Wednesday, July 31, 2013

SoFA Gets a $200k Grant for Pop-up Shops and Public Art!

Out of 254 applicants, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded MACLA a $200,000 grant to support the SoFA Creates & Connects program. 59 cities nationwide were awarded these types of grants, but most were around $50,000. Only San Jose and Houston claimed the top prize of $200,000.

The program will feature new public art installations and events. Some of the cool things you can expect are illuminated directional signs by French artists at Zero1, a new shade structure in the park adjacent to MACLA, an arts event series, and "Pop-up Tiendas (Shops)."

In addition to the new mini-SPSM, Cafe Stritch, several hundred new apartments, and a convention center expansion nearby, and a new weekly food truck event... it seems like SoFA is about to explode into a thriving district. We're on the right track!

Source: SVBJ

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Santana Row Nabs Fogo de Chao and Scotch & Soda

As if Santana Row needed any other good news, Fogo de Chao is opening up 9,000 SQFT Brazilian steakhouse in the former Chili's space in early 2014. This is a very highly-rated restaurant and will be only the second location in California, with the other being in Beverly Hills. I apologize in advance to Chili fans, but this is going to be one heck of an upgrade. It will also be the only Brazilian Churrascaria in San Jose.

Scotch & Soda is an Amsterdam-based fashion retailer that only has seven locations in the US: New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Now you can add San Jose to that list. The 1,840 SQFT store will be next to Kate Spade New York and opens late Fall of this year.

For more info, check out the press release below.





Santana Row Welcomes Brazilian Steak House Fogo de Chao and Fashion Retailer Scotch & Soda
Exciting Additions Coming to Silicon Valley’s Premier Destination

San Jose, CA (July 18, 2013) – A Brazilian churrasco restaurant is opening early next year and a European-based fashion retailer is slated to open this fall at Santana Row.
Fogo de Chao, opening early 2014
The International Brazilian steakhouse opens its first Northern California restaurant at Santana Row, bringing the best of the centuries-old culinary tradition of churrasco to Silicon Valley.
The 8,978 square-foot restaurant is being constructed in the former Chili’s space on Winchester Boulevard and Olin Avenue. It will showcase a beautiful dining room with seating for 250 guests, several private and semi-private dining areas, outdoor seating and a lively bar. The interior of the restaurant will reflect a mixture of Northern California and Brazilian modern design.
The style of cooking goes back centuries and is known as, “The Gaucho Way of Preparing Meat.” An important element of the culture is churrasco: roasting meats over pits of open fire for delicious barbecues. Traditionally, it is served at every festive occasion, especially family gatherings. For more information about the restaurant, go to www.fogodechao.com.
Scotch & Soda, opening late fall, 2013
Amsterdam-based fashion brand Scotch & Soda is opening its first South Bay location at Santana Row in time for the holiday season.
The 1,840 square-foot store will be located on the corner of Tatum and Santana Row, next to kate spade new york.
Scotch & Soda at Santana Row will offer high-quality clothes and accessories for men and women. Rich in detail, they’re typically inspired by the best tried-and-tested classic and vintage styles and enriched with a wealth of inspiration from around the world. Though Scotch & Soda has been around since the ‘80s, the international fashion brand as we know it today originated in 2001 when the new owners combined their broad experience and shared love for making great garments. The women’s collection, Maison Scotch, entered the market with the Spring/Summer 2010 collection and accounts for a large part of the company’s continuous growth. For more information about the store, go to: www.scotch-soda.com.
About Santana Row
Santana Row a 1.5 million square foot mixed used development in the heart of San Jose, California, is Silicon Valley's premier destination for shopping,
dining, living and nightlife. Surrounded by landscaped gardens, parks and plazas, Santana Row features over 70 retail shops, more than 20 acclaimed restaurants, a 212-room boutique hotel and six-screen movie theatre. In addition to the dynamic retail collection, Santana Row offers 622 residential units featuring a fitness center, rooftop pool and resort-living accommodations, and 65,000 square feet of office space at 300 Santana Row, its newest office address. Santana Row is a property of www.federalrealty.com (NYSE:FRT), headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. For more information, please visit www.santanarow.com.
About Federal Realty
Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management, and redevelopment of high quality retail real estate in the country’s best markets.  As of September 30, 2012, Federal Realty's portfolio (excluding joint venture properties) contained approximately 19.1 million square feet located primarily in strategically selected metropolitan markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, 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 95.1% leased to national, regional, and local retailers as of September 30, 2012, with no single tenant accounting for more than approximately 3.1% 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 45 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. For more information, please visit www.federalrealty.com.

Monday, July 29, 2013

CAFE STRITCH PRESENTS: “A Rahsaan Roland Kirk Tribute Week” Friday August 2--Sunday August 11, 2013

Cafe Stritch is about to host their largest Jazz event yet with a five-day tribute to Rahsaan Roland Kirk. If you ever wondered where Eulipia got it's name from (Cafe Stritch's predecessor), it came from Kirk's "Theme for the Eulipions." What about Cafe Stritch? Named after Kirk's iconic saxophone. For all those that enjoy live Jazz, you won't want to miss this! All of the relevant information is below and can also be found at the Cafe Stritch website over here.



Cafe Stritch, formerly Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, continues its heritage of presenting first-rate jazz by presenting a five-day tribute to the great Rahsaan Roland Kirk.  In addition to three nights of performances by trombonist Steve Turre, one of the world’s pre-eminent jazz innovators, the week’s activities include a number of diverse activities revolving around Rahsaan’s life and work.  Betty Neals will be performing her legendary ‘Theme for the Eulipions” poem with Steve Turre’s group.

Kirk’s “Theme for the Eulipions” gave Eulipia its name in 1977, and the restaurant’s owners, and now their children, who own Cafe Stritch, carry on the tradition of reverence for the jazz of Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Trombonist Steve Turre, who played for many years with Kirk, will be playing as part of a septet at Cafe Stritch on August 8, 9, and 10 and Kirk’s widow Dorthaan will attend all of the activities during the five day tribute in honor of her late husband.  Many friends of the late great jazzman will participate in the festivities.  The first-rate band includes Matt Clark on piano, Howard Wiley on tenor sax, Charles McNeal on alto sax, Marcus Shelby on bass, Darrell Green on drums, and vocalist Terrie Odabi.

No Walls Between Us, an exhibit of Kathy Sloane’s powerful, atmospheric portraits of jazz greats will be presented throughout the cafe with an artist’s reception being held on Saturday August 10 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM.  Drawn in part from her acclaimed book Keystone Korner: Portrait of a Jazz Club, the exhibit also includes jazz photos from her 30-year career.

The schedule of activities appears below:

Friday August 2 – Sunday September 29:  No Walls Between Us: an exhibit of jazz photographs by Kathy Sloane. (No admission charge)

Wednesday August 7 at 6pm: Birthday Party for Rahsaan featuring live jazz, a panel discussion with Dorthaan Kirk, Steve Turre, Betty Neals, and others, along with a screening of Adam Kahan’s Rahsaan documentary “The Case of the Three Sided Dream”. (No admission will be charged for any activities on August 7)

Thursday August 8, Friday August 9, and Saturday August 10 at 8pm: Rahsaan Tribute Septet Featuring Steve Turre performing two sets each night with special guest Betty Neals performing her iconic “Theme for the Eulipions”.  Tickets available for $15 at www.brownpapertickets.com/venue/169573

Saturday August 10 from 3pm to 6pm: Artist’s reception for No Walls Between Us: an exhibit of jazz photographs by Kathy Sloane.   (No admission charge)

Sunday August 11 at 6pm:  The Eulipions, Cafe Stritch’s house jazz collective pays tribute to Rahsaan. (No admission charge)

About Café Stritch:
Opened in March, 2013, Cafe Stritch was named for an iconic saxophone used by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the jazz great whose “Theme for the Eulipions,” gave rise to the name Eulipia, the white tablecloth restaurant and jazz club that preceded Cafe Stritch in the same location: 374 South First Street, San Jose, CA. (408) 280-6161.  Cafe Stritch features affordable food offerings such as fried chicken and waffles, hamburger sliders, jambalaya, salads, sandwiches and a variety of house-made soups. It offers a full bar including craft beers, Chromatic coffee and live music.

One South Market Construction Panorama

You guys have to check out this panoramic photo of the One South Market construction site. Click the photo to enlarge. As a bonus there is also a photo of things just getting started at the Family Justice Center.

Both are brought to you by Jeffrey Arko, who will be sending us more photo updates in the future as construction progresses. Thanks for your contributions!


Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Colossal Show @ MACLA



On August 3rd, MACLA Art Gallery will be the host of the Colossal Show, a variety show featuring some of the funniest comedians and most talented musicians.

Having an art gallery as a venue allows comedians to practice an alternative brand of comedy and musicians a very intimate setting for a memorable performance. Audiences are also afforded the opportunity to support the local performing art scene away from cover charges and the two-item minimum.

It's also BYOB! Beer and Wine only, but bring as much as you'd like. Food is also welcomed.

Ben DelCastillo will be hosting a stellar line-up. The show features comedians: David Nguyen, Imran G-i, Clare O'Kane, and Nick Aragon! We're also excited to have musicians Shaanz and Brooke D share the stage!

$10 is all we ask. Most of the proceeds goes towards covering the cost of producing the show

RSVP online @ thecolossalshow.ticketleap.com or call (408) 256-2690

Doors open at 7:30pm and show starts at 8pm on Saturday, August 3rd, 2013.

The Mmoon Has Closed

Many of you know this already, but The Mmoon has officially closed their empanada shop and soccer lounge Downtown. Just like VeggieBox at the SPSM, I feel like the timing of the closure is not so great. Things are turning around Downtown and I hate to think that if they had just stuck around for just a few more months, they would have seen a huge improvement in business. With The Farmer's Union opening next door, San Pedro Square in general heating up, two new high-rises less than a block away, and the new Earthquakes Stadium... it seems they are leaving right before a key inflection point. Anyways, I am sad to see them go as I really enjoyed their empanadas and they were the first in a big wave of unique restaurants to come Downtown. I'm hoping they will have a worthy successor, as I'm sure that space will not be vacant for long.

The Mmoon Empanadas  
 
Dear Loyal Mmoon Customers,
Our Downtown San Jose location (Soccer Lounge) will be
closing permanently effective Tuesday, July 16
 
We are consolidating our operations to our Los Gatos store (only 5 miles from San Jose). We will continue to provide all catering and online delivery services and will expand our delivery zone to accommodate customers that have ordered from our San Jose location. 

Thank you for your patronage, we look forward to seeing you in Los Gatos.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

FOCUS: STREET ART Premiers Today at the MLK Library Downtown


Don't miss "FOCUS: STREET ART". A photo exhibit by Randy O. that will be featured at the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Library, 150 E San Fernando St, in San Jose from the 27th of July until the 26th of August 2013.

Fascinated by contemporary spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle's, take on "Chaos and the Higher Order", Randy's work is inspired by simple, common everyday objects and images that form part of our lives like graffiti, rusting pipes or peeling paint, which are insignificant yet he sees them as art forms by focusing from a different perspective.

 His  work is characterized by vibrant, highly induced colors, rich textures, asymmetrical lines, a play of lights and shadows and dramatic contrasts that is designed to stimulate the mind.

Prior to venturing into fine art, he spent the last 30 years as a graphic designer, photographer, color separation specialist and commercial printer. With so many years dealing with a discerning clientele in the advertising industry, his work has now come full circle.

What many people don't know is  that it takes a whole team to create the perfect images that are exhibited by top photographers in high end galleries. What Randy O. hopes to achieve through 4 Archival Print is to level the playing field by helping aspiring photographers and artists reproduce limited and open edition prints with the same artistic feel and high quality to increase the marketability of their work.

He has developed a special discounted program for students to reproduce their work and encourages them to register at www.4archivalprint.com to avail of these discounted prices.

Here is a sample of his work printed on Archival Monet Canvas by Hahnemuehle.
43" x 33" in size using Ultra Krome 3 ink which will be on exhibit.
Title: The Chameleon

Friday, July 26, 2013

San Jose's Hermitage Brewing Company Now Has a Tap Room!

San Jose seems to be turning a brisk walk towards becoming a beer destination into a full-out run. Hermitage, an award-wining local craft beer company, has recently announced that they opened a tap room at their brewery on 1627 South 7th Street. They are located really close to Downtown, parking is free, and they are open Thursday and Friday from 4-7pm and Saturday from 12-5pm. I can't wait to check these guys out! For more information on their beers, head over to the Hermitage website over here.




Beer Fridge

Hermitage Brewery
1627 S 7th Street
San Jose, CA 95112

Phone Number:
(408) 291-0966

Tasting Room Hours
Thu: 4pm - 7pm
Fri: 4pm - 7pm
Sat: 12pm - 5pm