The San Jose Chamber of Commerce has selected Leah Toeniskoetter as its new president and CEO, the organization announced today. Toeniskoetter is the founding director of public policy think tank SPUR San Jose, as well as a senior manager at Deloitte and daughter of prolific developer Chuck Toeniskoetter. She is the third CEO for the...
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San Jose bends to developers in delaying wage theft policy
A shiny luxury condo tower in downtown San Jose is a stark reminder of the dark and tragic abuse workers endured to construct it—with some locked in shipping containers after spending the day working for little to no pay. The city’s latest policy is designed to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. Under the proposed responsible...
The Biz Beat: Midtown San Jose restaurant puts a spin on breakfast
Groucho Marx once said he would not care to belong to any club that would have him as a member. But if he’d seen the fantasyland of selections at The Breakfast Club at Midtown San Jose, it is likely he would have made an exception. While the menu is broken down into traditional breakfast and...
The Biz Beat: The food at San Jose’s Funny Farm is no joke
The sandwich board outside The Funny Farm Restaurant advertises a rum cake so good it needs a designated driver. A sign on the front counter next to a bucket of rubber chickens reads, “Warning: Snarky Staff.” A stuffed unicorn hangs upside down from the ceiling, surrounded by dangling multi-colored Slinkies. “We’re a very homey place,”...
San Jose hosts a futuristic vision of mass transit
The future of transportation arrived in San Jose via a conference centered on automated, sustainable forms of public transit for the region and beyond. The 2023 Podcar City transit innovation conference took place Friday at San Jose City Hall, where about 100 representatives from transit organizations, companies and municipal governments from around the world gathered...
Downtown Sunnyvale’s housing anchors the community
The stream of customers barely slowed at Bean Scene Cafe on Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale, as owner Kenny Lam poured espresso shots and steamed milk for lattes. The cafe, along with all of downtown Sunnyvale, has returned to pre-pandemic levels of foot traffic and engagement. City leaders and business owners attribute the success to a...
San Jose nonprofits are food lifeline for Thanksgiving
Each year, the lines are long at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose, as people and cars queue up for nutritious boxed holiday meals. From Monday to Wednesday, the nonprofit distributed approximately 3,500 free boxes of food. Each box, valued at $150, included a chicken, ham or turkey and all the fixings for the...
San Jose mellows cannabis rules to help industry grow
San Jose officials are relaxing cannabis regulations and instead want to refocus efforts to end the black market industry. The San Jose City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to reduce fines on dispensaries that violate city policy. Councilmembers also expanded hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The move is aimed...
The Biz Beat: Authentic Cuban food hidden in San Jose’s SoFA Market
It would be hard to question Habana Cuba Restaurant’s authenticity: it was founded by Ciro Calvo, the personal chef to the island’s former president, Fulgencio Batista, who fled the country when the dictator was deposed in 1959. Located inside First Street’s SoFA Market food hall, Habana Cuba faithfully recreates Calvo’s recipes, serving dishes with street...
The Biz Beat: Tikis, comics and jazz intersect at San Jose’s Art Boutiki
It is almost impossible to describe what awaits you at San Jose’s Art Boutiki as anything other than “eclectic.” It is a serendipitously curated shop in downtown that combines a live music venue with a store that features graphic novels and comics, an art gallery and a large selection of Tiki items you never knew...