwined in several Downtown projects.
• Twin 17-story residential towers are proposed at 255 W. Julian St. with 653 units, 10,254 SQFT of retail, and luxury amenities such as a rooftop pool.
• The City Council has lowered parkland fees for highrise projects given fewer people on average live in each unit versus other types of multi-family housing. Highrises are defined as buildings 12 stories or higher.
• Two new pieces of Burning Man artwork are being added to San Jose as part of the "Playa to Paseo" program. One will be placed in Plaze de Cesar Chavez while the other is on the paseo between the two Fairmont towers.
• Several city streets are going to be resurfaced and sealed in Downtown San Jose, including portions of 3rd Street, 4th Street, Almaden Avenue, San Carlos, St. John, San Salvador, and Viola Street.

To read the newsletter, click here!

Habana Cuba is moving to the SoFA Market

One of the best restaurants in Midtown is moving Downtown. Habana Cuba has been a staple on Race Street for 16 years and features some of the best Cuban food in the Bay Area. Now it will be a part of the SoFA Market, which is quickly becoming as successful as the San Pedro Square Market on the other side of Downtown. If anything, Habana Cuba's cuisine will become more accessible to residents and visitors at the new location.

Habana Cuba is closing the doors on the Race Street location on March 24th, and will open in the SoFA Market shortly thereafter.

Source: The Merc

New hotel proposed for SoFA

A 110 room hotel with two level of underground parking is proposed for South 2nd Street and Reed, which is part of San Jose's artsy SoFA neighborhood. San Jose hotels have been doing well enough to justify several new projects, especially in the Downtown area.

Once concern I have is how uninspired the drawing looks. Again, this is being proposed for San Jose's arts district. We can do better than prison aesthetics for this project. Perhaps the developer could let local artists do something creative with the exterior if they cannot afford a less generic design.

Source: The Merc