Downtown San Jose restaurant updates

A couple weeks back, Nathan Donato-Weinstein from the San Jose Office of Economic Development had a slew of restaurant updates. I was going to break these out into separate posts, but in the interest of getting the news out quicker, here they are:

• Hobee's is full-steam ahead for their new diner and beer garden at 261 N. Second St. in the coming weeks 
• City staff are working with restaurateurs for two high-profile locations: 
• The former Togo's space at 18 N. San Pedro St. is destined for an exciting Thai restaurant 
• The former Curry On (née Taqueria San Jose) at 241 E. Santa Clara St. will host a unique new burger concept (I've always thought there was plenty of room for burgers in Downtown.) 
• Don't miss two old Santa Clara Street favorites, recently re-opened: 
• Fuji Sushi just re-opened at 56 W. Santa Clara St. and 
• ISO Beers has also recently re-opened after a renovation (it's perfect for happy hour after work). 
• Speaking of happy hour... Urban Putt has a new HH menu Tuesday-Thursday (check it out here). While you're there, you might as well play a few holes.. (9 holes is just $11). 
• Time flies… SoFA Market will be celebrating its 10^th anniversary this fall (stay tuned for details)… Stop by its beloved Fountainhead Bar, which is under the new ownership of Uyen Nguyen with a background in biomedical, venture capital, and investing who also owns NUE, a well-reviewed restaurant in Seattle.  
• You may have seen new signage at San Jose's Downtown Food Hall (operated by Cloud kitchens). Masala Pizza [Josh: pictured below] will be occupying a front-of-house walk-up window in just a few weeks. Stay tuned for more announcements as additional restaurant concepts are being added shortly.

 

"The Other Mr. Lincoln" A World Premiere Musical

Event Title: "The Other Mr. Lincoln" A World Premiere Musical

When: Oct 10th & 11th @ 8pm, Oct 12th  @ 2PM & 8PM

Where: Hammer Theatre Center in Downtown San Jose, CA

From the tumultuous times of 1860's to the 1920's, this musical shows you life-changing events, as seen through the eyes of Robert Lincoln, who was there at all of those events! The only man in history who was! Spy intrigue, thwarting conspiracies to prevent his father from taking office, Robert lives through three Presidential assassinations. And so do you! But it’s so much more! Witness a “Scandalous” Suffragette Movement protest, and then a “Twilight Zone”-type finale!

You are entertained, enthralled, and yes, even educated! With a 12-piece orchestra playing 11 different genres of music, from ballads to ragtime, from salsa to opera, and from conspiracy concerto to rock ‘n’ roll, it takes you through history you only thought you knew! 

Swades Indian Festival today

In addition to the Jazz Festival, there is a second major event happening Downtown today to celebrate Indian Independence Day. It features tons of food, live music, cultural performances, a Bollywood open air concert, and a night market with over 100 vendor booths.

Admission is $10 per person and it is kid-friendly (kids under 12 are free). For more info, click here.

San Jose Jazz Summer Fest Lineup

This event needs absolutely no promotion, but below is the lineup for Summer Fest 2024. You have every genre of Jazz you can imagine across multiple stages all throughout the weekend in Downtown San Jose.

For tickets and more information, head over to the San Jose Jazz website.

X (Twitter) is relocating Bay Area staff to San Jose

After 18 years, X (formerly Twitter) is leaving San Francisco and is relocating staff to San Jose and Palo Alto. While the headquarters is officially moving to Austin, they are still keeping operations in the Bay Area and could have stayed in SF. However, the main reasons for the move are crime, homelessness, rampant drug use outside the office, and a city tax structure that makes it unsustainable for financial payments companies to exist (X is moving into payments soon).

I cannot find where the existing X offices are today in San Jose (UPDATE: it's Santana Row and I blogged about it five years ago 🤦‍♂️) ...

...but Downtown San Jose would be the perfect location for those coming from SF. Not only is Caltrain a valid option, but the ease of access to to restaurants and things to do outside the office rivals their old location with far fewer of the issues that plagued X employees.

Below is the email to X employees from Linda Yaccarino, X CEO.

Source: Fortune

Paseo de San Antonio Block Party on Aug 15th

The Urban Vibrancy Institute's Block Party series continues next week in the Paseo De San Antonio District of Downtown San Jose. The event is focused on highlighting over 30 businesses in the Paseo area, including Campus Burgers which is all the rave right now. 

The block party will also feature live music from a local band, delicious food and drinks, tours of new businesses, local markers & artists, and various activities.

The event runs from 5pm to 9pm on August 15th and starts at 101 Paseo de San Antonio.

Calibunga Sales

Sadly, the summer is already coming towards an end. Calibunga (formerly Raging Waters) is doing a sale until tomorrow, August 8th. Tickets are now $39 for adults and $35 for kids, those under 2 years-old are still free. 

This could be the last opportunity to enjoy the relaunched park until next season. There will be a new year-round wine bar and entertainment venue, but we still don't have an ETA on when that will be available.

Discounted tickets are available today and tomorrow over here.

New rooftop beer garden and restaurant in Willow Glen

Copita, backed by celebrity-chef Joanne Weir, made a big splash in Willow Glen last year.  Not only were the food and cocktails on point, but it brought a really nice 2nd floor outdoor terrace to one side of Downtown Willow Glen. Another new restaurant called Luke's Rooftop Beer Garden and Restaurant will bring the same vibe to the other side of Willow Glen. 

Luke's is owned by the same proprietor as Water Tower Kitchen in Campbell and the former Blush Raw Bar at the San Pedro Square Market. The vision for Luke's is that it will be kid-friendly on the ground floor and be an ideal date-night spot for adults on the upper terrace.

The menu will be California cuisine with local ingredients. The rooftop beer garden will have 18-20 rotating beers on tap.

With San Jose's awesome weather, it's surprising that more restaurants have not opted to build rooftop terraces. The only other one I can think of that is coming is Eox & Nyx in Downtown San Jose. Willow Glen is especially well suited for this since you have a single beautiful street where all the restaurants and businesses are concentrated.

Luke's should be coming in a year or so. The address is 1093 Minnesota Ave (next to the Starbucks) and it will be a significant improvement to the area as you can see from the images below.

Source: The Mercury News