Rising popstar Celeste Doshi brings brat summer to town

It's finally the weekend, so what better time to promote a local San Jose artist. Celeste Doshi is an indie pop singer-songwriter known for her emotionally charged and edgy lyrics. Her debut single, "I Wish I Never Met You," was released on July 1st and showcases her brutally honest songwriting style, capturing the feelings of heartbreak and frustration. 

The song is produced by Emmy Award-winning composer Mike Meiers. Celeste's music has been compared to the style of Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray. She has performed at various venues in San Jose and Los Gatos and was selected to participate in the Mastermind Songwriting Retreat in Nashville in 2023. Celeste is working on her debut EP, "twentysomething," set to be released in 2025, which promises to delve deeper into the experiences of a sensitive young woman navigating the complexities of life.

You can listen to her first single here!

Other Links:

Spotify

Apple Music

Insta

TikTok

MOMENT Sidewalk Shops - new monthly popup event in Downtown San Jose

MOMENT has made great strides in bringing retail back to Downtown San Jose. The original four retail spots in San Pedro Square have been successful and MOMENT has recently expanded to the Paseo of San Antonio. Now they are doing a monthly pop-up experience at both locations.

Over 25 vendors will be right outside both clusters of MOMENT shops this Saturday, July 27th from 1pm to 6pm. For more info, head over here.

Source: 408Nate

Downtown San Jose gets a new retail store called Velvet House at 50 Post

Downtown San Jose is great for many things, but retail has historically not been one of them. This is slowly starting to change with great projects like MOMENT and pockets of activity here and there. The newest store I just found out about is called Velvet House and it's a women's "fashion forward" shop.

The owner Dayna Moya Gonzalez and her husband George are East San Jose natives that opened The Club on Post last year. This is one of Downtown San Jose's best brunch spots and has the absolute best Espresso Martini in San Jose. Velvet House is right across the street and is a brick-and-mortar extension of Dayna's online business.

The store features a variety of clothing and accessories. I am not going to pretend to know anything about women's clothing, but can say that there seem to be options for every occasion and prices are very reasonable. The location at 50 Post is right in the Historic District, steps away from great food and San Jose's nightlife.

For more info on Downtown's newest store, head over here.

New single family housing suburb proposed for San Jose's Almaden district

If you thought single family construction was over in San Jose, guess again. Latala Homes plans to build 177 new detached homes, averaging just under 2,500 SQFT per home at 20202 Harry Road. 36 of those homes will be designated as affordable for low-income households. The site is currently an empty field so no demo work would be necessary.

Before the urbanists get up in arms, this is already as deep into the suburbs as you can possibly get. There is nothing walkable anywhere near here and there probably never will be. If you're wondering where Harry Road is, it's where Almaden Expressway literally dead-ends. That is how deep this project is into Almaden. The silver lining is you can go horseback riding or visit one of San Jose's most romantic and isolated restaurants, La Foret, with a short drive.

Based on the area, I think most of these homes will likely go for around $1,000/SQFT, so you're probably looking at a range of $2M-$3M depending on how wide the range of home sizes will be.

Source: SF YIMBY

Angkor Chef has official ribbon cutting

Angkor Chef started their soft opening in November, but the restaurant and bar are now formally complete. I love this restaurant for a many reasons. It's the first dedicated Cambodian restaurant in Downtown San Jose, the food is delicious, it has clean modern decor, service is friendly, and everything is reasonably priced. It also has quite the story.

Chef Channy Laux is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide. At 13, she dealt with starvation, sickness, and repeated separation rom her family. In 1979 she made it to Lincoln Nebraska as a refugee and ended up earning a Bachelors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln followed by a Masters in Applied Math from SCU. She then worked as a Silicon Valley engineer for 30 years and now this is her passion project.

Angkor Chef features iconic Cambodian dishes with a focus on noodles, stir-fries, and umami-rich Prahok dishes. All the sauces are made from scratch using produce and herbs sourced from local refugee farmers and imported spices from Cambodia. Some of the sauces are also bottled and sold, one has even won awards (Lemongrass Paste). You don't have to take my word for it, Angkor has a rare 4.5 star rating on Yelp.

Angkor Chef is open Tues-Thur from 11:30am-9pm, Friday from 11:30am-10pm, and Saturday from 12pm to 10pm. It's closed on Sunday and Monday. You can also order pickup or delivery over here.

San Jose becomes the first city in California to allow homeowners to sell ADUs

In order to solve for housing shortages, skyrocketing rents, and dizzying mortgages we have to think outside the box. San Jose just took a significant step to increase the housing supply and provide more low cost options.

San Jose already is one of the most accommodating cities when it comes to building an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on your property. On a typical single-family lot, a homeowner can build a detached ADU up to 1,000 SQFT or an attached ADU up to 800 SQFT. Now, instead of just renting out the ADU, you can actually sell it as a condominium.

This will encourage more people to built them in their backyards and open up low-cost homeownership for more people, especially those early on in their careers. Some ADUs are quite nice, like the 500 SQFT one mentioned in the source link below.

San Jose is already receiving four times as many requests to build ADUs as San Francisco. In fact, even homebuilders like Robson Homes are including them as options for new housing projects in San Jose. 

Source: ABC7 News

Frozen sing-along today at The Tech Interactive

The Tech Interactive is collaborating with Broadway San Jose for a sing-along event featuring what is still one of the most popular children's movies. Kids can belt out their favorite tunes and dance with Elsa, Anna, and Olaf during this one-day event. It runs from 10:30am-12:30pm at The Tech.

Sazon Latin Food Festival in San Jose

The Sazon Latin Food Festival is coming to the Japantown area next month. This free, family-friendly event celebrates the rich diversity of Latin American cuisine and culture, featuring food from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, along with live Latin music. 

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, August 31st and Sunday, September 1st, 2024
Time: 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location: Gordon Biersch Brewing Company at 357 E Taylor St, San Jose, CA 95112

Event Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sazon-latin-food-festival-in-san-jose-two-days-family-friendly-tickets-889886543607

Highlights:

• A dozen food vendors offering authentic Latin American dishes

• Merchandise vendors with unique items reflecting Latin American culture

• Family-friendly activities such as face painting and henna

• Live salsa music band performing