South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT - September 2024

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back with exhibits across multiple galleries in three different districts. Everything is open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, San Jose Jazz, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

It all goes down on Friday, September 6th. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across all three different districts.

This month is also a STREET MRKT indie urban art faire which overlaps with the art walk and runs from 5pm to 10pm. This bonus event features dozens of vendors and artists, turning the streets of SoFA into an outdoor art gallery. It also includes live music, food trucks, and a beer garden with local breweries (more details below).

South FIRST FRIDAYS presents: STREET MRKT indie urban art faire 

FIRST FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6th 5pm–10pm
Free admission (spend it with the Artists!).
Out on S. 1st St. (between San Carlos & William streets) in SoFA District

Join us out on So. 1st St. as artists transform the SoFA District into a unique and bustling outdoor gallery with their creative energy! Imaginative paintings & sculptures, glass art demos, fascinating bone jewelry, classic tattoo art, counterculture zines, and chic fashion are just some of the rare works you’ll find when you come out and support our amazing arts community. 

We’ll also have a great variety of delicious food trucks and a lively beer garden sponsored by & featuring: Clandestine Brewing Co., Fox Tale Fermentation, and Strike Brewing Co.

FEATURED ARTISTS:
Anthony Alva 
Rebecca Anguiano
BAGI / Bay Area Glass Institute 
Delilah Bender
The Blunt Letters
Julianne Bonnet
Emmanuel Cervantes Mejia 
Crossroads Trading Co.
Dario Cruz
Current Tattooing
Christina Del Alto
Jennifer DeChenne
Joseph Demaree
Mario Dimas
Lorenz Dumuk
Mahsa Emoventur
Force129
Cynthia Gonzalez
Jared Gochuico
Hand in Hand Henna
Higher Fire Clayspace
Maureen Holcomb
Jodi408
Sarah Loyola
Valentino Loyola
Joe Mandrick
Martha Gardens Arts
David Mejia
MEMBIT Inc.
Gianfranco Paolozzi 
Leslie Perez 
Betty Proper
Ragavon
Francisco Ramirez
Steven Regalado 
Marilyn Roaf aka Purl Bailey
Jacob Sandoval
Ricardo Sandoval 
Rene Schilling-Sears
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha
Sundry 3D Treasures
Nikkea Takagi
Heylu Wheat
plus great music provided by
UNGRAMR SND SYSTEM out on S 1st Street

–>  BEER GARDEN 
5:00 – 10:00pm Great music provided by BIG LEE & Guiña
from On the Corner Music

Beer Garden sponsored by & featuring local & regional breweries: Clandestine Brewing Co., Fox Tale Fermentation, and Strike Brewing Co.

All ages welcome, must be 21+ w/ valid ID to drink beer.

STREET MRKT is supported in part by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose.

More details on greatly enhanced electrified Caltrain schedules

Electrified trains have already been added to the Caltrain network, but they have been hamstrung by the old Diesel schedule. On September 21st, the system will change over to the fully electrified schedule and it is nothing but good news. Not only are the trains quieter and cleaner, but they are also much faster.

The slowest option from San Jose to San Francisco with 23 stops will go from 115 minutes to 83 minutes, shaving more than half an hour off the route. The 401 train goes from Diridon to SF and the route will go from 14 stops to 16 stops and STILL reduce the time from 76 minutes to 69 minutes. That Express (Baby Bullet) route from San Jose Diridon to SF will go from just 7 stops to 10 stops and reduce the time from 66 minutes to 59 minutes.

It's good news all around for transit enthusiasts, as well as traditional commuters along 101 and 280. More people taking Caltrain equals fewer cars clogging up roads and freeways. Caltrain is also the nicest transit options we have in the Bay Area outside of a few limited-stop AMTRAK routes.

Source: Trains.com

San Jose Downtown Association TownHall at the SAP Center

The SJDA hosted a TownHall meeting focused on professional sports and arts in Downtown San Jose last month. It's worth watching the whole 60min session below, but there were three tidbits that were news to me:

• There is interest in doing another "fiberglass shark" artist collaboration. This was a very successful program years ago where 100 shark statues were decorated by local artists and then auctioned for charity. Many you can still find throughout San Jose today.
• There was a push to have a restaurant week coincide with the Super Bowl. Thousands of people will be staying in the South Bay, not SF during that week. We need to make sure they patronize local restaurants and this would be great timing for a foodie event.
• Postgame concerts after the World Cup. There will be six World Cup games at Levi's and plans are forming to have a major concert/party after each one in Downtown San Jose.

You can watch the full recording below.

San Jose Lowrider Day

Today enjoy a free event highlighting Lowriders at San Jose City Hall from 12pm to 6pm. The plaza will be filled with Lowriders from car clubs, while street parking in front of City Hall will be open to all low riders first come, first serve.

There will also be food trucks parked along 4th Street.

4th Annual Vine to Wine at the San Pedro Square Market

The San Pedro Square Market is hosting the 4th Annual Vine to Wine event, a great opportunity to samples various wines and bites while listening to music. Tickets come with a souvenir glass and six different tastings. There will also be a marketplace with craft vendors and a chance to wine a 3-stop winery tour on the Morgan Hill Wine Trolly.

Below is a list of participating wineries. You can find more info and buy tickets over here.

PARTICIPATING GRAND TASTING WINERIES:

Bella Montagna

Calerrain Wines

Cinnabar Winery

Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards

Cottage Creek Vineyards

DeRose Winery

EmmaLily Vineyards

Fortino Winery

Guglielmo Winery

L&M Vineyard

Lightpost Winery

Lion Ranch Vineyards & Winery

Little Uvas Vineyard

Moose Mountains

Sarah's Vineyard

Satori Cellars

Solis Winery

Verde Vineyards

_________

PARTICIPATING BUBBLY BAR WINERIES:

Cottage Creek Vineyards

Guglielmo Winery

Fortino Winery

Lightpost Winery

Sarah's Vineyard

_________

PARTICIPATING DESSERT WINE BAR WINERIES:

Updated Weekly

Cinnabar Winery

Fortino Winery

Lightpost Winery

Levi's Stadium is getting $200M in upgrades before hosting both the Super Bowl and World Cup

Two of the largest sporting events in the world are coming to Levi's Stadium in 2026: the Super Bowl and multiple World Cup games. In fact it will be the only stadium to ever host both of those events in the same year. The 49ers and Levi's Stadium have recently announced major upgrades to the stadium--which originally cost $1.3 billion to build over 10 years ago.

It will get the largest 4K display in the entire league coming in at 13,000 SQFT. The stadium will also get a new LED field lighting system that will brighten playing surfaces for primetime games. Stadium and club areas will have a refreshed look and feel, and some of those upgrades will be in place this season.

Also part of the upgrade list is faster WiFi with 1,300 new access points as well as improved cellular services with new 5G systems by Verizon. The main concourse will get cashierless food and beverage stands to speed up service. There will be two new open-air patio bars and 120 remodeled luxury suites.

The total cost clocks in around $200 million. 90% of that will be financed by the 49ers and 10% will be from the Santa Clara Stadium Authority.

Source: San Jose Inside

Sharks Sidewalk Sale Aug 31st

The Sharks are doing a sidewalk sale this Saturday from 11am to 4pm. It's happening at 1500 S. 10th Street just south of Downtown San Jose and right outside Sharks Ice. There will also be Barracuda gear and a raffle for prizes.

Unique Cafes in San Jose

It looks like one of my favorite San Jose hyperlocal sites might be coming back! SJ Today just posted a list of unique cafes in San Jose. I definitely agree with the list which includes Nirvana Soul, K Cafe, Voyager, and many more. Check it out at the source link below.

Source: SJ Today

ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle Conference in San Jose

San Jose is aiming to become a major player in the AI space and part of that is hosting major AI-related events. Earlier this year, Nvidia hosted their largest annual conference in San Jose and they have already booked the McEnery Convention Center again for 2025.

This week the ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle conference is coming to San Jose and will host a variety of speakers from companies like Waymo. Self-driving cars aren't coming, they are already here thanks to the latest innovations in AI.

The event is taking place this Wednesday and Thursday at the Convention Center. If you're interested in learning more, you can register for this conference for free over here.

First T&T Supermarket in California is coming to San Jose

A new supermarket specializing in Asian groceries will be coming to West San Jose in 2025. T&T Supermarket will be the newest anchor tenant at Westgate Center (which is owned by the same company as Santana Row). The store will be 55,000 SQFT and take over the former Walmart space.

T&T's goal is to be more than just a place to grab groceries. They want it to be a destination for discovery, innovation, and bringing people together through food. The store will have live seafood tanks, a full-service meat counter, a BBQ counter, noodle station, dim sum, and a street food section, and even a made-to-order Chinese crepe station. Their bakery will have mochi puffs, egg tarts, and assorted pastries.

T&T Supermarkets has 33 stores, mostly in Canada but there are a couple stores in the US. This will be their first location in all of California.

Source: SiliconValley.com

Silicon Valley Pride Parade

The annual LGBTQ+ Pride Parade takes place today in Downtown San Jose. This year the route is from Julian Street to Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park on Market Street. The parade starts at 10:30am and continues until noon where it will end with a big festival in the park that lasts until 6pm.

This is the largest Pride festival in the South Bay and has run for 49 years, making it one of the longest-running Pride events in California. For more info, head over here.

Mama Kin

Mama Kin is a great intimate venue for Jazz and live music in Downtown San Jose's SoFA District. You can get a sneak peak of the show just by walking by, but they have a solid Southern-style food and drink menu on the inside. 

Performances are typically inexpensive and are a great centerpiece for a night out Downtown. DL Edwards & the Disciples are playing tonight, and you can get tickets over here.

To see the upcoming music lineup and menus, head here.

San Jose's AI incubator plan

One of San Jose's most prolific supporters, Gary Dillabough, is championing an "AI Center of Excellence" in Downtown San Jose. The goal would be to create an accelerator for dozens of AI startups in partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center and the City of San Jose.

Plug and Play is working on the concept and would run the day-to-day operations of the center. They are currently headquartered at 4420 N. Wolfe Road in Sunnyvale and have multiple innovation centers around the world. It's not clear where the Downtown San Jose location would be yet.

In addition to the incubator, there would also be a learning center whole goal is to get 7th through 12th graders inspired about AI and generate the next generation of entrepreneurs. There would also be a showcase featuring outcomes from the program. For a lot more details, check out the source link below.

Source: SVBJ

Grok2-generated image of "AI in San Jose"

Spartan Village on the Paseo

After several months of renovation, what was originally the Fairmont Annex tower will now be home to around 700 San Jose State University students that will be living there most of the year. Occupancy is already over 90% capacity. Students started moving in this past weekend.

This is one of the nicest student housing projects I have ever seen. Not only is it centrally located in Downtown San Jose, but it has a sky bridge lounge, a gaming lounge, video screening center, cafe, fitness room, and study rooms. Keep in mind that what are now dorms used to be the fanciest hotel rooms in San Jose and have a view of Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

This should have a significant impact on foot traffic and general ground floor activity around the tower. I think that will improve the retail scene, safety, and the overall vibe around Plaza de Cesar Chavez. It's a win all the way around except for the loss of a couple hundred hotel rooms. There are several new hotels being proposed that will hopefully fill in that gap.

Congratulations to the SJSU students moving into Spartan Village on the Paseo. Your college experience is going to be much nicer than previous generations!

Source: SiliconValley.com

Wishlist Wednesday: 3d printed homes in San Jose

We live in the epicenter of technological disruption and innovation, yet housing has changed very little in decades. Now we're starting to see some interesting ideas being tested in this space. A community called Wolf range in Georgetown, Texas (north of Austin) is being built by Lennar using a giant 3D printer. The machine is 45 feet wide and weighs almost 5 tons. 

The "ink" is a mixture of concrete powder, water, and sand. This makes the homes very resilient to extreme weather and increases waterproofing and energy efficiency dramatically. 

I have spent a lot of time in homes made out of concrete and stone throughout my life and can vouch that the level of insulation is excellent. Sometimes it can be a 20 degree difference between outdoor and indoor temperatures with very little heating or air conditioning needed. I can also attest that the one downside is WiFi signals will struggle to get through the walls as mentioned in the source article. A multi-router mesh network is ideal.

The 100-home project started in 2022 and should be done by the end of the summer. Each of the homes range from $450k to $600k and feature three to four bedrooms.

What makes me excited about this technology, is that with economies of scale the cost of homebuilding could decrease while delivering a better overall product. There is limited space for single family homes in San Jose, but this can easily be used for ADUs or even townhomes with a little effort. The cost of construction is one of the key variables keeping housing costs high, so any downward pressure on that will benefit homebuyers and help increase supple in Silicon Valley.

Source: Engadget

Mixed-use housing project proposed near Chuck E. Cheese

B3 Commercial LLC would like to build an eight-story, 138-unit housing project at 2470 Alvin Avenue in East San Jose. The compact project would fit on less than an acre and also feature 5,000 SQFT of retail on the ground floor. The project also appears to have a terrace on the penthouse floor, which is likely a community space.

The unit mix would be 24 studios, 83 one-bedrooms, 26 two-bedrooms, and 5 three-bedroom apartments. At least 20% of the units would have to be designated as affordable housing as B3 Commercial is using the builder's remedy loophole to expedite approval.

The location is right off of Tully, where the main landmark is the giant Chuck E. Cheese. The project would replace a single-story medical facility that used to be leased by Planned Parenthood.

If everything goes to plan, they would aim to start construction between 2026 and 2027, which would put a grand opening towards the end of the decade.

Source: SiliconValley.com

Google still investing in Downtown San Jose, outdoor dining and beer garden coming to Downtown West

Many have speculated that Google's plans to build a flagship office in Downtown San Jose near Diridon have been cancelled due to the state of the office market and tech worker's reluctance to return to physical offices. However, Google has continued to make small moves to show their intentions have not changed. This includes funding community programming (Creekside Socials) to bring people to "Downtown West" and beginning to prep various parcels they have assembled for eventual construction. This latest announcement marks one of the clearest signs that plans are still a go.

Google is now looking to fund new experiences and placemaking in the neighborhood. In early 2025 they plan to add food & beverage, health & wellness, and retail concepts along Barack Obama Boulevard and South Montgomery street. The goal is to create a lively street scene BEFORE the Google offices are built. I'll take it.

Google is partnered with Jamestown, development and real estate experts responsible for Ghirardelli Square in SF, Fourth Street in Berkeley, and both Chelsea Market and Pier 57 in NYC. The duo is eyeing 57 Barack Obama Boulevards for a beer garden and dining spots. It does have a cool industrial vibe to it that looks ripe for something trendy.

One of the first major construction projects will likely be an affordable housing project on the site of the old Orchard Supply Hardware store. Dirt has already been moved to clear the site.

The goal for early investment is to get others excited about developing here and truly creating a brand new district and ecosystem. It could easily evolve to have a better quality of life than Mountain View, as it's close to the biggest transit project on the West Coast and the 300+ eateries, bars, and entertainment venues in Downtown San Jose. That's not to mention the fact that housing close to this area is nearly a fraction of what you pay for Mountain View and Palo Alto.

Exiting times are ahead for Downtown West.

Source: The Mercury News

Santana Row ends free parking

Well, it finally happened. I think the writing was on the wall as soon as Valley Fair started charging for parking. After 20 years, Santana Row will start charging for parking. The first two hours will still remain free, but each additional hour will cost $2 with a daily cap of $10. Workers can park for $20 each month or $2 per day.

This is not just a money grab. Valley Fair employees and patrons started parking at Santana Row and walking across the street. The silver lining is that it will likely be much easier to find a parking space, especially during weekends and holidays where it can take a significant amount of time to find a spot. Paid parking tend to improve security as well in garages.

The parking system will be ticketless. Instead it will track license places and calculate time spent at the Row. It has been implemented in one garage so far, but the rest will soon follow. 

Source: San Jose Spotlight

The median home price in the San Jose metro hits $2M (!)

There are some leaderboards you just don't want to be at the top of, and this is one of them. The San Jose metro is the most expensive place to buy a home in the country, and we just set a new benchmark. The median (not average, but median) price of a single-family home in the San Jose metro is now over $2 million. This is a staggering amount anywhere in the world.

For comparison, San Francisco is ranked as the second most expensive place for single-family homes in the United States and the median price is $1.5 million.

We need creative solutions to work on reducing housing costs. On Wednesday I'll post an out-of-the-box idea that is very Silicon Valley.

Source: SFGATE  

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan supporting harsher penalties for criminals

Proposition 47 greatly reduced penalties for drug offenses and petty crimes. Unfortunately this resulted in dramatic increases in retail theft, which have all but shuttered large parts of San Francisco and other California cities. San Jose has been less impacted, as SJPD has still been aggressive about enforcing what they can.

Now there is a new proposal on the table, Proposition 36, that would bring back more severe penalties for smaller crimes. Instead of any theft less than $950 being categorized as a misdemeanor, repeat offenders could be charged with a felony. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is now fully championing Proposition 36 as a way to combat retail theft and improve safety across San Jose.

Prop 36 also takes a tougher stance on some drug crimes and gives prosecutors the ability to charge someone with a treatment-mandated felony. This will give some alternatives to prison for those that need medical assistance in combating addiction.

Some, including Governor Newsom, have pushed back citing potential increases in our prison population and costs associated with that. However, continuing to just do the same thing is clearly not working. Mahan believe that Prop 36 is not about mass incarceration but addressing repeat offenses and the need for more government accountability to create treatment services.

Having lower crime has significantly benefited San Jose recently, which has seen more and more businesses and shoppers heading south.

Source: The Mercury News

Starlight Cinema - free outdoor screening of To Wong Foo Aug 17th

Starlight Cinema is a beloved Downtown San Jose tradition featuring popular movies along with accompanying activities in Saint James Park. This weekend the movie is To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar starting at dusk (~8:20pm) on Saturday, August 17th. This will be the last Starlight Cinema for 2024.

The pre-movie activities start at 7pm and include:

• Beats from Splash DJs
• Red carpet drag performances and photo ops
• Tie-dye creations with Guadalupe River Park Conservancy
• Bocce ball
• Luv's Brownies Dessert Truck featuring decadent brownies and sundaes

There will also be a contest with San Jose Earthquake game vouchers and Music in the Park tickets for Cuco. The afterparty is being hosted at Splash with drink specials.

Festival for Foodies

Westfield Valley Fair is hosting a foodie event this Friday. You can sample dishes from 14 restaurants while enjoying live music and pop-up shops. Featured eateries include Salt & Straw, Rooster & Rice, and Shake Shack. Each $40 ticket includes 10 food tastings and games/prizes.

For those with bigger appetites, there are also dine-in experiences for a higher ticket price at Eataly, Mastro's, AnQi, Tacomania, and King's Fish House (one of my favorites).

Proceeds of ticket sales will benefit the Hunger At Home non-profit. The event is this Friday, August 16th from 12pm to 8pm. For more information and tickets, click here.

What's there to do on a Tuesday night in Downtown San Jose?

I remember for years most people would say there is nothing to do in Downtown San Jose, period. Then as most realized weekends are almost all filled with activities and major events Downtown, the new mantra became there is nothing to do after work Downtown during the week.

Let's put aside the 300+ eateries, the SAP Center, Improv, Urban Putt, and the many venues open during the week. I had a look at the San Jose Downtown Association Newsletter, and today's featured events on a random Tuesday seemed like a pretty fun night out.

Sorry the links below aren't clickable, but you have Tequila Tuesday with 50% off tequila tastings and $3 tacos. Karaoke at the Caravan. Traditional Irish music at O'Flaherty's. An Open Mic at Mama Kin (great venue). Last but not least, you can cap off the night with DJs spinning Punk and Country at the Ritz until midnight. If that's not an eclectic mix of options for a Tuesday, I don't know what is.

Source: San Jose Downtown Association Newsletter

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

All Big Lots stores in the Bay Area will close except for one San Jose location

If you're a fan of Big Lots, I have some bad news and good news. The bad news is that the locations in Santa Clara, Milpitas, Gilroy, Livermore, Fairfield, Vacaville, Hercules, and Concord are all closing down. The good news is that there will be one location left standing at 1832 Hillsdale Avenue in San Jose. The location is in Cambrian Park near where Hillsdale turns into Camden Avenue.

Big Lots lost $205 million last quarter and are closing over 40 stores across the US.

Source: SVBJ

 

VTA will get $5 billion from Federal Government to extend BART to Downtown San Jose and Santa Clara

Yesterday a huge step was just taken to secure BART's subway and four station extension to Little Portugal, Downtown San Jose, Diridon (Downtown West), and Santa Clara. The Federal Transit Administration has made a commitment of $5 billion towards the BART SV Phase II project. This was the second largest financial commitment of all time to a single transit project.

The total cost is still $12.7 billion. Nearly $5 billion will be funded by taxes and the state will also chip in nearly a couple billion. The VTA believes they have now secured nearly all of the required funds and closing the remaining gap is within reach.

The estimated completion of the long-awaited project is now 2037. During construction, the project is expected to support 75,000 jobs.

Source: VTA

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT - August 2024

South FIRST FRIDAYS is back with exhibits across multiple galleries in three different districts. Everything is open from at least 5-9pm. Participating venues include ANNO DOMINI, the Institute of Contemporary Art, KALEID Gallery, Works San Jose, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, the SoFA Market, MACLA, Art Ark Gallery, MACHU PICCHU, San Jose Jazz, and Chopsticks Alley Gallery.

It all goes down on Friday, August 2nd. As usual admission is free and all ages are welcome. Click here for a preview of featured art! Below is a map with all of the galleries to check out across all three different districts.

This month is also a STREET MRKT which overlaps with the art walk and runs from 5pm to 10pm. This bonus event features dozens of vendors and artists, turning the streets of SoFA into an outdoor art gallery. It also includes live music, food trucks, and a beer garden with local breweries (more details below).

STREET MRKT FEATURED ARTISTS:
Anthony Alva 
Rebecca Anguiano
BAGI / Bay Area Glass Institute 
Delilah Bender
The Blunt Letters
Julianne Bonnet
Emmanuel Cervantes Mejia 
Crossroads Trading Co.
Dario Cruz
Current Tattooing
Christina Del Alto
Jennifer DeChenne
Joseph Demaree
Mario Dimas
Lorenz Dumuk
Mahsa Emoventur
Flipside DJ Crew
Force129
Cynthia Gonzalez
Hand in Hand Henna
Higher Fire Clayspace
Maureen Holcomb
Jodi408
Katherine Lee
Sarah Loyola
Valentino Loyola
Joe Mandrick
Martha Gardens Arts
Mersay Mattos
David Mejia 
Karen Oeh
Leslie Perez 
Betty Proper
Ragavon
Francisco Ramirez
Steven Regalado 
Marilyn Roaf aka Purl Bailey
Mike Rogan
Ricardo Sandoval 
Rene Schilling-Sears
South Bay Ceramics
Suha Suha

–>  BEER GARDEN 
5:00 – 10:00pm Great music provided by Flipside Crew
featuring Dougie, Jswizza & Notorious P.I.G. 

Beer Garden sponsored by & featuring local & regional breweries: Clandestine Brewing Co., Fox Tale Fermentation, and Strike Brewing Co.

City of San Jose using AI to streamline government

San Jose is aiming to be an epicenter of AI innovation and development. It seems like City Hall is planning to practice what they preach and apply AI to identifying and solving problems. 

The current use cases are optimizing public transit, publishing translations, reviewing documents, and finding issues like graffiti, potholes, broken street lights, and illegal dumping. There are many more possibilities as well such as emergency response and routine city business reviews, monitoring air quality, waste management, and other services. Essentially AI is being leveraged to improve city services while at the same time reducing costs.

Given our city's goals, we should leverage AI to the maximum extent possible and set the benchmark for others. There are lot of encouraging quotes from city leaders and experts that this is the track we're on at the source link below.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

Campus Burger opens to long lines for it's $1.99 burgers in Downtown San Jose

One of Downtown San Jose's most popular new restaurants is a burger shack in a large kiosk where the Circle-A Skateboard shop used to be on Paseo de San Antonio (don't worry about Circle-A, they relocated to SoFA). 

When I first found out about Campus Burgers, the pricing is the first thing that stood out. They have just five items on the menu and the hamburgers are just $1.99. This seemed too good to be true... I've paid $7 for a Big Mac before. However, this is a legit restaurant. The owner Jim Angelopoulos previously owned and operated Scrambl'z in Almaden and Yolked in Morgan Hill. It's all about simplicity and efficiency to get the costs down to something anyone can afford.

Campus Burgers did a soft opening last week where they gave away 1,000 burgers for free. In the following days they have had long lines and have completely sold out of food well before closing time. They are ordering more meat to keep up with demand. As a side note, San Jose State University is a block away and classes don't even begin until August 19th.

So far their Yelp rating is an impressive 4.5 stars with 30 reviews in the past week. This is despite people often waiting more than half an hour in line to get their burgers, which are cooked to order. Initial reviewers are really impressed with the quality, value, and are even comparing it to In & Out. I can't wait to try this for myself, but if you're in the area it certainly seems worth swinging by.

Source: SVBJ (photos by Tomas Ovalle from the SVBJ)