MJP –
The success of the food hall SoFA Market was far from certain when architect Thang Do inaugurated it on South First Street in downtown San Jose in September 2014. Downtown was still rebuilding (sound familiar?), from the Great Recession.
It will be a tribute to Do’s vision and the tenacity of the tiny merchants at SoFA Market that the market celebrates its tenth anniversary on Friday. Even though Do passed away from cancer in 2022, his wife Grace Liu has continued his legacy at SoFA Market. Do was the CEO of Aedis Architects, an architecture firm located in San Jose.
On Friday, beginning at 5 p.m., there will be festivities featuring guest singers (rumor has it that Mayor Matt Mahan is among them) performing new arrangements of “Do You Know the Way to San Jose? “, as well as a presentation on the early days of the SoFA district and SoFA Market by downtown boosters Steve Borkenhagen, Grace Liu, Nate LeBlanc, and Fil Maresca. Suzanne St. John Crane, CEO of the American Leadership Forum, will also be making an announcement soon in honor of Do, a former senior fellow of the organization.
Although it is much smaller than San Pedro Square Market, SoFA Market mostly serves the South First Area nightclub and gallery patrons of downtown, although it experiences a surge in business during festivals and events held at the neighboring San Jose McEnery Convention Center. On Tuesdays, you can catch King Trivia, and on Wednesdays, you can look forward to live jazz.
Habana Cuba, Vietnam, and the Fountainhead Bar are all staples in the food hall, and Jen Echeverri, the owner of Habana Cuba, also happens to be the manager of SoFA Market. According to her, there are plans to keep the space improved with events like jazz nights and pop-up vendors, like the one that happened during the plant and flower sale recently.
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“Our goal is to create an environment where people want to spend time,” she explained.
All nine of SoFA Market’s eateries are throwing $10 deals for the remainder of the month, so the party doesn’t end there. The specifics can be found on the flyers that will be distributed at the 10th-anniversary celebration.
On Wednesday, San Jose joined the rest of the nation in commemorating the tragic events of September 11th by participating in a national day of service.
With the help of the organization 9/11 Day and the Provident Credit Union Event Center at San Jose State, over 500 people packed over 200,000 meals. These meals will be delivered to Second Harvest Silicon Valley. Participating in the Bay Area Meal Pack for 9/11 Day were over twenty organizations, including Merrill, Sutter Health, Cupertino Electric, AmeriCorps, and the Veterans Resource Center at San Jose State.
As part of the inspiring opening ceremony, volunteers heard from San Jose State Police Capt. Frank Belcastro, who was a commanding officer for the New York Police Department on Sept. 11, 2001. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president of San Jose State, and Matt Mahan, mayor of San Jose, were also present, donning hairnets to lend a hand.
Haunted Experience: The Winchester Mystery House’s newest Halloween event, “Unhinged: Hotel,” opens this Friday, the 13th, which is just right.
This haunted house in San Jose, California, has been hosting yearly scarefests for the past few years. Sarah Winchester designed the 160-room mansion, and it has as many scary stories—most of them made up—as rooms it has. From now until November 2nd, visitors to this year’s haunted hotel will experience a fresh twist on the traditional haunted house style, complete with jump scares and the return of The Mists, an outdoor fright zone.
On Friday, visitors will also be able to explore the estate’s Halloween Museum, which features a collection of antique Halloween decorations and artifacts and is open to the public at no cost. Visit www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/unhinged for tickets and other details.
