Santana Row opened its doors to shoppers and diners 20 years ago. The outdoor mall at Winchester and Stevens Creek boulevards in San Jose is now home to 100 shops, eateries and salons, plus over 1 million square feet of offices, along with 834 homes and a boutique hotel. (Courtesy photo)
Santana Row—a $450 million, 42-acre “village within a city” that opened in 2002—has grown and changed with the times. Twenty years on, the outdoor mall at Winchester and Stevens Creek boulevards in San Jose has expanded well beyond its initial boundaries.
Today, Santana Row boasts 100 shops, eateries and salons, plus over 1 million square feet of offices, along with 834 homes and a boutique hotel. Santana West, across Winchester Boulevard, is slated for 1 million square feet of office space in three buildings. Federal Realty completed construction of the 376,000-square-foot One Santana West office building this year, and another building of the same size is in the pipeline.
Collette Navarrette, senior director of marketing, has been with Santana Row since July 2002.
“Since its inception, Santana Row has been built around community,” says Navarrette. “Over the last two decades, we have learned to listen to our customers very closely, be it in the form of refining our retail merchant mix, our seasonal decor and events, or offering the hottest new culinary finds.”
It’s estimated that 13 million visitors from all over the globe spend time here annually, and Navarrette says The Row still draws in the locals.
”I think that almost everyone in the community has a Santana Row memory,” she says. “Some of my personal favorites include running the 408K Race to The Row, fashion shows with celebrity appearances such as former San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis, fresh finds at our popular farmers’ market and most recently, Iron Chef Morimoto’s appearance during the opening of Momosan Ramen and Sake.”
Some of The Row’s original merchants are still here after 20 years, including Atelier AVEDA Salon and Crate and Barrel. Vintage Wine Merchants and Hotel Valencia have been here for 19 years, with Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub clocking in at 18 years and Boutique Harajuku at 15. Many merchants have come and gone, reflecting shoppers’ changing tastes and priorities.
In 2022 alone, Santana Row welcomed 14 new merchants, including Dumpling Time, CB2, Le Labo, Paige Denim, UpWest, Gents Barber Shop, Optical Illusions and Momosan Ramen & Sake. Mejuri, Palmetto Superfoods, Athleta, Bob’s Donuts and Urban Plates are expected in early 2023.
“Santana Row has always been a magical place,” says Karie Bennett, founder and master artist at Atelier Studio. “When I opened Atelier, an Aveda lifestyle salon, on Black Friday 2002, I knew it was the best place to grow my little salon business, but I never imagined we would grow from 10 employees to 60. I attribute so much of that success to the amazing merchant support system and beautiful environment that Santana Row has created.”
Harry Fong, owner of Vintage Wine Merchants & Vintage Wine Bar, agrees. “It’s been a great joy to grow our business alongside this amazing place called Santana Row,” he says. “From the beginning, we’ve always strived to be an integral part of the community, and I like to call our place the heartbeat of Santana Row because we’re right smack in the middle” of the mall.
Fong says he’s excited about his businesses’ future at Santana Row. “We recently renewed our lease and just finished a full remodel to continue serving the finest beverages in the world to everybody.”
Originally published at Laura Ness, Correspondent