The Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale has an oasis-like otherworldliness that belies its location, nestled beside State Route 237 and neighbored by a cluster of Google office buildings. The hotel’s lobby might be your first clue that you are somewhere else entirely, with an artificial-moss-and-flower-covered Volkswagen Beetle parked perfectly in the middle of the...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Sourdough Eatery offers art on the side
Nestled in a 100-year-old former residence, Sourdough Eatery in San Jose feels like a roadside attraction on Route 66. Part delicatessen, part art gallery and part living history museum, it is a tribute to owner Barbara Lenhart. Every visible wall is covered with Lenhart’s oil portraits of celebrities, politicians and glamor girls. Lenhart sits at...
The Biz Beat: San Jose brunch spot serves Cali-Mexico fusion
There is a distinct therapeutic magic to be discovered in a plate of Chunky Monkey Pancakes from Mix Huevos in San Jose, according to owner Ray Hernandez. Layered with warm banana slices, dark chocolate chips, glazed walnuts and a bourbon butterscotch glaze, it’s his favorite dish and, he said, nothing less than a tonic for...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Mama Flow Studio rethinks fitness
Cat Gieser transitioned from a high-pressure marketing career to becoming a perinatal movement specialist and certified birth doula. Through her Mama Flow Studio, she offers cutting-edge pre- and post-natal yoga programs, empowering women with a means of rehabilitation that goes far beyond simply helping them to “bounce back” after childbirth “What we do at Mama...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Sixth Street Burger is a smash
Abram Chandler’s path from plumbing contractor to co-owner of Sixth Street Burger in San Jose was circuitous, but in some ways it was a short one: The restaurant sits just two blocks from his childhood home at Sixth and St. James streets. “I went to Horace Mann Elementary,” he told San José Spotlight. “I used...
The Biz Beat: Black & Brown brings vintage stylings to San Jose
A native of San Jose, Monisha Murray’s journey in the buy-and-sell world of vintage clothing began long before she opened her own storefront, Black & Brown. Over the last 21 years, the business has grown from a 2,000-square-foot startup to two side-by-side stores showcasing women’s and men’s classic clothing stretching back to the 1940s. “I...
The Biz Beat: San Jose Mexican bakery offers Oaxacan delights
Upon entering Dulcinea Panadería Oaxaqueña in San Jose, the intoxicating aroma alone should be enough to overwhelm your senses. But if it doesn’t, the dazzling display of more than 100 varieties of cookies, pastries, breads and cakes — almost all made fresh daily — certainly will. It might be surprising to discover all of this...
The Biz Beat: 2nd STREET brings ‘treasure hunt’ to San Jose
On Jan. 30, in-the-know connoisseurs of vintage fashion lined up in droves for the grand opening of 2nd STREET at the Strawberry Park Shopping Center in San Jose. The store, which specializes in a wide selection of used clothing, shoes and accessories, is the international brand’s 54th location in the U.S. “According to the higher-ups...
2025 in review: The top 5 Biz Beat stories
This year was an interesting one for Biz Beat, with a greater mix of unusual businesses, in addition to its usual focus on restaurants and food. It started at Santana Row’s Fitoor, with fantastic Indian dishes presented in ways that reflected the chef’s cruise ship experience, and ended with the revival of Charlie Rose Baseball,...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Charlie Rose Baseball hits a home run
Nearly 70 years ago, Charlie Rose started repairing baseball gloves in his spare time at home as a sideline to his television repair shop. The TVs are long gone, but Charlie Rose Baseball in San Jose lives on as the go-to specialty store for everything you need to play and love America’s great national pastime....