New Restaurants Revitalize Downtown San Jose
SAN JOSE (KCBS) — Downtown San Jose is experiencing a restaurant boom as over 40 new eateries have opened in recent months, indicating an urban revival for the area.
According the San Jose Downtown Association, 43 restaurants have opened over the last 18 months.
"Everybody is opening up new ventures from little cafes to white table sit-down restaurants," association executive director Scott Knies said.
Knies called it a great economic indicator and said that overall, restaurants have experienced a 20 percent increase in business.
"In many ways, the restaurants and the food uses are the pioneers of any sort of urban renaissance—they come first before the soft-good retailers. So this really bodes well for all of retail even though, primarily, it's food service related," he said.
The newest restaurant, Café Eden, on Second and Santa Clara Streets, will open its doors serving Mediterranean cuisine on April 11. Owner Zag Kadah said the timing couldn't be better."
"More and more people are moving into this area, It's becoming a more residential area; it's becoming a business hub so we expect a lot of foot traffic," he said.