San Jose’s zealous efforts to move homeless people out of Columbus Park and into motels over the summer has inadvertently impacted one business owner who might have to close.
Bernadette Garcia, owner of a longstanding Mexican restaurant, Los Garcias, said the city never informed her of its plans to convert the neighboring Alura Inn into a homeless shelter. The city repurposed the motel to house former Columbus Park residents who moved in in September. In the process, the city put up a fence in August that cut into the eatery’s parking. The restaurant and motel share a small parking lot. Now Garcia said there’s not enough spaces to accommodate her customers, causing revenues to drop by half.
“We should have at least been told what was going to transpire,” Garcia told San José Spotlight. “I think (the San Jose mayor) did a wonderful job until we were affected.”
Even though the inn has 42 rooms, Garcia said parking was never an issue until the city installed the fence to block off motel parking. It left Garcia with 18 spaces. Now some of the formerly homeless people are parking on the restaurant side as well. During lunch and dinner time, the parking lot overflows with cars, causing some customers to leave, Garcia said.
In addition, the city had promised 24/7 security at the motel, but so far they’ve only had guards at night, Garcia said. She’s had to deal with people not cleaning up after their pets and said her husband has seen people dealing drugs at night.
A spokesperson for Mayor Matt Mahan said all motels converted to temporary homeless housing are staffed with 24/7 security. But a spokesperson from HomeFirst, the nonprofit running the motel program, said 24/7 security is not standard at any of the sites. Guards are only there from 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. and HomeFirst workers are there during the day.
“There have been no reports of nighttime drug dealing by the security team,” HomeFirst spokesperson Fiona Brodie told San José Spotlight. “HomeFirst installed pet waste bags and staff have been reminding residents to pick up after their dogs. We are also working with our community engagement coordinator to bring workshops to the site that focus on pet care and safety, to help promote being a good neighbor.”
The parking lot that Los Garcias and Alura Inn share is often full. The city installed a fence earlier this year to partition motel parking. Photo by Joyce Chu.
Garcia said she discovered the motel was going to be turned into a homeless shelter in late June when a customer told her about the city’s plans. She called the property owner, who initially denied knowing anything about the motel conversion. She said she found out he lied after she contacted the city and a housing department official told her they had been in talks with the property owner.
“The city told me that it was in the making for a while,” Garcia said. “(The property owner was) notified. We weren’t. Maybe they thought it was the property owner’s thing to do.”
A spokesperson for Mahan did not respond directly to questions on why the city did not contact Garcia.
“The city, alongside the District 3 council office, hosted a community meeting in May for the neighbors to learn more about Alura motel and our work to bring people indoors,” spokesperson Tasha Dean told San José Spotlight. “Our team has had several meetings with Bernadette after hearing about her concerns and will do everything in our power to ensure Alura is a good neighbor to her.”
District 3 Councilmember Anthony Tordillos was not available for comment.
Garcia’s lease expires in April and she wants to relocate somewhere nearby to maintain her customer base. But she said she had trouble making October’s rent due to a loss in revenue and elsewhere it’s three times what she pays now.
Unless she gets help from the city, Garcia said she could close the restaurant in the spring — losing her life’s investment of 22 years. Customers who found a home at Los Garcias would be devastated, she said.
“We built our business and now it’s been taken from under us,” Garcia said.
San Jose began sweeping its largest homeless camp in Columbus Park on Aug. 18. It was supposed to be done in phases, with the whole park cleared by the end of October. Instead, the city worked swiftly to remove the 370 homeless residents and 120 lived-in vehicles in a matter of weeks.
Residents who agreed to take part in the city’s RV buyback program, which provided $2,000 and temporary housing in exchange for their RV, moved into one of five converted motels, including Alura Inn.
Brodie said in an effort to be a good neighbor, HomeFirst has offered to share more parking spots with the restaurant.
“For questions regarding parking, the city of San Jose will be your best resource,” Brodie said. “HomeFirst is contracted by the city to provide wraparound supportive services to residents. San Jose, however, contracts with the hotel to provide property management.”
Customer John Cassino was in San Jose last week for a work trip and ate at Los Garcias during the late afternoon, when it was less crowded. He kept returning every day of the week, even bringing friends and waiting for a parking spot to open during lunch hour because of the quality of the food. He said he would’ve chosen another restaurant to eat at if he didn’t enjoy the food and service so much.
“There was a definite negative impact of the parking but… we persevered through it,” Cassino told San José Spotlight. “I think (the parking) would definitely deter first time guests. It’s just a madhouse.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.