Sal Pizarro

San Jose

Around Town columnist @mercnews, curating the cool bits of #SanJose, #SiliconValley. @UCSB alum. #cocktails, #JamesBond and #comics.

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Articles

San Jose's Church on the Hill to celebrate its 175th anniversary

6 days ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

Anyone who’s lived in San Jose within the past 50 years has probably had the experience of driving on Highway 87 or Almaden Expressway, looking up and wondering, “What’s that round building with a globe and a cross on top of it?” The smart-aleck — but correct — answer is the Church on the Hill. The church is celebrating its 175th anniversary on June 1, going back to when it was founded as the First Baptist Church of San Jose in May 1850 by Rev.
San Jose Walls public art festival sets its sights on Japantown

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

If you’ve spent any time in downtown San Jose, you’ve probably noticed the city has a pretty good mural game. Our creative community has done its best to beat back the forces of blandness and turn this into a city that sees a blank space as an opportunity to add to the urban art gallery around us.
San Jose loses another neighborhood gem in Park Station Hashery

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

I stopped by late Wednesday morning to pay my last respects to Park Station Hashery, the popular eatery in San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood, before it closed its doors that day. Plenty of others had the same idea, as the line was out the door before noon. Park Station Hashery’s closure was forced by “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a post from the restaurant on social media.
Stanford Theatre celebrating 100th birthday in classic fashion

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

The Stanford Theatre is going back to the silent era for a week of films June 9-13 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the iconic movie palace on University Avenue in Palo Alto. Known as the “New Stanford” when it opened to differentiate it from a predecessor next door, the 1,400 seat theater was built for $300,000.
Priceless 49ers helmet gets another Hall of Fame autograph

2 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

Since the late 1990s, Stone — who has been a 49ers season-ticket holder since the magical 1981 season — has been getting Niners enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame to sign the helmet. He’s got signatures from legends including Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Y.A. Tittle, Bob St. Clair and Hugh McElhenny. Bryant Young, an NFL Hall of Famer and former defensive tackle for the 49ers, autographs a 49ers helmet for Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone at the Hammer Theatre Center on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
San Jose's Levitt Pavilion effort gains steam as it rolls into summer

2 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

It’s shaping up to be a very cool summer as the effort to create a new concert venue in downtown San Jose’s St. James Park forges ahead. The Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose has released the lineup for an eight-concert summer music series, which kicks off Sunday with Bay Area Afrobeats musicians Riddim Exchange and continues through Sept. 6 with acts including the blues sounds of Maxx Cabello Jr. (June 1), country music band Cash’d Out (June 22), roots/reggae band Groundation (Aug.
San Jose: Remember Don the Beachcomber? Documentary film, tiki bazaar today

2 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

If you’re a fan of tiki cocktails and culture, you’re probably aware of its “founding father,” Donn Beach, who founded a string of Don the Beachcomber restaurants in the mid-20th century. And you might be aware that most of his personal story was a well-crafted marketing ploy (not unlike what was done with Sarah Winchester to make her mansion a tourist attraction).
San Jose Woman's Club celebrating 130th anniversary in style

2 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

When you get to be a certain age, every birthday is cause for a celebration, right? Well, the same holds true for organizations like the San Jose Woman’s Club, which will hold a free community celebration Thursday for its 130th anniversary at its historic downtown clubhouse. As the tale goes, the club was born in December 1894 when nine women — described as “public spirited” in a 1929 newspaper article — gathered at the downtown studio of Fannie Estabrook.
Coming soon to downtown San Jose: Coffee, amaro cocktails and stuffed mice

3 weeks ago | mercurynews.com | Sal Pizarro

Cache Bouren was celebrating earlier this week with longtime customers and former employees who dropped by for the 15th anniversary of Haberdasher, the subterranean craft cocktail lounge he opened as Singlebarrel in 2010. Bitterbuck will be his third downtown watering hole — or fourth if you count Singlebarrel’s 2015 transformation into Haberdasher separately.
Dogs get glammed up for Humane Society Silicon Valley’s Fur Ball

3 weeks ago | sanluisobispo.com | Sal Pizarro

Two tutu-wearing dogs were among the canine companions who attended the Fur Ball, a fundraising gala for the Humane Society Silicon Valley held at PayPal Park in San Jose on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) Sal Pizarro TNS PayPal Park really went to the dogs last Saturday night — literally. And, no, I am not being mean.