San Jose Could Get a Massive Indoor Vietnamese Market

The former Sears store in San Jose’s Eastridge Center may become a huge and lively Vietnamese market. That is, if Do Van Tron, a San Jose-based business and real estate executive, has anything to say about it. The Mercury News reports Tron purchased the location through Intelli, one of his affiliate companies, and he told the paper the 110-year-old Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, an enormous indoor shopping center and one of the oldest structures in Vietnam, serves as inspiration for the potential new market.

Tron says “Hello Ben Thanh Indoor Market” is the proposed name for what would become a destination shopping center. The idea is to bring in “the most famous Vietnamese restaurants in California,” according to the development concept issued by Intelli, to sell their food throughout two floors of stalls and vendors. The idea is to also sell all kinds of goods, with a large portion dedicated to “merchandise and services.” The company paid $24.8 million for the 2180 Eastridge Loop address and the development concept also states the city of San Jose would claim boatloads of tax revenue from the complex and see the creation of “many jobs,” too.

Burmatown in Corte Madera opens a bigger location around the corner

This Marin County restaurant is following the ethos of “so nice we built it twice”: The Marin Independent Journal writes Burmatown’s co-owner Jennifer Fujitani, alongside her mother who also works as head chef, will take over the former Benissimo space for a “new house.”

Indian barbecue restaurant reopens after chef recovers from stroke

As cliche as it may sound, the stories behind a community’s much-loved restaurant really can be mind blowing. The San Francisco Chronicle writes about Wah Jee Wah’s chef-owner Rounak Dumra who, after recovering from a stroke at 35 years old, is back in Hayward doing what he feels he must: cooking. His restaurant, which focused on open-flame cooking, reopened in July.

Union Square pop-up takes hold in historic hotel

For the rest of 2022, fans of stoic, enormous paintings, like that of Alma de Bretteville Spreckels who is known by the casual title of “Great Grandmother of San Francisco,” can catch a craft cocktail in her honor at the pop-up Big Alma in the Villa Florence Hotel. Tablehopper writes the team behind the pop-up worked through SingleThread, Lazy Bear, and The French Laundry.

San Pablo Avenue food pop-up extended to end of September

In more pop-up news, the Jeweled Rice series, first reported on by KQED, is pushing back its close date to September 25 due to popular demand. That means more Mishmish, Big Dill Kitchen, and Tanoor, amongst others.