Indian Motorcycle Opening Up Shop in San Jose

A new Indian Motorcycle dealership clocking in at 8,988 SQFT is schedule to open at 460 Meridian Avenue this summer in a space that used to host a Diddams party supply warehouse. The location will carry both new and used Indian and Victory brand bikes, parts, apparel, and will also have a service shop.

When it opens, it will be the only Indian Motorcycle franchise in San Jose and one of two in the Bay Area. The grand opening weekend is schedule for June 28-29 and they will be celebrating with food, music, prizes, and test-rides.

Source: SVBJ

On The Cusp Pop-up Shop @ Black & Brown

Shona Sanzgiri is a writer/editor from San Jose that has been commuting between New York and here for the last six months. He's trying to bring some elements from New York over here in a variety of projects. His latest one is a pop-up shop at Black & Brown on the Alameda  featuring the work of clothing designers, artists, photographers, and writers from both NYC and SJ.

Some of the items will include limited prints, photographs, clothing, accessories, and random curios & tchotchkes from places like Bombay's Thieves Bazaar, a photo-book by Diane Keaton, a napkin Harmony Korine once drew on, etc.

The pop-up shop will be open for two weeks starting March 22nd. The opening reception will run from 5pm to 8pm tomorrow and feature food & refreshments by Dena Cooks (Tunisian Table, America's Test Kitchen). For more info you can check out the On The Cusp website.

Westgate Expansion Has Broken Ground

Federal Realty (which also owns Santana Row) recently wrapped up a $15 million renovation at Westgate Center. Those upgrades were focused around improving existing space. However, they have just broken ground on another renovation project that will result in a new 14,400 SQFT retail building at the corner of Saratoga and West Campbell Avenue. This is where the RetroDome used to sit.

The new structure will have a Corner Bakery Cafe, Veggie Grill, Vitamin Shoppe, and Verizon Wireless. There is also room for a fifth tenant in the building. The Corner Bakery Cafe will be the first in San Jose. The only other Santa Clara County location is in Palo Alto. As for Veggie Grill, this is one of the hottest vegetarian restaurants on the West Coast. This will be their second Northern California location and the only other one is at Santana Row. I'm a complete carnivore and even I love this restaurant.

The project should be completed by fall. You can find the full release below.

Westgate Center Has Broken Ground Again

Offering New Retailers in Coveted Corner Spot

Four tenants signed: Corner Bakery Café, The Veggie Grill, Vitamin Shoppe and Verizon Wireless

San Jose, CA (Feb. 25, 2014) – Federal Realty Investment Trust, owners of Westgate Center, recently completed a $15 million major renovation transforming the 52-year-old mall into a one-stop destination offering family-friendly amenities and high quality retailers.

In an effort to continually improve and enhance the experience at Westgate Center, Federal Realty has announced that construction has begun on the center’s retail pad site located on the heavily traveled corner of Saratoga Avenue and West Campbell Avenue.  The ideal corner site will include the addition of four new tenants, including San Jose’s first Corner Bakery Café.

The new 14,400 sq.-foot retail building, in a highly visible spot near a popular shopping area, will also include The Veggie Grill, Vitamin Shoppe and Verizon Wireless, with space for a fifth yet-to-be-named tenant. Construction should to be completed in the fall.

Corner Bakery Café, known for its delectable Cinnamon Crème Coffee Cake and tasty meals, is opening this fall at Westgate Center.

The fast-casual restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and offers baked goods in a bright, family-friendly atmosphere. Prices range from 99 cents to $9.99 and choices include sandwiches, soups, pastas and breakfast specials. The menu also features kids’ selections, seasonal items, healthy fare and treats such as cookies, cakes and pies. The Westgate Center location will seat about 100 diners inside and 40 diners in an outdoor area. It is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Established in 1991, Corner Bakery Cafe was founded on a philosophy of creating a place for people to relax and gather with family and friends. For more information, go towww.cornerbakerycafe.com.

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The Veggie Grill, home of the popular “All Hail Kale” salad, serves healthy, light, vegetarian fare as well as gluten-free and soy-free items. Classic American favorites like soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches as well as creative dishes such as burritos, bowls and “Buffalo wings” are made with wholesome, plant-based ingredients.

Named one of L.A.’s “can’t miss” cheap-eats by Los Angeles magazine and best vegetarian/vegan restaurant by the Orange County Register, The Veggie Grill is scheduled to open in the fall.

For more information, go to www.veggiegrill.com.

The Vitamin Shoppe, dedicated to helping people fulfill their health and wellness needs, is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of nutritional products ranging from vitamins and minerals to nutritional supplements, herbs, sports nutrition formulas, homeopathic remedies, and health and beauty aids. The store offers more than 18,000 items from 400-plus brands. The Vitamin Shoppe at Westgate is scheduled to open this fall. For more information, go to www.vitaminshoppe.com.

Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile network operator in the U.S., is opening a retail store at Westgate where customers can shop for wireless services as well as mobile phones and accessories. Verizon will open this fall. For more information, go to www.verizonwireless.com.

About Westgate Center
Westgate Center, located in San Jose, California is a 645,000 square-foot community center offering a one-stop family destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. Westgate Center features over 50 shops and restaurants and is anchored by Target, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Old Navy, Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom Rack, Michaels, Any Mountain and Ross. Westgate Center is a property of Federal Realty Investment Trust www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit shopwestgatecenter.com.

About Federal Realty

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets. Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contains approximately 20 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and California. In addition, the Trust has an ownership interest in approximately 1.0 million square feet of retail space through a joint venture in which the Trust has a 30% interest. Our operating portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) was 95.8% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of December 31, 2013, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.5% of annualized base rent. Federal Realty has paid quarterly dividends to its shareholders continuously since its founding in 1962, and has increased its dividend rate for 46 consecutive years, the longest record in the REIT industry. Federal Realty is an S&P MidCap 400 company and its shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbol FRT.

Campaign to Reopen Cine Mexico Theater

The Cine Mexico Theater on Santa Clara Street opened as the Mayfair in 1949 and was once owned by Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak in the 1980s. Stephanie Chang has initiated a gofundme campaign to reopen the neglected landmark as a live music and entertainment venue. She is also proposing to reinstall a projector and show movies again as well as adding a coffeehouse, cafe, and art gallery. Stephanie is looking to raise $19,000 for the project.

For more information, just head over to the gofundme page. Thanks to Alyssa Kies for sending this in!

Wednesday Wishlist: Retail Under Highways

In Houston, one of this issues that is currently holding back developers are the highways that bifurcate the city, especially in their downtown area. Gensler (which is a SF-based firm) suggested building retail underneath Houston highways to better connect city streets divided by highways and spur development. I have seen this concept in action when I visited Tokyo many years ago. Heck, there are even whole shopping malls built underneath streets and highways there.

Building retail underneath highways and major roads could make a lot of sense for Downtown San Jose, especially where Highway 87 crosses Santa Clara Street and San Fernando Street. Eventually we will have major art installations in both of those locations, but having retail there would take it to the next level. North Almaden and 87 (leading to Little Italy) would be another great spot. I'm sure there are several potential retail sites along 280 as well.

What do you guys think?

Source: Anonymous Poster, Houston Business Journal

Hanhny - New San Jose-Based Fashion Label

Hanh Nguyen is a fashion designer that recently relocated back to San Jose. Over the past seven years she has lived in New York and Europe and designed for the labels Isaac Mizrahi, The Reformation, and Jessica Joyce. Now that Hanh is back in town, she's starting her own label called Hanhny.

You can check out the her full collection online over here, or you can head over to either the SJMade pop up shop at Valley Fair or the DSF Shop in SF (I'm sure you can guess my personal preference). If you visit the website, use the coupon code Hanhny25 to receive 25% your entire purchase. The promo expires on December 31st, and again here is the link.

Classic Loot Launches the First Mobile Fashion Accessory Boutique in the South Bay

First food trucks took the South Bay by storm, now it looks like retail is going mobile with both pop-up shops and boutiques on wheels. Classic Loot is a San Jose-based business that premiered about a year ago at a San Jose Made Event. Now they have their own truck and it looks pretty slick. To hunt down the mobile store, either follow them on twitter or check out their website over here.

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SAN JOSE, CA, – Classic Loot has gone mobile, announcing their 15 foot storefront on wheels. It's the first vintage fashion boutique truck to ever hit the streets of the South Bay area.

Classic Loot started back in December 2012 at their first San Jose Made event, vending on table set-ups and has been selling all around the bay area, Treasure Island Flea, Oakland First Friday and more.

"Do you have a store?" One of the frequent questions owner, Tam Tran is asked every time she is out vending. With influences from Los Angeles, New York, and close to home San Francisco, Classic Loot has joined the growing army of mobile retail nationwide.

ABOUT CLASSIC LOOT

Classic Loot is a San Jose based vintage, handmade jewelry and accessories online and mobile boutique business.  We go from all around the bay area and hunt, repurpose and curate the best collection of one-of-a-kind pieces. 

Happy Birthday San Jose (Courtesy of Mezlan)

Mezlan is a high-quality men's shoe store that recently opened in Valley Fair. However, they have done something I have never seen any other local store do, and that is produce a great documentary about San Jose's history. The video below is only about 8 minutes long, and is well worth your time! It's a fantastic tribute to San Jose's 236th Birthday.

Clearly this is a store that is looking to become a strong part of the community and is well-worth checking out on those merits alone (I do have the say their shoes look pretty nice as well). For more information on Mezlan, check out their website over here. And again, please watch the video below. This is a great summery of our City's history.

Valley Fair Expansion and New Stores

It looks like that much talked about Valley Fair expansion originally detailed in 2009 is finally moving forward. The recession put a stop to Westfield's ambitious plans to add 650,000 SQFT of retail space, bringing the mall to over 2 million SQFT and making it far and away the largest mall in Northern California. In late October, Westfield applied for a building permit to build a 6-story, 1.4 million SQFT parking structure at the corner Monroe and Forest Avenue, which is presumably to prepare for it's expansion.

Inside the mall, they are continuing to shoot for higher-end retailers. In 2014, Giorgio Armani will be opening a store. Exclusive brands like Rabeanco, Miu Miu, Prada, David Yurman, and Ferragamo have already opened up shop. Others like Banana Republic and Brookstone are upgrading to flagship stores. They even remodeled what was already a pretty nice food court to better cater towards shoppers with expensive tastes. It will be really interesting to see what this mall ends up looking like after the next few years.

Source: Anonymous Poster, SVBJ

The new Prada store at Valley Fair

Halston Coming to Valley Fair

Valley Fair is about to get one of the very first Halston retail stores. This particular designer is known for "retro" styles based in the '60s and '70s. What makes this significant is that there are only two Halston Heritage standalone stores in existence, one in New York City and the other in Los Angeles. This would make San Jose it's third location and the only announced store for Northern California.

Valley Fair is turning into a destination for these exclusive hard-to-find brands. It's days as a typical suburban mall are numbered, especially with their future expansion that will bring many more unique brands, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and a Santana Row-ish outdoor area.

Source: SVBJ

Die Hard Company Now Featuring Earthquakes Shirts!

Last time I plugged Die Hard Company, people asked where the Quakes gear was. Well, they are finally here! Die Hard Company is releasing their very first shirt design honoring the San Jose Earthquakes and they are on sale for 20% off until July 20th. For more information click here.

Bass Pro Shops is Building a GARGANTUAN Store in South San Jose

Bass Pro Shops is an outdoor retailer known for building huge destination stores. How huge? The San Jose store will be 145,000 SQFT, which is larger than your typical Costco. This store has an incredibly loyal and devoted following that drive an average of more than 50 miles to get to their closest store and stay an average of 2.5 hours per visit. Each store gets about 2 million visitors per year. This will be the first Bass Pro Shops in the Bay Area, and there are only two other stores in all of California.

The San Jose store will carry all sorts of camping, hunting, fishing, boating, and general outdoor gear. If none of that sounds appealing to you, I'm sure just walking around will be entertaining in and of itself. In fact, this store will come complete with a 12-lane "underwater" bowling alley and a seafood restaurant.

Bass Pro Shops will be located in Almaden Ranch at the corner of Almaden Expressway and Highway 85 and construction should be complete in 2015. Over 250-300 permanent jobs will be created when the store opens, not including seasonal employees.

Source: The Merc, SVBJ

Discover San Jose Retail Store Opens Today!

If this isn't a sign of the times I don't know what is. Yet another retail store is opening up Downtown, and this one is all about San Jose pride! The Discover San Jose store will be located at 150 South 1st Street across from the Fairmont Plaza and will carry souvenirs, historic artifacts, San Jose art, and more. They picked a really good central location and I'm sure store will do wonders in getting the San Jose brand out there more.

The ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening are both happening this afternoon and will feature free food, drinks, and gifts. For more information click here!

Cukui Collaboration with 49ers' QB Kaepernick

Last week you saw the photo of what the San Pedro Square Market looked like when the 49ers hosted their 2013 Draft Bash there, but there are other connections being made to San Jose as well. Cukui is a really cool clothing store in Japantown that embodies San Jose street art and culture. They approached 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to see if he would be interested in a clothing line inspired by his tattoos. Kaepernick agreed and the new shirts shot up Cukui's business by 200-300%, with most of that being new customers. They are also one of the few pieces of 49ers gear designed and printed right here in San Jose.

To check out Cukui's online store, just click this link. You can also visit their retail location at 229 Jackson Street.

Source: SVBJ

Retro Fitness Opening its first West Coast Gyms in San Jose

Retro Fitness is a unique gym chain with locations primarily in the Northeast and Southern US, but they are planning to branch out to the West Coast. They have chosen San Jose for not one, but two locations to launch their expansion. One will be at Santa Teresa Main Street Shopping Center and the other will be at the corner of Foxworthy and Meridian Avenue.

Their gyms are between 12,000 and 15,000 SQFT--pretty standard--but what makes them different is an '80s motif, specifically '80s music and movie themes. Membership only costs $19.99 a month, including various classes, a cardio movie theater (with again, '80s movies), and access to things like tanning, child sitting, and personal training. Those last three I'm assuming cost extra.

Source: SVBJ

SJMADE Mini Mart on March 21st and 22nd

It looks like another SJMADE pop-up event featuring local entrepreneurs and artisans is coming next week to San Jose. I wish these events would be more than two days. This is a great way to fill up our vacant retail space until permanent leases come in. If you want to participate as a vendor, all of the information is below. As for everyone else, I'll post the location when I have more info!

Be a Vendor at SJMADE Mini Mart at Start Up Shop

Downtown San Jose
75 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95112
March 21st, 5p to 8p
March 22nd, 5p to 10p

SJMADE Mini Mart is a smaller version of our typical SJMADE events. This format allows for us to partner with other organizations who also seek to activate vacant spaces throughout San Jose. Smaller-scale vendor shows in inactive San Jose spaces brings life to these places and encourages local business at the same time.

For this mini mart, we partner with the office of District 3 in San Jose to present Start Up Shop--a two-day pop-up installation in a vacant office space in Downtown San Jose. By involving downtown building owners, local independent retail businesses, event-based organizations, and collaborative co-working studios, the office of San Jose's District 3 and SJMADE seeks to encourage creative start-ups, studios, and retailers to start up shop in Downtown San Jose.

Are you a local maker, designer, artist, or independent retail business owner looking to get involved? If so, sign-up to be a vendor!

Interested in being a Mini Mart Vendor?

 Complete your vendor application here >

Along with your completed online application, you must submit your payment information for your booth fee. All applications and booth fees must be submitted by midnight on March 5th.

If you have a questions regarding this application process, contact us at sanjosemade@gmail.com.

Any questions? Email us: sanjosemade@gmail.com.

    

San Jose Made (SJMADE) | 1020 The Alameda  | San Jose, CA 95126 | www.sanjosemade.com 

Japantown "Corp Yard" Project Moves Forward!

An epic $180 million project is moving forward in Japantown. The quick details: 600 residential apartments in six-story buildings with underground parking, ground floor retail and live/work units, a park with cherry orchards, a public stage/pavilion, and a creative center for the arts. You can check out the design for the creative center in the very last image... I hope that becomes the final design because it looks incredible! That building will house San Jose Taiko, CreaTV, Arts Council of Silicon Valley, and other San Jose nonprofits. I'm not sure what more you could possibly ask for in a Japantown project.

You have to click the images below to really see the detail from the scans. The architecture is "modern Japan" with elegant simplicity, wood elements, shifted forms, and framed views. Needless to say, this will be one of the most unique and visually striking developments in the Bay Area. I really hope this comes to fruition and encourages even more projects of this caliber in San Jose.

Sources: Jonathan Bush (thanks for the scans!), SVBJ

Happy Valentine's Day San Jose!

This Valentine's Day, I have to plug a chocolate store that I just found out about recently. Schurra's has been making fine confections since 1912, and they have been based in San Jose since the early 1930s. They make their candy and chocolates from scratch each day on-site at their historic San Jose location (840 The Alameda). Everything is made by hand, they have no machines to automate the process. I had a chance to try some of their chocolate a couple days ago and it blew me away. You have to try the salted dark chocolate caramels!

So instead of stocking up on Godiva or Ghiradelli this Valentine's Day, why not go hyperlocal and try something made right here in San Jose!

To visit Schurra's website click here.

Schurra's, creating a tradition of Fine Confections since 1912.  Albert and Justin Schurra started their confectionery business with retail stores in Stockton and Modesto California.  They soon expanded their candy business to include wholesale accounts throughout Northern California.  In the early 1930's they closed their stores in Stockton and Modesto and moved to The Alameda in San Jose.  The Alameda, also known as the beautiful way, was San Jose's premier neighborhood.  The mansions of successful doctors, lawyers and architects lined the street as they do today.  However, today they have been converted to offices for doctors, lawyers and architects.  A street car system ran down the center of the street carrying passengers from Alum Rock Park through downtown and out towards the town of Santa Clara.  The Alameda was and is also known as Hwy 82.  It was the most modern route to San Francisco at the time.   In the mid 1930's Albert Schurra purchased the building at 848 The Alameda.  He designed a "Sunshine Candy Kitchen"  where customers could watch candy being made through the windows.  Skilled women would sit in the front windows that faced The Alameda and artistically dip chocolates by hand.  Many of the chocolate dippers worked for Schurra's well into their 90's and two, Gladys Neisonger and Myrtle Bay, lived to be over 100 years old. While we have since located next door to the old Sunshine Candy Kitchen, we proudly carry on Albert and Justin's time-honored traditions and adhere to their standards of quality by making everything from scratch everyday.

Visit our Historic Shop at

840 The Alameda

San Jose, CA 95126

ph. 408.289.1562

fax. 408.289.9222

Store Hours:  Monday - Friday 10am - 6:30pm

Saturdays 10am - 5:30pm

Closed Sundays except for the Sunday before Christmas, Valentine's and Easter.  We are open those 3 Sundays from 11:30am - 4:00pm

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The San Jose Holiday Art Market at Reed House

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

The San Jose Holiday Art Market
Saturday November 10th 12noon-6pm and Sunday November 11th 12noon-6pm

Held within the beautifully restored Victorian home known as the Historic Reed House in the Hensley District of San Jose, this unique art and crafts gift fair exhibits the extraordinary work of a select group of talented artists in an intimate salon setting providing an excellent and fun opportunity to get a jump start on holiday shopping.

Handmade original works range from assemblage, collage, dolls, jewelry, paintings, photographs, poetry, sculpture, textiles and much more. Raffle prizes awarded and sweet treats served throughout both days.

The Historic Reed House
328 North Sixth Street
San Jose, CA
http://sjartmarket.wix.com/sj-holiday-art-mkt

Die Hard Co.

It has been a pretty damn good year for Bay Area sports. The A's had a great run, the Giants need no mention, and the 49ers are 5-2 right now. There is also a chance the Sharks will be back in business this November (keeping fingers crossed) and the Earthquakes are currently at the top of their game, not to mention they just broke ground on a new stadium.

While most of the Bay Area pro teams are not in San Jose (yet), there is a way you can support a local San Jose business while brandishing support for your favorite team. The site is Die Hard Co. and is well worth checking out. They have shirts and hoodies for the Sharks, Giants, A's, Warriors, 49ers, and the Raiders. I'm a fan of their "Hella" collection, most of which you can see below.

We're going to be doing a contest with Die Hard soon, probably around the end of the NHL lockout, so keep an eye out for that. To visit the Die Hard website and check out their full selection, just click here.