Turkey Trot 2024

The annual Turkey Trot in San Jose has become a Thanksgiving tradition that not only kicks off the holiday with a burst of energy but also underscores the community spirit of giving and wellness. This year, the 2024 Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, held on November 28, continues to be America's largest Thanksgiving Day race, attracting thousands of participants eager to run or walk through the heart of Silicon Valley.

Event Overview:

• Date: Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024.
• Location: Downtown San Jose, starting at Santa Clara Street and 1st Street.
• Distances: Participants can choose between a 5K run/walk, a 10K run, or join in on the fun with the Kids Fun Run for those aged 2-7.

Highlights of the Trot:

• Community Engagement: The Turkey Trot isn't just about the race; it's a community event where local residents, families, and friends gather to celebrate the start of Thanksgiving. The event fosters a sense of togetherness, with many dressing up in turkey costumes or festive Thanksgiving attire, adding a playful vibe to the proceedings.
• Charitable Impact: One of the standout features of the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot is its commitment to charity. All proceeds from the race benefit local organizations like Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, The Health Trust, Healthier Kids Foundation, and Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County. This year marks the 20th anniversary, where the Trot has significantly contributed to these causes, improving lives by providing food, clothing, shelter, and education.
• Course and Experience: The course through downtown San Jose is both flat and fast, ideal for runners looking to set a personal best or for those who prefer a leisurely walk. The route takes participants through diverse neighborhoods, showcasing the city's vibrant urban landscape and historic areas like Japantown and The Alameda.
• Post-Race Festivities: After crossing the finish line, runners and walkers are greeted with a festival atmosphere. This includes a costume contest, post-race snacks, live entertainment, and an awards ceremony for top finishers. The event also provides a swag bag to participants, which includes a long-sleeve tech shirt, a finisher medal, and a reusable water bottle.
• Inclusivity: The Turkey Trot is inclusive to all fitness levels. Whether you're an elite runner or someone who enjoys a brisk walk, there's a place for you. The Kids Fun Run adds an element of fun and encourages the younger generation to participate in healthy, community-based activities.

The last day to register is tomorrow, November 28th, at 8:30am. If you're interested and still haven't gotten your tickets, head over here! 

Eos & Nyx is now open!

The most highly anticipated restaurant in Downtown San Jose for 2024 is now open. Eos & Nyx is the new flagship venue from the proprietors of Original Gravity, Still OG, Alter Ego, Miniboss, and Paper Plane. It takes up 4,000 SQFT across two stories in what used to be the Camera 12 building in Downtown San Jose, and the restaurant looks stunning. It is part of the Paseo Project also brough us Urban Putt earlier this year. This project is quickly transforming this part of Downtown San Jose in the best way possible.

The vibe is described as chic and sophisticated. It looks like careful attention has been provided to every detail. The restaurant has 20-foot-high ceilings, indoor trees, and custom furniture. There is even a lit conveyor belt of spirits. I'm not entirely sure how the conveyor belt will work but I can't wait to find out.

The menu is upscale Mediterranean with influences from many different cultures. Some of the dinner items include prawns in a Moroccan tagine stew, octopus, kofta beef & lamb meatballs, pappardelle duck, tagliatelle lobster with beurre blanc sauce and caviar, bone in pork chops, and lamb chops. The cocktails are going to be the high-end craft variety they are known for at their other establishments.

Hours are Tues-Wed from 5pm-9pm, Fri-Sat from 10am-2pm and 5pm-10pm, and Sunday (brunch) from 9am-3pm. These will likely be expanded after the soft opening period.

You can find Eos & Nyx conveniently located at 201 S. Second Street. It's impossible to miss as you drive or take a Light Rail down second.

Source: SiliconValley.com

Caltrain's switch to electric is already paying off

Caltrain's electric trains are a hit with riders. The electrification project involved swapping out Caltrain's Diesel trains for brand new electric units that are quieter, accelerate faster, and are more comfortable.

In October 753,000 passengers took Caltrain, a 54% year-over-year increase. Saturday and Sunday ridership have risen even more dramatically. Saturday ridership is up 169% and Sunday is up 142% year-over year. That finally brings Caltrain ridership above pre-COVID19 levels.

While their top speed is the same, the acceleration allows for more frequent stops while simultaneously reducing route times. The train can now go between San Jose and San Francisco in less than an hour. Unlike BART it also has restrooms and 2nd floor with a nice view.

If you haven't tried out the new service yet, now's a great time to see the latest and greatest in Bay Area public transit.

Source: SFGATE

The San Antonio Festival

The inaugural San Antonio Festival takes places today from 10am to 5pm on Paseo de San Antonio between 1st and 2nd Street in Downtown San Jose. This is a key corridor that connects San Jose State University to the central core Downtown.

This family friendly event will feature a local pop-up market in collaboration with Moment, community workshops, entrepreneurial resources, live performances, and immersive art experiences. For more info head over here.

Thanksgiving Feast at Scott's Ballroom in Downtown San Jose

Thanksgiving is just a week away. If you don't feel like cooking this year, Scott's Seafood is doing a Thanksgiving Brunch and Dinner Buffet in a ballroom overlooking Downtown San Jose. It'll feature all of the classics plus prime rib and shellfish. You can make reservations on OpenTable.

Culture Night Market at Paseo de San Antonio in Downtown San Jose

Winter Wonderland presents: Culture Night Market at Paseo de San Antonio in downtown San Jose! This exciting event will take place over two weekends, from November 29th to December 8th, right next to the beloved Christmas in the Park at Cesar Chavez Plaza. 

The event runs from 5-10 PM and includes a festive holiday market featuring 38 local small businesses, artists, and artisans offering unique gifts.

Shop Small in Downtown San Jose

The San Jose Downtown Association is running a holiday promotion to encourage people to visit local restaurants and businesses in Downtown San Jose. If you spend $150 at Downtown San Jose businesses between November 20th and December 24th, you'll receive a $50 gift card to a Downtown business. There is also a mysterious Grand Prize drawing. 

Included in the spend are boutiques, cafes, bars, restaurants, and galleries. Each person can submit up to two entries and there are a total of 100 people that can qualify for this reward. There are some exclusions and rules, which you can find over here.

Downtown Ice is back!

San Jose's famous Downtown Ice rink is located at 120 S. Market Street in the Circle of Palms Plaza, nestled between the San Jose Museum of Art and the Signia by Hilton Hotel. 

Visit ParkSJ.org to find free 90-minute parking and a live look at parking availability.

Downtown Ice is a result of a lot of amazing people and a great partnership between SJDA and Special Ice along with with support from the City of San Jose and various local partners.

Tickets are $21 for each two-hour window of skating and you can purchase them over here.

Content 17.1

The latest issue of Content Magazine is about to drop and as is tradition it will be launched with a party for subscribers on Friday, November 22nd from 6-9pm. This time it will be at Fiesta Hall at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds (344 Tully Road). 

The event will include food trucks curated by Feast Mode such as Chicken Bros, Road House 48, and Veros Kitchen. Beer will be provided by the excellent Foxtale Fermentation Project. They will actually be doing a special Fall beer release featuring artwork from Fabricio Ponce. There will ben be an onsite mural and gallery exhibition presented in partnership with 1CLTURE as well as DJ and breakdancing.

Parking is free at Gate C and guests are welcome. The first 150 Content members to check in will get a complimentary beverage and Hors D'oeuvres. 100 Content members will also receive a unique holiday gift.

Here are some of the people featured in the upcoming issue:

DJ - Brotha Reese | Muralist - Cameron “Camer1” Moberg | Breakdancer - Vicki “La Vix” chang | Painter/muralist - Scotty Greathouse | Textile Artist - Jaya Griscom | Grafitti Legend - King157 | Mural - “The Grand Strike,” Analyn Bones, Juan Velazquez, Miguel Machuca, Jordan Gabriel, Eddie Romo, and Melissa Manuel | Grafitti Legend - Nexus | Painter/Illustrator - Fabricio Ponce | Graffiti Primer - Joey Reyes | Shades of Brown Collective - Joey Castaneda, Jade Castaneda, Louie Andrade, Edward Valdez, Isaiah Kittles, Angelica Jimenez, Desiree Villescaz, Taylor Cherry, Itzayana Silva, Julian Torres, Sarah Cassandra Guizar Retana, Darlene Cordova

To learn more or subscribe, head over here.

Winter Wonderland 2024/25

It's almost that time of year! Winter Wonderland is coming back to Downtown San Jose on November 29th and runs until January 1st, 2025. This year there will be quite a few changes based on feedback from Downtown stakeholders.

There will be a new Winter Wonderland Night Market on November 29 and 30 as well as December 1st and 5th-8th. The Night Market runs from 5-10pm and features handmade ornaments, holiday-themed goods, and seasonal treats. On December 13th, several family-friendly rides and games will join the giant Ferris Wheel. 

In order to minimize unpermitted vendors, there will be a curated section for Food Trucks and Food Booths from November 29th to January 1st. These will be placed next to the Ferris Wheel on Market Street and along Paseo de San Antonio.

There will also be more seating areas to relax and enjoy a meal this season. For more info head over to the Winter Wonderland website. 

San Jose has the healthiest residents in the US

A recent Forbes study looked at the 46 most populous cities in the country and compared health metrics including heart disease deaths, opioid deaths, the percentage of adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, as well as the percentage of people that binge drink, smoke, or are deficient in physical activity.

After all the numbers were crunched, San Jose ranked as the #1 healthiest city in the United States. San Jose has consistently ranked high for longevity in previous years, adding more credence to this ranking.

Second on the list was Austin, Texas while San Francisco made it to the 6th spot. The unhealthiest populations were Detroit and Milwaukee.

Source: SFGATE

Three-tower housing project proposed for Downtown San Jose

Westbank and Urban Community are working on a stunning 1,147 unit project that would span a trio of towers. This is the most exciting proposal I have seen in some time for Downtown San Jose.

Each tower would rise 30 stories or roughly 300 feet. Two of the towers would have terraces featuring small trees and plants. The third tower would by a cylinder, a shape no other San Jose high-rise utilizes. The combination of the three look fantastic.

The site of this proposal is the Valley Title lot at 300 South First Street and 345 South Second Street in SoFA. Currently the site consists of a parking lot, a public art project that can hopefully be moved, and a three-story building.

The project would also include a generous 18,400 SQFT of retail and 8,700 SQFT of residential amenities such as a courtyard and gym. Based on the renders, it looks like they are planning for one of my favorite amenities--rooftop swimming pools.

As exciting as this is already, Westbank and Urban Community also have an option to add two more 20-story office towers with a combined 1.32 million SQFT of office space and 60,4000 SQFT of ground-floor retail.

There is currently no planned timeline. The next steps are getting city approval for the proposal, which I'm optimistic will come quickly.

Source: The Mercury News

San Jose's first and only Michelin Star restaurant is coming back!

A little Portuguese restaurant in East San Jose called Adega made history years ago as the first San Jose restaurant to earn a Michelin Star. For a time is was also the only Portuguese restaurant in the United States to have a star. From there, the owners created several additional successful restaurants including Petiscos in SoFA and Pastelaria on Santa Clara Street. Sadly, they decided to turn Adega into a second Petiscos location at the start of 2024. Petiscos is excellent, but Adega was next level.

Now, after many requests to bring back Adega they are doing just that. Starting tomorrow, November 15th, the restaurant will go back to a multi-course tasting menu. The cost will start at $125 per person, which is pricey but by no means insane for this caliber of restaurant. They also have the largest Portuguese wine list of any restaurant in the US and you better believe they have amazing wine pairing options to go with each course. 

I loved Adega and am thrilled to see it return. If you are ready to make reservations for the most decorated restaurant in San Jose, head over here.

Source: SVBJ

Downtown San Jose is planning to close another road permanently

The closure of San Pedro Square to cars has been a tremendous success. Not only did it allow for the creation of the largest mural in Northern California, but it was a major boost to the vibrancy of the district. Now the San Jose City Council has their eyes set on another street for permanent closure.

On November 5th, the Council has extended the closure of Post Street which houses several restaurants, bars, and nightclubs as well as San Jose Qmunity district. If everything goes to plan, on February 25th they will make this closure permanent.

Turning this area into a pedestrian mall would allow for improved outdoor seating and entertainment. It was already a very impractical street to park on. By permanently removing cars it would help create a stronger community and enable the businesses on Post to thrive. I'd highly recommend checking the area out next time you're in Downtown San Jose. The Club on Post and 55 South are excellent places to start.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

Santana Row has a Tesla CyberCab

San Jose has the first Tesla Store in the world. It has been significantly expanded since it's inception and is still tremendously popular after more than 12 years. As a flagship store, it also has been one of the first if not the first store to show off upcoming products. These included the Model X prototype, the Model 3, and Cybertruck in the past. 

Right now the Tesla Store at Santana Row has a working prototype of the Cybercab, Tesla's first vehicle that is exclusively designed for autonomous driving. It has no steering wheel or pedals. The craziest part is that consumers will be able to purchase it (estimated to be around $30k) and rent it out like an uber when not in use.

San Jose has a very high density of EVs, especially Teslas. When these start hitting roads in 2026 I think we'll see quite a lot of them. Tesla plans to build about 2 million Cybercabs per year, which is equal to all of the cars Tesla makes today combined. It's very cool that we are one of the first cities in the world where you can get up close and personal to one of these futuristic models (the production version will be nearly identical).

Source: X

Happy Veterans Day San Jose!

San Jose has hosted a Veterans Day Parade since 1919, and this year is no different. This event is the largest Veterans Day Parade in Northern California and honors all who have served or are currently serving our country.

The pre-parade ceremony begins today at 11am in Plaza de Cesar Chavez and is followed by the parade itself at 12pm.

Below is a handy map of the parade route which starts near Highway 87 on Santa Clara Street and then ends in front of the San Jose Marriott past Plaza de Cesar Chavez. You can also find more information about the parade over here.

CEO Noodles: Chief Eating Officer

Another new eatery is open in Downtown San Jose. CEO Noodles has a mix of authentic noodle dishes from Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. They also have some very unique items like papaya snow-fungus dessert soup. 

The restaurant features fantasy-inspired decor and a mobile app for seamless ordering. It's yet another highly anticipated San Jose restaurant that is racking up excellent initial reviews.

CEO Noodles is open from 10am-9:30pm every day and is located at 130 E. Santa Clara Street (between 3rd and 4th Street).

Source: The Downtowner

World's largest Christmas light maze

The holidays are getting nearer and Enchant is coming back to San Jose's PayPal Park later this month. The world's largest Christmas light maze will be available from Friday, Nov 22nd to Sunday, Dec 29th. You can find more info and tickets over here.

Source: SJtoday

Santana Row Fall Wine Stroll

Santana Row is hosting a Fall Sip & Stroll on Thursday, November 14th from 5pm-7pm.

Stroll The Row while enjoying wine and lite bites inside 12+ Santana Row shops & restaurants. Tickets are $50 and include a signature Santana Row wine glass, wine tastings from Livermore Valley wineries, lite bites, exclusive shopping incentives, live music and more.

Participating shops and eateries include Tesla, New Balance, Yeti, Vuori, Dumpling Time, Suspiro, Paige, Marine Layer and more.  

For more information, you can contact the Santana Row Concierge at 408-551-4611.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Election Results - Part 2

I'm not sure how it could possibly be taking this long to tally California votes, but there are some obvious winners.

Here are the ones that passed that will most clearly impact San Jose:

• Measure 2 - provides additional funding to help renovate schools
• Proposition 4 - authorizes more funding for water districts, wildfire prevention, and land protection
• Proposition 35 - continues funding for Medi-Cal health care programs via a tax extension on managed health care plans
• Proposition 36 - increases penalties for theft and drug crimes

I'm not mentioning Amendment 3, as it is just updating the language in the Californian constitution in a common-sense way, yet it does not actually alter any rights.

The biggest one on the list for me is Prop 36. Crime has become a major issue in Silicon Valley, and this will reduce the threshold for thefts being treated as felonies and allow multiple robberies to be grouped together to constitute a felony. Hopefully this will become a stronger deterrent to the retail theft that is greatly impacting San Jose businesses, especially small businesses. We can't get to a place like San Francisco where shampoo and toothpaste is being locked behind glass cases because of rampant shoplifting. I'm very happy this one will pass.

Election Results - Part 1

I tend to stay away from political posts, but in this case there is a general melancholy vibe in San Jose. As an serial optimist, I'll go through the 2024 election results and highlight what I think the positives might be around what has passed. Let's start with the elephant in the room (no pun intended), the presidential election.

Obviously, Trump was not Silicon Valley's first choice. The question is, are there any aspects of a Trump presidency that will benefit San Joseans and San Jose businesses. Here is my best shot:

• Taxes
• Yes, Trump did indeed lower taxes in his first term. The benefits did not just impact the rich but impacted all individuals making $9,525 or more as well as married couples filing jointly making $19,050 or more per year. I would expect that he would keep these tax cuts and as a sign of good faith try to reduce them even more as soon as possible. This should be beneficial to San Joseans that are already used to paying the highest taxes in the country. Now, this will only be possible if the deficit is significantly reduced and that leads to the next item.
• Deficit
• Trump seems to be partnering with Elon Musk, who has promised to help significantly cut the deficit by identifying government waste. Elon has claimed that up to $2 trillion could be cut from spending by consolidating departments. Even if the amount is half that, not only would it enable further tax cuts but it would reduce the risk of America going bankrupt... which would surely devalue the US Dollar and severely impact Silicon Valley businesses.
• Safety and Immigration
• I am speculating that there will be a quick response to reduce illegal immigration across the border which may help reduce crime. My hope is that Trump will also focus on greatly increasing legal immigration. This should be both for quickly converting undocumented people that are contributing to our economy today as well as bringing in exceptional individuals from other countries. I know people that have tried for over a decade to even get a US work visa... it is extremely difficult. Ensuring we have enough talent in Silicon Valley is critical to our success, so I hope that a focus on greatly improving legal immigration will be a priority. 

Am I missing anything?  Tomorrow I'll go through the California measures.

Happy Election Day San Jose!

If you haven't done so already, now is your last chance to vote. You can see the latest results on federal, state, and local races over here.

If you need a ride, today the VTA is offering free bus, light rail, and paratransit rides to designated Santa Clara County polling or drop box locations from 7am to 8pm.

Regardless of who wins at any level of government, my hope is that people will remember we are all human beings, find common ground, and move forward together.

San Jose's Hotel De Anza is getting major upgrades

San Jose's historic Hotel De Anza was recently purchased by 233 W Santa Clara LLC. The hotel was built 93 years ago and has 100 rooms in the 10-story building.

The exciting news is that major upgrades are planned, including adding fine dining and a full-service bar. It will also transition from being a Hyatt to a high-end independent boutique hotel. The partnership with Hyatt already ended on October 29th.

Hopefully we'll have details soon on the new dining options and planned renovations. The last upscale dining option in the hotel was La Pastia, which closed several years ago.

Source: SVBJ

Bascom Station has started leasing

Bascom Station appears to have started leasing their apartments. This is a 590 apartment project in an 8-story building. It's located right next to the Bascom VTA Light Rail station at 1350 S. Bascom Avenue. There are also several retail pads on the ground floor available for lease and a 200,000 SQFT office building next door that is still under construction.

This is a great example of a mixed-use infill project near transit. Previously this area just had 76,894 SQFT of commercial space.

Source: RebecaG from Skyscraper City