Rooftop bar and restaurant envisioned for Willow Glen

Willow Glen residents are one step closer to getting a new two-story restaurant and rooftop bar in their neighborhood.

A special use permit for the proposed Luke’s Rooftop Beer Garden and Restaurant was approved at a San Jose Planning Director’s hearing on Wednesday, where project representatives thanked city officials for their efforts helping move the project forward. The proposed 4,765 square-foot project at 1093 Minnesota Ave. needed special review because the location is less than 150 feet away from residential areas — posing noise and traffic concerns from some in the area.

Russ Fukushima, co-owner of the restaurant Water Tower Kitchen in Campbell, proposed developing the rooftop bar after running Blush Raw Bar Lounge in San Jose’s San Pedro Square for almost 10 years. The lounge was among the many restaurants to close during the pandemic.

The rooftop bar still needs approvals from the building and public works divisions, with city employees aiming to finish reviewing the project by Aug. 21. It’s unclear when construction could start, but it will include the demolition of an existing building once home to the Minnesota Market convenience store.

The building would be adjacent to well-known chains such as Starbucks and Pizza My Heart.

“We appreciate the city staff’s help to get this thing pushed through. A lot of hard work was involved,” architect Jeffrey Eaton said Wednesday.

The proposed 1,000 square feet of outdoor dining on the second floor terrace with an ambient sound system is about 100 feet away from the first nearby home — triggering the need for a special use permit. A vacant site zoned for residential use is just 44 feet away.

Laura Gahrahmat, owner of bookstore Hicklebee’s right next to the proposed rooftop bar, spoke at Wednesday’s hearing and said she was concerned only six parking spaces would be added for a potentially busy restaurant.

“The prior use for that building was a convenience store with people coming in and out,” she said. “There isn’t even adequate parking for full use of all the shops available on Lincoln Avenue.”

As a nearby resident called into the meeting to express concerns over noise levels, architects said they made sure their sound system plan stays below the maximum allowed noise of 55 decibels at the residential property line.

“All the speakers are going to be oriented towards the interior of the patio area, and are going to be only used for low volume background music,” Patrick Kelly, supervising planner, said at the meeting. “It’s not intended for loud music, loud entertainment.”

Alex Shoor, executive director of community and developer engagement group Catalyze SV, said nearby residents could be hesitant about multi-story projects like the proposed restaurant and rooftop bar because they are used to the area being a suburb.

“People are realizing that ‘baby San Jose,’ with its preponderance of solely single-family homes, is not the same as ‘teenager San Jose’ – which has to be a bit more smart and sophisticated in how it develops,” he told San José Spotlight. “It’s just a tough change for a place that was built really in the last 70 years.”