San Jose’s Creekside district is about to get a serious upgrade in the hangout department. SPARK Social, the popular San Francisco outdoor food-and-drink park, is bringing a sprawling 75,000-square-foot beer garden to the neighborhood this spring, with plans for rotating food vendors, mini golf, live music and a year-round slate of events within walking distance of Diridon Station and the SAP Center.
Owner Carlos Muela has signed a roughly five-year lease for the site and is set to pour nearly $1 million into the buildout, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal, which also published a rendering of the planned park. The new Creekside outpost is designed to feel like an open-air neighborhood living room, only with a lot more taps.
SPARK Social’s own announcement sketches out a family-friendly setup that will look familiar to fans of the San Francisco original. Expect a regular rotation of food trucks, a full bar, a putt-course, fire pits and a large LED screen for watch parties, plus semi-private areas that groups can reserve for parties and events. In a press release via SPARK Social, the company said the San Jose location will operate seven days a week, with festivals and community events tailored specifically to the city.
Creekside’s momentum
The new beer garden is the latest sign that Creekside is quickly turning into a social hub rather than a pass-through corridor. The neighborhood has been steadily filling in with art corridors and pop-up events, and SPARK Social will join a cluster of recent additions along Barack Obama Boulevard. As the San Jose Downtown Association notes, the district has attracted community-focused organizations and small venues in recent years, part of a broader push to create more public gathering spaces…