At San Jose’s Vietnam Town, struggling merchants find it hard to recognize their signature commercial center. Instead, they see a plaza that chases out visitors.
It’s eerily quiet during the day. The ramps of Vietnam Town’s main parking garage have been cordoned off with dumpsters, choking out parking options for would-be customers. Security is towing cars out of the center’s few remaining spaces while rampant break-ins force shops to cover their windows with plywood. Meanwhile, construction work has carved out long, continuous strips of stucco across multiple storefronts for reasons that have merchants mystified.
“Our small businesses are dying, our customers cannot find parking and we’ve sent multiple complaints to the board that manages us, and have gotten no response,” Harry Nguyen, co-owner of Pho Ha Noi — the Vietnam Town restaurant with celebrity acclaim — told San José Spotlight…