Guest blog post by Rick Jensen, Communications Director, San José Downtown Association

 Anticipating a return of daytime workers and nightlife visitors after two years of the pandemic, a young and diverse group of entrepreneurs have selected downtown San José to open and grow their brick-and-mortar businesses.

Each differentiates their concept from the rest of the center city’s retail mix with new products, drink concepts and elevated menus of traditional dishes.

Here’s a summary of some of the new entries opening in summer and fall:

• Mommy’s Banh Mi (1 E. San Fernando St.): “We're willing to work harder to take Vietnamese food a step higher,” said Curtis Lai, born and raised in San José, who operates his online, catering and over-the-counter Mommy's Banh Mi businesses out of Fuze nightclub, 58 S. First St. (and starting March 18, 2023 inside the Rec Room on 1 E. San Fernando St.)  Lai started in 2019 with a food trailer traveling to local farmers' markets five days a week, closed in 2020 due to COVID and reopened as a ghost kitchen in San Jose in 2021 before sharing the food operations at Fuze. mommysbanhmi.com and @mommysbanhmicart
  
  
  
• Casa Guzmania (350 S. Market St.): Casa Guzmania specializes in artisanal, savory, and handmade empanadas still basically made in the traditional Mexican way. Sister and brother Cecilia and Pedro Melendez have turned their business into a family operation, starting with the name Guzmania, which honors their mother, Guzman, who passed away from COVID. Pedro came to the Bay Area 11 years ago to first work at Cisco and now Google. Cecilia and her husband, cafe chef Rafael Vazquez, both recently moved from Mexico to run the restaurant. Casaguzmania.com and @casaguzmania
  
   
• Egghead Sando Cafe (80 S. 1st St.): Vinh Ha loves South First Street and wants to be a part of downtown’s post-pandemic comeback. He and partner Rosaline Chen have opened Egghead Sando Café at 80 S. First St., which serves quick grab-and-go egg-based sandos with all-organic ingredients. Ha and Chen utilize their respective Vietnamese and Taiwanese roots and meld their rich flavors with American tastes for their unique creations. “A lot of companies are coming back now,” Ha said. “Staying at home was great, but I miss traffic and people.” eggheadcafe.net/ and @egghead_sando_cafe
  
  
• ABVE the Basics (1 E. San Fernando St.): Established in 2020 as a food truck service, ABVE the Basics is now located inside the Rec Room, 1 E. San Fernando St., “in our kitchen takeover location,” said owner Gabriel Vegas. Plates are a combination of modern Mexican and American with a street food twist, all made from scratch. Tacos and bowls feature steak, carnitas, fish, chicken, pork belly and shrimp, plus a vegetarian option with “tator tots.” Abvethebasics.com and @abvethebasics
  
   
• Ashy Aromas (87 N. San Pedro St.): “Ashy” is Ashton Toefield, owner of Ashy Aromas, who along with fellow Louisiana transplant Bryan Jackson offer a candle-making-made-easy three-step workshop in an on-the-ground business at San Pedro Square Market. The origins of Ashy started in February 2020 – one month before COVID erupted and people were ordered to shelter in place -- when Toefield was transferred by Sprint from his hometown of Independence, La. to San Jose. Stressed by the outbreak and without family and friends, he found candle-making with aromas therapeutic. Based on demands from friends to make them candles, Toefield started selling them online on Etsy and at ashyaromas.com, reaching customers in 43 states in his first year. @ashyaromas
  
  
• Serious Dumplings (49 N. San Pedro St.): Phebe Shen from Guangzhou, China, and chef Tony Ye, from Shanghai, spent months perfecting the original SJB — short for Sheng Jian Bao — a pan-fried dumpling, to taste like it does in the Chinese metropolis. “We wanted it to be as authentic as possible,” said Shen, co-owner along with Ye and Chris Yeo, of Serious Dumplings on San Pedro Street. “COVID gave us time to prepare and sort out the details.” Such details included making the food as healthy as possible and keeping the menu simple so that expansion to other locations is possible. About choosing downtown San Jose for her first location: “San Jose is more organized, newer, has more diversity and will have a better future for the next 10 or 20 years,” she said. seriousdumpling.com 
  
  
• Suerte Eatery (87 N. San Pedro St.): Owner Carlos Perez, who grew up in California’s farmlands, insists on using local sources to build his menu of tapas-style Mexican and American dishes at Suerte Eatery inside San Pedro Public Market. “I want to give customers – many coming from out of town – tastes of San Jose and California,” he said. Perez wishes all his customers “Buenos Suerte,” which means “Good Fortune.” @suerteatery
  
  
• 1 Culture (136 E. Santa Clara St.): “What San Jose means to us and should continue striving for can be expressed in one word, ‘culture,’” said San Jose-born- and -based artists Andrew S. Espino and Scape Martinez. “May San Jose continue to expand, diversify, and innovate but please: don't lose its culture.” At 136 E. Santa Clara St., among a block mixed with eclectic businesses including a plant store, tattoo artist, video game shop and Holy Cannoli, 1 Culture art store has curated art and clothing adorned with original art with San Jose’s culture in mind. shop1culture.com and @shop1culture

Visit the San José Downtown Association website for a complete listing of downtown establishments, activities and programs.