Saturday is the 16th Annual “Stamp Out Hunger” event. It’s national in scope, but the impact is very local: Your regular USPS letter carrier will pick up donated food items from your mailbox and arrange for them to be delivered directly to WG’s Second Harvest Food Bank.

They can’t really make it any easier!

16th Annual
Letter Carriers’ Food Drive
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Campbell Soup and the United States Postal Service are partnering once again to sponsor Stamp Out Hunger, the “nation’s largest single-day food drive.” Participation is easy! On the morning of May 10th simply place bags filled with nonperishable food items next to your mailbox. Your letter carrier will pick your food donations up and deliver them to your local food bank.

And for those of who don’t read WGx daily – you know who you are – you can request an email reminder for Friday!

You’ll be excused for waiting another week to start attending the Willow Glen Farmers Market, since May 3 is an insanely busy Saturday already. But just in case you didn’t know, the WG Farmers Market opens this Saturday and continues every Saturday through November 22, 2008.

Come on down to the Downtown Willow Glen Farmers Market and visit all your favorite farmers including Country Essences Flowers, Happy Boy Organic Produce, Allard Farms, Western Sun Flowers, and Rodriquez Farms, and enjoy the finest in fresh, local produce. …

Behind the Garden Theatre
1145 Lincoln Avenue, San Jose

Time: 7:30am - 12:30pm - Cost: free

(more…)

Another unique-to-WG business opens this weekend, Shelley Ballard’s Cucina Bambini, located on Lincoln Avenue, north of Willow Street.

Cooking School for Kids and Families

• Classes • Summer Camps • Parties • Special Events • Much More •

Grand Opening Celebration:
Saturday, April 26 … 11am-3pm

Enter our drawing for free and discounted classes and parties!

Imagine Iron Chef meets Gymboree meets Lecture Hall meets Sports Bar. Actually, you’re forced to imagine it … because WGx took a bunch of great pictures inside Cucina Bambini earlier today … and then catastrophically deleted them all during the download process.

Kid-sized tables and sparkling clean aprons welcome kids, along with brightly-colored counters and walls. The adorable little chef logo — he’s still searching for an official name — adorns the classroom above the teaching station, on a widescreen TV, and also on a big clock. There’s even a giant chef’s hat mural on one wall … suitable for those undeleted Kodak moments.

Classes are offered for kids, adults, and various parent-kid combinations, with some of their upcoming activities focusing on Mothers Day, naturally. And the big screen TV might be good for some Sharks playoff viewing, if you’re looking for a fun venue.

Cucina Bambini opens next door to Art House Kids (where Black Eyed Pete’s used to be), providing a one-stop shopping opportunity for parents looking to book unique summer camp experiences for their kids.

—–

Most Embarrassing Post: At the last minute, WGx has to award a coveted “Willow Glen Most” award to Cucina Bambini …. mostly because the effort to promote the Grand Opening was nearly thwarted. As mentioned above, the lost photos remind everyone that WGx is only deemed reliable.

What a great weekend for gardening … sunny, but not too hot.

But in case you you were doing something else, there’s still time to get your garden going. The “Grow It Yourself” class at the Willows Senior Center hosts its Spring Plant Sale his Tuesday, April 22, 2008 …. 10:00 am to 12:00 noon.

It’s an Earth Day tribute, too, with all kinds of fabulous plants for gardens, including veggies, berries, flowers, and more. Members of the class will be present to provide tips and hints for successful backyard gardening and neighborhood horticulture.

Proceeds benefit the Willows Center Garden, located behind the main building.

Check back when Terminal B at SJC actually opens — sometime in mid-2010 — but there’s a chance that the airport may be in Willow Glen by then.

Following last weekend’s news that several locally-owned eateries have been included in an initial winning bid to open outlets at San Jose Mineta International Airport, the Mercury News even editorializes about the possibility of a venue with local flair. Interestingly, quite a few of the eateries have ties to Willow Glen:

Among the restaurants included, participants said, are: San Jose’s Britannia Arms, Mojo Burger and Sonoma Chicken Coop; Willow Glen-based Willow Street pizza; downtown’s venerable Paolo’s Restaurant; and San Jose Rocks, a new concept by the Muller brothers who brought you Lou’s Village. (Think local musicians featured in a Hard Rock Cafe-type theme restaurant.)

Hey, you remember the unique Willow Glen Caboose, right?

Caboose owner Katy Dickinson has a fun opportunity for you to have Brunch on the Caboose, while supporting a major fundraising project of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga.

I took this portrait photo of WP668, our backyard caboose, since we are auctioning off a caboose brunch for six as one of the offerings in the SAMA Auction (Middle Eastern Feast and Auction to be held this Sunday, 13 April 2008, at 5:30 pm at St. Andrew’s, 13601 Saratoga Ave. Saratoga, CA).

SAMA is St. Andrew’s Medical Assistance Outreach program, and exists to provide hope and healing to a hurting world:

We raise funds annually through our annual Middle Eastern Feast and Auction and our Christmas Crafts sale. Medical Programs SAMA supports in the Holy Land include: Ahli Arab Hospital (the only Christian hospital in Gaza), and the Four Homes of Mercy (a home for the severely disabled based in Jerusalem).

By the way, Katy also blogs regularly on a variety of diverse topics, including her philanthropy, her job at SUN, and of course restored Caboose WP668.

Caboose Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Just in case you thought you’d died and gone to Angus Beef Heaven … the coupon was a misprint.

Mojo Burger may be the Metro’s “Best Burger,” having edged out Clark’s with a boisterous campaign during the 2007 “Best Of” season, but such notoriety doesn’t come free. Or cheap. Or for just $2.99 each.

A facsimile of this letter from the WG Resident is politely displayed at the counter of the WG location:

To Whom it May Concern:

Friday, March 28, The Willow Glen Resident inadvertently ran an old ad from Mojo Burger.

This offer is not valid and not being accepted.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience we have caused.

And WGx couldn’t find a coupon in today’s paper.

Of course, WGx still enjoys the burgers grilled at the corner of Minnesota & Bird (aka the “Fresh Slow & Easy” corner), and you still can get two MiniMo burgers for $3.00** The new chicken wraps also appear to be well-priced. But the actual Mojo Burger will still set you back about $6.00 (almost $8 for the meal).

**According to their banner. Limited time only; your mileage may vary; slightly higher west of the Rockies; not valid if torn, spindled, or mutilated;

Never one to miss a PR opportunity, British grocery giant Tesco has announced that it is delaying new Fresh & Easy grand openings for at least three months, “pausing for breath.”

According to the Tesco Chief Marketing Officer Simon Uwins’ own weblog:

… After opening our first 50, we planned to have a 3 month break from openings, and other than a couple more in Phoenix, we’re taking it (albeit, in our usual fashion, with 59 stores already open).

Why?

Quite simply, to allow the business we’ve created to settle down.

In 9 months, we’ve gone from a project team of 200 people to a business employing nearly 2500 people - and in another 9 months, it’ll be over 5000. In a little over 4 months, we’ve gone from a business with no stores to one with 59 - with hundreds more in the pipeline.

Except the SJ Business Journal is also reporting that sales are well below expectations for the already-open Fresh & Easy stores:

A Piper Jaffray analyst said mid-month that Fresh & Easy was failing to attract shoppers and had missed its early sales targets by 70 percent.

Tesco had hoped to bring in sales of $100 million over six months, the report said, but had sales of only $30 million in that period, according to the analyst’s report, which was based in part on information from suppliers. Tesco said in published reports that it was “bewildered” by the revenue assertions and called the report “utterly baseless.”

In the UK, the Sunday Telegraph also cuts to the chase, in its story first breaking the news:

Tesco has halted the rollout of Fresh & Easy, its chain of US convenience stores, while it reviews the performance of the fledgling business. The move will spark renewed speculation about the performance of Britain’s biggest retailer in the world’s largest consumer spending market. …

Amid claims that Fresh & Easy has missed internal sales targets, analysts have questioned whether US consumers have been left unimpressed by the format, which Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco’s chief executive, has pledged will make significant inroads into the US.

In Southern California, where Tesco opened its first U.S. store last November, the LA Curbed website also ponders the store’s true motivations:

Most of the experts on the Retail Wire discussion boards seem to agree that the stop and reassessment was long overdue.

“Tesco should have called a time out before this. It isn’t the case that Fresh & Easy is doomed as a format, it’s the case that it WILL be doomed as a format if there isn’t some course correction. The stores are mis-merchandised, mis-positioned and at least some of the locations are textbook examples on how not to select a site.

All that said, Tesco has enough resources–capital and human–to make this right. It’s good business not to try to course-correct and expand at the same time.”
Ryan Mathews, Founder, CEO, Black Monk Consulting

Although the news impacts stores across the U.S., there is no specific word on whether this operational pause will delay the Fresh & Easy Willow Glen grand openings, originally scheduled for 2009.

Alert WGx reader Jim Routh noticed something amiss in Downtown Willow Glen a few weeks ago:

—–Original Message—–
From: Jim Routh
To: WGx@willowglenextra.com
Subject: Three Dogs Bistro

Any idea what became of Three Dogs Bistro? It was supposed to go in in the space where Sharky’s used to be between Aqui and Blockbuster. I’d heard that it was going to be run by the same folks that run Aqui but would be a bit more upscale. Paper went up on the windows at the end of last summer announcing it was coming in March of ‘08, which at the time seemed like forever away. But March is here and nearly gone and nothing seems to be happening.

Any news? JMR

WGx had also noticed that the signs announcing the new restaurant had been taken down over the last few months, so Jim’s question spurred a little investigation.

Actually, it was a very little investigation. Aqui executive chef Ron Francis replied to our simple email inquiry:

—–Original Message—–
From: Rob Francis
To: WGx@willowglenextra.com

We decided to pass on the deal. The new Aqui in Campbell has our hands full!

Thanks, Rob

So there you go. … No landlord-based intrigue, no surprise “quiet opening” on the horizon, no alleyway reconstruction a la Msr. Beans, no health department conspiracy to ban dogs from eateries. Nothing.

But don’t worry, City Council representative Pierluigi Oliverio provided another exclusive update to WGx. He says there’s another restaurant in the works for the location, but nothing is public yet.

By the way … WillowGlenExtra welcomes your content suggestions, including questions, WG FAQs, news tips, and promotional announcements. Just leave a comment to any post, or email your stuff directly. If you want to blog yourself, you’re also invited to join WGx!

In its March 2008 edition**, the Silicon Valley version of media titan Bay Area Parent plugs WG favorite Gunther’s Restaurant as one of its preferred destinations for family-friendly “comfort food” restaurants, as reviewed by Cheryl Sternman Rule. Skip to Page 100:

It may be my personal bias, but a comfort-food restaurant worth its salt should offer unimpeachable rice pudding.

By that admittedly subjective criteria, Gunther’s is hands-down my new favorite, kid-friendly eatery. The rice pudding arrived warm with a mountain of whipped cream – the rice soft, the raisins plump, and the eggy custard base sweet and soothing. The four kids at my table had to fight me for the last spoonful.

The menu stretches far and wide, covering home-style classics anyone with an Italian, Jewish or German grandmother would recognize instantly.

Despite the restaurant’s German heritage, Bay Area Parent even gives Gunther’s a plug for St. Patrick’s Day:

Portions are enormous and service is extremely friendly. Plus, since you order at the counter, you and your children can see most of the food on display before making your selections. The kids at my table enjoyed a huge portion of cheese lasagna, a messy but wonderful Reuben sandwich and a giant plate of corned beef and cabbage. With St. Patrick’s Day this month, why take the kids to a rowdy Irish pub when you can get your corned-beef fix at Gunther’s?

You can also find more thorough reviews at Gunther’s Yelp page.

** Bay Area Parent usually requires a login with email address to read the current edition, which is then only available in Flash format. Gotta read those ads …