Category Archives: News

He’s Making a List and Checking It Twice…. Santa is at Eastridge!

In less than 33 days Christmas will be here! What better way to start he holiday season, than a visit to the mall. Oh, the nostalgia! The tree in Center Court, the music, all the hustle and bustle. A Christmas Story, the movie always comes to mind. How can we forget the epic mall Santa scene, and Ralphie’s hopes for a Red Ryder air rifle.

TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY

The Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 17 was truly unforgettable (video coming soon!). If you didn’t have a chance to attend the festivities check out our Facebook page for a recap, videos, and up to date event information. Eastridge hosted a wide variety of performers for this year’s ceremony. Eastridge extends a huge round of applause to all that helped make the ceremony so memorable.

Our emcee Jasmine Orozco

The Classy Cats sax quartet

EYAC Cheerleaders

Lokahi Polynesian Dance Group

Wynstar Talents

Liberty Dance Company

SJ Nutcracker

Mariachi Los Toritos

DJ Krucial

And, of course, the Big Man himself!

Liberty Dance Company performance of The Grinch!

EYAC Cheerleaders!

SANTA PHOTOS

Beginning on November 18, and continuing through December 24, photos with Santa are back! Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to capture the sweet Christmas moments with Santa while telling him all of your Christmas wishes. Photo packages start at $25.00-50.00 and digital options are available.

In a hurry? No problem, check out the Santa FASTPASS to get in your photos even faster.

COMPASSIONATE SANTA

Our Compassionate Santa project is geared to help children and adults with special needs and sensory concerns enjoy a visit with Santa in a calmer setting. Music will be turned down, stores will not yet be open, and there will be a more peaceful atmosphere to accommodate your visit. Please RSVP HERE  for Sunday, December 3rd 9AM-11AM – walk-ins also welcome.

PET NIGHTS

Don’t forget your furry friends this Christmas! Eastridge supports all things pets, and believes that they deserve a photo with Santa too! Santa will take pet photos on Tuesdays beginning at 5PM. All dogs are welcome, they just must remain on a leash or in a carrier at all times. Please see the Eastridge pet policy on the website for details.

#EastridgeJoy

Don’t forget to use hashtag #EastridgeJoy on all your Eastridge photos this year, and instantly be entered to win gift cards from your favorite brands! Winners will be announced weekly. Follow @EastridgeCenter on Instagram to see all the puppy photos from pet nights, find the Elf on the Shelf, and be the first to hear about sales and events!

Tis’ the season to SHOP!

Barnes & Noble Customers Give the Gift of Reading to Children in Need Through Annual Holiday Book Drive

Eastridge Mall/San Jose Barnes & Noble Chooses Teen Challenge Family Centers As Local Non-Profit Recipient

San Jose, CA–November 1st, 2017– Barnes & Noble Eastridge Mall invites customers to give the gift of reading to children in need during the company’s annual Holiday Book Drive, taking place November 1, through December 31.  The Barnes & Noble Holiday Book Drive provides customers the opportunity to donate books to locally designated non-profit organizations. Last year, Barnes & Noble customers and booksellers provided more than 1.5 million books to over 650 local charitable organizations that provide services to children across the country.

Holiday Book Drive recipients throughout the country include schools, libraries, literacy organizations, family social service agencies and homeless centers.  This year, the San Jose/Eastridge Mall Barnes & Noble, located at 2200 Eastridge Loop Space #1420 will be collecting books for  kids at local non-profit Teen Challenge’s Family Centers. Customers can choose and then purchase any book K-12. Give it their cashier and we will be sure to deliver the book to Teen Challenge kids.

“The Holiday Book Drive is a favorite program of both booksellers and customers across the country,” says Tracy Vidakovich, Vice President, Business Development for Barnes & Noble.  “Customers often purchase and donate a personal childhood favorite as a way to pass on a holiday tradition to a child in their local community.”

To find out how to participate in the Holiday Book Drive, contact the San Jose/Eastridge Mall Barnes & Noble Community Business Development Manager Michael Koller at408-270-9477 or crm2247@bn.com.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is a Fortune 500 company, the nation’s largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products.  The Company operates 638 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s premier e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com).  The Nook Digital business offers a lineup of popular NOOK® tablets and eReaders and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store®. The NOOK Store features more than 4 million digital books in the US (www.nook.com), plus periodicals and comics, and offers the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices through Free NOOK Reading Apps available for Android, iOS® and Windows®.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company’s corporate website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers® and Barnes &Noble.com® are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates. NOOK® and the NOOK logos are trademarks of Nook Digital, LLC or its affiliates.

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Trifecta Cooks! Our 2017 Taste for the Space WINNER!

CONGRATULATIONS

2017 TASTE FOR THE SPACE WINNER!

Local Trifecta Cooks will launch a new location at Eastridge!

Results are in from the Taste for the Space culinary competition hosted by Eastridge! Were you at our first annual foodie fest?! We are so excited to announce Trifecta Cooks as the winner of the inaugural East San Jose event. Trifecta Cooks earns an equipped eatery space at Eastridge Center with six months free rent and a $50,000 investment to kick off this new hot spot – a total prize package worth $140,000.

  

Trifecta Cooks consists of three friends who met during their time at well-known Morimoto Napa.

Lai Chao, Ryan Gallego and Jason Artajos have a shared passion for Japanese cuisine and look to perfect their craft. Trifecta Cooks focuses on using quality local ingredients with traditional techniques and modern flavors, including sushi and small plates. “Our redevelopment of the center this year focuses on local San Jose stories and experiences,” says Najla Kayyem, senior vice president of marketing for ownership Pacific Retail. “Trifecta Cooks is a great match for Eastridge Center and I’m thrilled to welcome them.” Trifecta Cooks currently operates as a private catering company based out of San Jose while hosting pop-ups in San Francisco through Feastly and private events throughout the Bay Area.

 

Taste for the Space was held May 13 at Eastridge Center and event partners included Joseph George Fine Wines, Camino Brewing and Content Magazine. “We had about 1,500 people show up,” says Eastridge Center general manager John Peterson. “The community loved the live music performances and opportunity to try so many types of food from local chefs.” Fourteen San Jose competitors were selected to show the crowd why their taste should win the space. Set-up much like a food festival, the crowd tasted the competitors’ signature dishes then used text messaging to vote for their favorite. This community voice, along with a panel of judges, selected Trifecta Cooks as the first Eastridge Taste for the Space winner.

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Follow Trifecta Cooks and Eastridge on Instagram for more on what we’re dishing out this year!

 

 

 

US Memorial Day!

Memorial Day honors Americans who died serving their country. Instead of making it a somber reflection, people celebrate by enjoying the many freedoms that American servicemen and women perished protecting, such as freedom of speech, trial by jury, and protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

It is an excellent day for a backyard barbeque, a picnic or a chance to travel. All of these celebratory staples speak to the holiday’s true spirit.

Memorial Day Celebrations:

As on July 4th, more than 75% of American families plan to celebrate Memorial Day with a BBQ or picnic. It is a special time to spend with family and loved ones. Numerous sporting events also occur during this holiday. Since it’s a three-day weekend, many families go on short vacations visiting their relatives, camping in woods, partying on a beach or just heading to a National Park.

Memorial Day parades honoring those who served the battle are held in towns. The president holds a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., and a national moment of remembrance occurs at 3pm Eastern Time.

Thousands of parade goers will wave small American flags, sing the National Anthem, and salute the soldiers as they march by. Old veterans will stand in the back with a tear in their eyes, remembering the ones they left behind.

Memorial Day also marks the unofficial first day of summer. Men and women wear their best summer whites. The smell of barbecue fills the air, as red, white, and blue drinks and foods are arranged on picnic tables. Fresh vegetables are grilled and hot dogs are a dime a dozen.

Memorial Day Party Theme Tips:

Enhance your Memorial Day celebration with these themes:

  • Kick off your Memorial Day BBQ with red, white and blue homemade party favors.
  • Instantly transform your backyard space into a festive scene by stringing dollar store streamers overhead. Your guests will love the airy, whimsical vibe. You can also use string lights to add some sparkle at twilight!
  • Set your picnic table with red place mats and blue and white tableware or you can also use dollar store streamers to make an incredibly cute tabletop design which goes apt with the festive mood!
  • Add festive fresh floral centerpieces.
  • Wrap your candles and party cups and make them patriotic.
  • Red, white and blue Popsicle or Cocktails blends perfectly with the patriotic spirit.

On this day show your American pride by waving flags, thanking those who have served, and remembering those who never made it home.

Taste For The Space Competitor Videos

Eastridge’s Taste For The Space is only a few days away and the competitors are getting ready to show San Jose their signature dish and why their taste should win the space. Before you head off to the competition take some time to get to know a few of the food trucks, local restaurateurs and chefs who are competing in the competition.

CRAZY POKE

BIG ED’S BUZZARD BBQ

BACA SAUCES & CATERING

BIG E CAFE

RITA’S OF SAN JOSE

TEA LYFE

TRIFECTA COOKS

Taste For The Space @ Eastridge Center on May 13, 2017

Eastridge Center in San Jose is getting some attention in the food scene this coming weekend on May 13, 2017 with a culinary competition to determine who will win an eatery space inside the mall.

Entries from local food trucks and restaurateurs were collected in March and finalists were announced on April 10. The fourteen finalists will convene on May 13 to show off their signature dishes to event attendees. Tickets for admission (they were free) are no longer available, but if you managed to snag a ticket, make sure to bring your appetite so you can try each dish in the competition. Guests will have a chance to influence the outcome of the competition by voting for their favorite dish. See the full list of finalists on the HERE. The winner will be announced on May 19.

The winner of the competition will receive a blank canvas dining eatery space with a fully-equipped kitchen and digital signage, a $50,000 investment, and six months of free rent! That’s a pretty big deal for a first-time brick and mortar owner or small business looking to expand its presence.

I met with Ed of Big Ed’s Buzzard BBQ last week and got a sneak peek of his signature dishes — the smoked tri-tip and beef brisket sliders. Don’t these look mouthwatering? They’re the perfect bite!

Smoked tri-tip slider with housemade au jus & beef brisket slider

Beef brisket slider

While at the event, make sure to take a walk around on the sides of the mall stretching from the 24 Hour Fitness to Sears; there’s also a mural on the AMC theater. The new murals by local artists are worth a look and are perfect for a photo shoot. I love that the mall is now a bit more vibrant and showcases local talent. Check out the short film on the murals on Youtube.

Blog Content provided by mykatlife.com

Eastridge Center in San Jose Completes World’s Largest Outdoor Murals on a Shopping Center

First-of-its-Kind, 20,000 Square Foot Public Art Installation Features Four Curated California Muralists

San Jose, Calif. (May 4, 2017) – Pacific Retail Capital Partners has completed the world’s largest collection of outdoor murals on a shopping center, and the only public art project of its kind at Eastridge, in San Jose. The 20,000 square feet of murals features four carefully curated California artists – CYRCLE, Brendan Monroe, Lila Gemellos and Aaron De La Cruz.

“The opportunity to partner with four talented muralists to create an unparalleled public art series is very special, says Najla Kayyem, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Pacific Retail Capital Partners, parent to the San Jose Center. “Immediately the energy and excitement around Eastridge has changed and we’re reminded how art can transform perceptions, fuel urban revitalization and become an economic stimulus.”

Gensler, a global architectural, design and planning firm, came up with the concept to reimagine previously blank exterior brick, stucco and tiled walls around the center with the expansive murals as well as nearly 16,000 square feet of super graphics to transform more than 36,000 square feet of Eastridge’s exteriors facade.

“Most enclosed malls are the ultimate expression of the blank wall,” says Annmarie Brintnall, Retail Centers Practice Area Leader and Principal at Gensler. “The idea was to transform the lifeless façades of Eastridge into a celebrated collection of public art for everyone in the community to enjoy”.

All four muralists are California based, an important component when creating an art installation designed to reflect and celebrate the best of San Jose. Their work ranges from the geometric and colorful, to creative story telling, and has attracted positive attention from the community while adding vibrancy and excitement to a previously uninteresting façade.

“We carefully selected burgeoning artists that could create timeless pieces that offer new perspective each time they’re viewed,” explained Aaron Lloyd Barr, Senior Agent at B&A in New York that curated two of the artists. “While each artist has a distinct style and approach to transforming the space, together they create a cohesive, very modern and approachable art installation that vibrantly flows across a previously non-descript, industrialized canvas.”

Featured Artists

CYRCLE is a two-man collective comprised of David Leavitt (Davey Detail) and David Torres (Rabi) – both born in L.A. Their works can be seen all over the world and are in public and private collections including that of Shepard Fairey, Ari Emanuel, Sean Combs, and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“CYRCLE loves layering and colors and half-tone patterns, mixing monotone with bright colors that come alive on Eastridge Center’s brick walls utlizing sprayers and spray paint on a 70-foot by 100-foot canvas,” explains Barr.

Brendan Monroe was born in Santa Barbara and studied at Art Center in Pasadena. A sculptor and painter, Brendan’s work is available in California, at Galerie L.J. in Paris, and has been exhibited in Asia, Europe and North America.

“Brendan used brushes for his piece at Eastridge Center to create something very distinct, black and white, with an almost techy feel,” Kayyem explained.

Lila Gemellos has been painting across the Silicon Valley for several years and has been an artist since age five. She brings her strong San Jose roots and passion to her artwork through her visual narratives.
Gemmellos utilized paint sprayers and spray paint cans to transform two sections of exterior wall and share a colorful story.

Aaron De La Cruz is based in San Francisco, CA. His work, though minimal and direct at first, tends to overcome barriers of separation and freely steps in and out of the realms of painting and design.
“De La Cruz filled the blank Eastridge Center walls in a way no one else could, with a hand-painted black and white design utilizing scissor lifts and brushes,” explained Barr.

The groundbreaking murals are part of a major redevelopment occurring at Eastridge including interior and exterior design, new exterior entrance enhancements – including the additional 16,000 square feet of super graphics through Gensler – installation of a 30-foot interior digital wall, the four large-scale exterior artist murals and other community-centric art projects that pay homage to the best of San Jose. Later this spring, local children will be invited to create an imaginative art installation of hand painted tiles that will become part of the permanent redesign.

“The real beauty of their work is how it has been embraced by such a variety of people that live in this community,” added Anthony Campo, Eastridge’s Marketing Manager. “Regardless of age or level of art education, these pieces create a powerful response in everyone that has experienced them by bringing the best of San Jose together and transforming people’s perceptions of Eastridge and our larger community.”

To view videos of the art installation visit https://eastridgecenter.com/3905-2/ or through social media at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EastridgeCenter
Twitter: @EastridgeCenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eastridgecenter/
#EastridgeMurals

About Eastridge

Owned and operated by Pacific Retail Capital Partners, Eastridge is Silicon Valley’s second largest retail destination with 1.4 million square feet of abundant shopping, dining and entertainment. 2017 marks a milestone as the property undergoes redevelopment to re-invent Eastridge Center and embrace the best San Jose has to offer. Featuring Macy’s, JC Penney, Sears, Round 1 Bowling and Amusement, Barnes & Noble, Red Robin, and Chili’s, the well-known San Jose center showcases 150 stores, an impressive 15-screen AMC IMAX Theatre, 24 Hour Fitness, H&M, Hollister Co., Tilly’s, Victoria’s Secret, crazy 8, Forever 21, a spacious eatery and multiple restaurants. The Grand Center Court offers two levels of shopping with superior store accessibility and visibility in San Jose’s Evergreen neighborhood. For more information, visit eastridgecenter.com.

The Eastridge Murals Celebrates Art and Community

 

The Eastridge Murals aim to celebrate the best of San Jose through art, culture and community. A call for local artists was announced earlier this year for a chance to have their art painted on the exterior of Eastridge Center. Four artists were chosen each with their own artistic style and story. Eastridge welcomed Aaron De La Cruz, Brendan Monroe, Lila Gemellos and Cyrcle to shape the look of the Eastridge Murals. The goal of The Mural Project is to create a piece of public art for an outdoor environment that reflects the spirit of the Bay Area and engages our community.

The Eastridge Murals kicked off on March 13th with Artist, Aaron De La Cruz. His mural took over 59 hours over a span of seven days. As a way to bring our community into the Mural Project, De La Cruz partnered with Empire Seven Studios with an art scavenger hunt. Signed prints were hidden all over Eastridge while Empire Seven Studios provided clues on their Instagram.

 

 

Mural by Cyrcle

Not only has the Eastridge Murals attracted local residents, but has also created a buzz on a global scale. The mural project garnered thousands of views on social media. Brendan Monroe’s video feature by Chop Em Down Films was noticed by global artist network, Pow! Wow! Hawaii creating over 7,000 views. We hope to reach out to our communities as we embrace art, culture and the next generation retail experience.

 

Mural by Aaron De La Cruz

The murals are a perfect photo op for visitors and an opportunity for people to meet the artists. Lila Gemellos colorful mural “Heart of Silicon Valley” was visited by many who took selfies with Lila, prom photos, family photos and other creative shots from our visitors. One of the last murals to be completed is by Cyrcle which was close to 20,000 sq feet of space. From blank walls to work of arts, these artists did an amazing job at capturing San Jose’s spirit.

 

Mural by Lila Gemellos

 

Mural by Brendan Monroe

 

The Eastridge Murals are just the start of the redevelopment at the center as we continue to celebrate  San Jose. We would like to thank California Arts Council for their support, Chop Em Down Films for documenting the Mural Project, Pacific Retail and Gensler for making the vision of this project come to life.

Follow Eastridge and the artists on Instagram.

  • Eastridge @eastridgecenter
  • Aaron De La Cruz @aarondelacruz
  • Brendan Monroe @brendantheblob
  • Lila Gemellos @gemellosmurals
  • Cyrcle @cyrcle

Want to share your awesome photos of the murals? Hashtag #eastridgemurals We’d love to see them!

To see more video, check out the Eastridge YouTube Channel HERE

Butcher, baker, business maker: Why food halls are popping up all over Silicon Valley

More than a spot to find dining  options, food halls are hot. But are they a fad, a trend or an evolution of traditional retail? Experts say they’re a little of everything.

When it comes to traffic and revenue, many traditional retailers are limping along compared to online giants like Amazon, but there’s one sector of brick-and-mortar retail that real estate experts say has snuck ahead and isn’t slowing down: food halls.

“This is the hottest thing in retail – period,” said Garrick Brown, vice president of retail research at Cushman & Wakefield.

But that endorsement comes with a caveat: Despite the concept’s popularity, it’s not easy to make a successful food hall,  Brown said.

The trend, which shows no  signs of winding down in the coming years, comes with unique considerations for landlords looking to jump on  the bandwagon. Among them, short-term leases and subleases, added build-out costs, finding the magical tenant mix and courting investors for a new – and therefore potentially riskier – type of retail.

Even so, food halls, which have traditionally popped up in large, superdense metropolises such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, are starting to expand to smaller cities across the country, including those in Silicon Valley.

Food halls are still evolving, but the ones emerging today lean hard on  chef-inspired concepts and fast- casual dining, as opposed to fast food, which had previously dominated retail centers. Landlords can opt to rent individual spaces on  a plug-and-play basis, or lease the whole space to an operator with their own themed food hall vision, like Eataly, an N.Y.C.-based, Italian-themed food hall and market.

San Jose alone has four standalone food hall concepts in various stages of development.

Two local malls — Eastridge Shopping Center and Westfield Valley Fair — have announced they will revamp their traditional food courts to attract more local and chef-inspired fare, a move many malls around the country are also making, according to Cushman & Wakefield data.

At Eastridge, the food court update comes with a multimillion-dollar effort to improve the entire shopping center. Later this year, property owner Pacific Retail Capital Partners will host a contest to choose a local food concept to fill a space in the mall  for free.

It’s the first step in a long-term vision for the mall,  said Najla Kayyem, vice president of marketing for Pacific Retail.

“I don’t think it is a trend — I think it is an evolution,” she said, referring to the food court upgrades. “Retail is constantly evolving itself.”

Other cities in the Valley are also starting to get attention from developers, including Santa Cruz, where a new food hall concept is set to open next month.

Food halls are evolving with traditional retail as brick-and-mortar stores try to find a foothold in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Concepts with diverse, fast-casual offerings aren’t just popping up in retail centers, but also office parks and as commercial anchors underneath apartment projects, Brown said.

Google’s planned 595,000-square-foot Mountain View campus will have a retail component with local chef-inspired restaurants on  the ground level, company representatives told the Mountain View City Council earlier this month. City leaders have told Google they’d like to see its on-site offerings also be open to the public.

The trend is moving so fast that it has become a disruptor in traditional retail. Last year, for the first time ever, the amount that Americans spent on  eating out surpassed what they spent at the grocery store, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report.

In the first two quarters of 2016, the real estate firm tallied more than $388 billion spent on  grocery store food expenses nationwide, but more than $393 billion spent on  food away from home in that timeframe.

Brown has tracked food hall expansion across the U.S. and in a report released in December, he estimated that by the end of 2019 the number of food-centric retail centers in America would double.

Only  a few months later, he’s rethinking his estimates.

“Already, all my projections are way  too conservative and way  too low.  … It’s probably more like 2018,” he said in a late-February interview. “Everyone is jumping on  it; they see the opportunity.”

That opportunity has been spurred by the rise of foodie culture and millennials who are ditching fast food in favor of chef-inspired concepts and farm-to-fork restaurants.

The right retail mix

As a group, those consumers are looking not just for good food, but a place that has a comfortable, hip

space and a diverse mix of food options. That is the biggest challenge to opening a new food hall,  Brown said.

“Now  that [food halls have] become hot, I’m seeing people rush to market with new plans and many of them are nailing it,” he said. “But some don’t get it; it’s not just about plugging in a bunch of people. You have to create real experience.”

That’s become an easier task as the food hall trend grows.

In 2010, San Pedro Square Market officially opened in San Jose. It was an early adopter of the trend in the city and John McEnery, the project’s developer and owner, said finding investors and tenants was a challenge.

“It was a foreign concept,” he said in an interview. “We lost a lot of great users because they just didn’t believe in what we were putting forth – in the concept.”

But the climate has changed. Today, McEnery and other food hall developers in the area can be choosy about their tenants.

McEnery is working on  opening a second food hall,  called Abbott Square Market, in Santa Cruz. That

8,500-square-foot shop with a 10,000-square-foot patio will open sometime in May and has nine vendors locked in, making it one concept short of being completely leased, he said.

The SoFA Market at 387  S. First St. in San Jose has been open for more than a year, but recently filled its last two leases, said David Ma, who manages the hall.

In the meantime, the two newest tenants are Toasted, Craft Sandwiches, and Pizzetta 408, which just opened. The group has been particular about its vendors, Ma said.

“You want a mix,  so a pizza place and a sandwich place,” he said. “But certainly not just any  pizza or sandwich place.”

The SoFA Market is creating a space and looking for tenants that will mesh well with its arts-district appeal and embrace events with artists, performers and writers.

That choosiness has paid off, because with each new restaurant opening, foot traffic has grown by around 20 percent, Ma said.

San Jose’s newest food hall concept, called The Forager at 420 S. First St., opened in early March with just a coffee shop, bar area and one kitchen.

The Forager aims to be an incubator for restaurants and is currently curating its tenant mix,  which the group hopes will complement the early 1900s building’s exposed brick, lofted ceilings and skylights.

Creating a successful food hall “does have to do with what chefs we are bringing in, but more importantly I think it is creating an ambiance,” Jones said. “Honestly, 90 percent of what makes that place cool right now is the bones of the building.”

The ‘wild west’ of leasing

Finding tenants has gotten easier, but investors can still be standoffish, said Cushman & Wakefield’s Brown, though he expects that to change as more food halls open.

“If there is anything that will slow development, it is that private investors … aren’t sure what to make of it yet,” he said.” It’s just coming on  their radar.”

For McEnery’s part, having a successful food hall has helped with his newest effort at 725 Front St. in Santa Cruz.

“Once you  have proof of concept … they can go down there and see how its running, they can talk to the vendors,” he said. “That helps tremendously.”

But on  paper, he admits that food halls don’t pencil out. At San Pedro Square Market, less than half  of the building space is leaseable and the rest is common area, making the lease rate per square foot seem low.

So how do food halls make a profit?

SoFA Market combats that issue in part by charging tenants for some of the space directly outside of their nook – the space the shops’ customers will use while waiting in line to order, for instance.

But that’s just one option for making the per-square-foot lease rate work  out. All four food halls in San Jose handle leasing slightly differently, which seems par for the course, according to Brown.

“It’s the wild, wild west,” he said.

Most food halls work  in short-term leases and tend to take a percentage of the profits from the restaurants, which is common in retail.

Essentially, if the food hall attracts visitors and the restaurants do well, so does the property owner. But the model relies heavily on  attracting a lot of foot traffic to keep the whole thing running.

The Forager is a unique example because of its goal as an incubator. Instead of charging per square foot, like many food halls, Jones said the group plans to only  take a percentage of each company’s revenue.

But most food halls can charge more than the average rent for the area because it offers a smaller space and a built-in kitchen compared to if a restaurateur struck out on  their own, Brown said. That means restaurateurs may pay more per square foot, but less overall than if they rented and outfitted their own brick-and-mortar site, Cushman & Wakefield’s report shows.

McEnery said he’s been able to charge a little more per square foot than traditional retail space, in addition to the profits-sharing.

In return, the restaurants get close to a million people passing by their counters during a good year, he said.

At the SoFA Market, where tenants are also charged for the space directly outside their counter, rents are roughly in line with other retail options, Ma said. The food hall also takes a portion of the revenue each concept brings in.

The perks

Despite the many unknowns, challenges and risks around food halls, it can still be a fruitful business model.

Though managing a larger number of tenants can take up more resources and time, it also means that if one concept fails or moves away, landlords aren’t stuck with an empty building to fill, McEnery said. “I don’t think you  feel the impact [as much] when one business doesn’t make it,” he said.

Plus, if Silicon Valley food halls – each fully leased or with a list of interested restaurateurs – are any indication, there’s no  shortage of restaurant concepts looking for a way  to strike out in small, visible spaces when an opening does come up.

San Jose in particular has plenty of room for growth, but not enough space, said The Forager’s Jones. Finally,  and perhaps most importantly, the food hall trend is still going strong, Brown said.

“Will we eventually get to a point where we’ve done this to death? Yes, we will,” he said. “But we aren’t even close right now.”

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Eastridge Center Opens Call for Local Artists

Mural Project Engages Silicon Valley Creatives

JANUARY 25, 2017 – SAN JOSE, CA – Silicon Valley’s second largest retail destination, Eastridge Center, announced today it is opening a call for local artists to submit design work for a mural art competition at the property.

The center will undergo a redevelopment to create a cultural shopping destination hub and catalyst for public art in a private space. This begins with a public mural project as a way of demonstrating commitment to urban renewal and growth in San Jose’s Evergreen neighborhood. “By establishing a visual public presence, we hope that the community will join us in investing in the city’s future,” says Eastridge marketing director Anthony Campo. Eastridge is requesting artist proposals for a painted mural to be installed along the exterior of the center on existing blank, brick or stucco walls. The project budget is not to exceed $8.60 per square foot for an artist or team of collaborative artists. The budget should include the artist(s) fee, supplies, travel-related expenses, and other associated costs including insurance.

Any artist or team of artists interested in creating a two-dimensional mural, to be completed in Spring 2017, should apply by the deadline of February 15. “One of the goals of this mural project is to engage our local artist community through active participation, meet-the-artist opportunities and demonstrations,” says Mr. Campo. Interested parties may find relevant information and application process detail including project timeline at eastridgecenter.com/mural-projects.

 

Original Article

Eastridge Center Opens Call for Local Artists