High-rise apartments in Campbell could replace closed restaurant

The location of a beloved Campbell restaurant that shut down during the pandemic could be redeveloped for housing.

Saratoga-based E. Barbano Enterprises, LLC has submitted a proposed plan to redevelop the 2.4-acre property at 980 E. Campbell Ave., where the blighted Hick’ry Pit restaurant still stands. The preliminary design is for a seven-story building with 324 apartments across from The Pruneyard shopping center. There would be retail space on the ground floor and underground and above ground parking for 577 vehicles. The project would also include a fitness room, club rooms, a pool and spa and common deck on the top floor.

“In terms of location, next to The Pruneyard, it’s a great place for residential building,” Campbell Community Development Director Rob Eastwood told San José Spotlight. “The focus is on building up.”

Eastwood added the city favored a more selective ground-floor retail component for the project.

John Pringle of Acquity Realty Inc., a member of the group pursuing the project, said the development faces several obstacles to feasibility, most notably the city’s 15% affordable housing requirements and fees.

The Hickr’y Pit, which closed in 2020, was known for its homestyle cooking. The restaurant drew customers for its barbecue and pies and family-friendly atmosphere. It was also a favorite spot of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, according to Campbell Chamber of Commerce CEO Ken Johnson.

Johnson said the developer has revised the plans multiple times and there is still significant uncertainty surrounding the proposal, but he supports a mixed-use development at the site.

“I’m all for multi-use development there,” Johnson told San José Spotlight. “In the time frame between when it starts and when it can be built, who knows what it’s going to be?”

Campbell identified the site as a prime location for development in its eight-year, state-mandated housing plan. The city must create 2,977 homes by 2031, 1,186 of which must be affordable to low-income residents to meet state requirements.

Campbell has increasingly looked to commercial corridors and underused sites for higher-density housing as California pushes cities to increase homebuilding. Projects near jobs, transit and retail centers such as The Pruneyard shopping center are considered key to helping the city meet its housing goals

Former Campbell mayor Susan Landry said the proposal is preferable to an earlier version that included a hotel and “pseudo water tower” feature.

“The exterior building facade is very plain, without a lot of articulation,” Landry told San José Spotlight. “It doesn’t look like Campbell, but that is subjective.”

Contact Sofia Ruvalcaba at [email protected] or @sofiaruvs on X.