Top image: Hotel De Anza, 233 W. Santa Clara St., home of the reopened Hedley Club. Photo: EugeneZelenko / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Openings & Closings is the Chronicle’s regular roundup of restaurants and food businesses arriving in, and leaving, the South Bay and Midpeninsula. Every item is sourced to the business itself, public records or published reporting; dates and prices are as reported and can change.
Openings
Hedley Club, Hotel De Anza, San Jose. The art deco lounge inside the 1931 Hotel De Anza at 233 W. Santa Clara St. reopened Wednesday, Oct. 21, after a remodel, Hoodline reported, citing the San Francisco Chronicle. It is run by Srijith “Sri” Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar of Cal-India Collective, the group behind Copra in San Francisco and Ettan and Eylan on the Peninsula. Gopinathan previously led Campton Place to two Michelin stars, Eater SF reported. The California bistro-style menu includes a $19 butter chicken hot dog, $18 fried chicken, $22 ahi tostadas and $22 sourdough pizza, according to the Hoodline account. The hotel’s adjoining Palm Court is part of the same project, and a Cal-Mexican restaurant, Tejer, led by chef Enrique Gonzalez, is planned for December, according to Eater SF. More at hedleyclub.com.
SPARK Social San José, Creekside. The outdoor food-truck park at 140 S. Montgomery St. in the Creekside district, near SAP Center and Diridon Station, opened Friday, Oct. 9, according to the company. Alongside rotating food trucks, the company lists a dozen permanent vendors, including The Breakbox, Mr. Shrimp, Pana, House of Tiffins and Matcha Matcha, plus a full bar, a coffeehouse, an 18-hole putting course and a stage. Hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, according to SPARK Social.
Passport Cafe & Bar, Redwood City. Owner Noryn Aldana soft-opened the cafe at 2159 Roosevelt Ave. on Oct. 2 in the space formerly occupied by Chez Nous, which closed in June, Palo Alto Online reported. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with bowls from $9 to $14 and tartines from $15 to $19, and plans dinner service once it secures a full liquor license, according to the report.
Silq Road, Mountain View. A Kyrgyz food truck parked at 584 N. Rengstorff Ave. opened Sept. 19, run by 23-year-old owner Zhibek Zhusubalieva, Palo Alto Online reported. Plov is $18.95 and tandoor-baked samsa runs $7.95 to $8.95; the truck is open daily from noon to 11 p.m.
Coming soon
TleafGreen Burmese Kitchen, Mountain View. A fast-casual Burmese restaurant is headed for 790 Castro St., the former Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria space, with an opening expected in December or January and all meat halal, Palo Alto Online reported.
Closings
Lutticken’s, Menlo Park. The West Menlo Park deli at 3535 Alameda de las Pulgas closed Sept. 30 after 45 years, along with its Stanford and Sand Hill Road locations, The Almanac reported. “It’s just not sustainable anymore,” manager Judy Congdon told the paper.
Subway, 150 S. First St., San Jose. The downtown sandwich shop is set to close Oct. 30, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported. Building owner Hines has proposed filling about 30,000 square feet of ground-floor space along Paseo de San Antonio with 11 restaurant and retail concepts; the plan still requires city review.
Watch list
True Food Kitchen, Palo Alto. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 4 and closed 12 restaurants, but its Stanford Shopping Center location remains open, The Almanac reported. Court filings list $618,210.10 owed to the shopping center, according to the paper.
The long view
This month’s list shows two forces at work in local dining. Established operators are betting on landmark rooms and big-format sites. Cal-India Collective has taken on a 95-year-old hotel bar, and SPARK Social has put a multi-vendor park in the Creekside district near Diridon Station. At the same time, long-running independents like Lutticken’s are giving way under costs they describe as unsustainable. What fills the gap is often small, owner-run businesses like a Kyrgyz food truck or a neighborhood cafe that start with a short menu and limited hours. How many of them make it through a second winter will say a lot about the next phase of South Bay food.
Know of an opening or closing? Send it to editor@southbaychronicle.com.
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