SAN JOSE — A food hall developed in stealth mode by Uber’s co-founder is poised to bring a unique new experience into downtown San Jose by opening its doors to the public for the first time.
The downtown San Jose Food Hall, whose development has proceeded in hush-hush mode, was slated to launch a soft opening today at 82 East Santa Clara Street.
A welcome sign announces a Jan. 19 opening date for the Downtown San Jose Food Hall at 82 East Santa Clara Street in San Jose. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
“At San Jose’s Downtown Food Hall, our mission is to become your go-to spot for to-go meals,” the food hall’s website states. “We are a restaurant co-op that’s modernizing the traditional food hall experience.”
Travis Kalanick, former chief executive officer of Uber, a ride-hailing company, is the CEO of CloudKitchens, a ghost kitchens enterprise developing the project at the corner of East Santa Clara Street and South Third Street.
Chairs and counters in the dining area of the Downtown San Jose Food Hall at 82 East Santa Clara Street in San Jose. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
The food hall is being developed on the ground floor of the Odd Fellows building, a prominent downtown San Jose structure built in 1885.
A sign on a chalkboard outside the entrance to the venue on Thursday invited the public: “Join us Jan 19th!!!.”
Downtown San Jose Food Hall, located at 82 East Santa Clara Street near South Third Street in San Jose, January 2024. (George Avalos/Bay Area News Group)
The website for the CloudKitchens venue on Friday displayed icons for 24 restaurants from which people could place orders.
Limited details are available, even in San Jose planning documents, about the new venture inside the historic building. A modest amount of information, though, has become available.
The San Jose food hall might accommodate 26 kitchens, according to documents on file with city planners. Ghost kitchens are facilities in which food ordered online from area restaurants is prepared and delivered straight to customers.
The food hall venture also features a dine-in restaurant that will total about 1,000 square feet and a coffee bar next to the dining establishment, the city planning documents show.
Related Articles
Real estate firm aims to ride fast-changing Bay Area tech waves
300-plus apartments could sprout near San Jose BART station site
Hotel development implodes in Bay Area and California due to economy: new report
Gym and rock climbing center leases big Mountain View site
Real estate deal collapses for vast ranch on pristine San Jose land
The downtown food hall would be on the ground floor, according to the proposal. Jeffrey Eaton, principal executive with E2 Architecture, is listed as the project architect.
The new venue would bring life to a shuttered building that’s been unused since a long-time furniture store closed its doors at the site in 2017, in the view of local economic and property experts — as well as city officials who hope for a post-coronavirus revival in sluggish downtown San Jose.
Thursday in the late afternoon and evening, people could be observed working inside the venue.
A soft opening for the food hall was in the works for Jan. 19, according to some San Jose city officials. A formal grand opening is also being planned.
Seating sections, cooking stations, kiosks, computer screens and sinks were visible through uncovered windows of the building in recent days, a direct observation of the site by this news organization showed.
“From online web ordering to touchscreen kiosks, we make it easy to order from our 20+ partner restaurants,” the Downtown San Jose Food Hall venue states on its website.
+ There are no comments
Add yours