SAN JOSE — A coffee shop is slated to open in a high-profile section of downtown San Jose, a move that could bring vibrancy to a shuttered site.
The new venue is being planned at the location where a restaurant and bar once operated at 1 East San Fernando St. in downtown San Jose.
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Now, after about a year of being empty, the Rec Room site is poised to come back to life through an effort being headed up by Ebrahim Omar, who is the principal manager of A1 Plus Smoke Shop on West San Carlos Street in San Jose.
“We really like this new location on East San Fernando for a coffee shop,” Omar said in an interview with this news organization. “We want to be downtown.”
The new spot for java will likely feature coffees that are popular in the Middle East, according to Omar.
“Coffee from Yemen, from Arabia, and other parts of the Middle East, those are some of the best coffees in the world,” Omar said.
The shuttered location has a main floor and a mezzanine. Omar expects to use both levels for the new coffee shop venue.
“We would be unique,” Omar said. “We want people to come in, sit, spend time, and relax.”
The mezzanine could be used for cozy social gatherings or small business meetings, according to Omar.
“We could do a VIP room on the mezzanine,” Omar said. “Maybe two or three people up there.”
Omar hopes to operate the venue from 5 a.m. to 12 midnight, or even as late as 2 a.m. That would dovetail with an unhurried pace at the shop.
The Rec Room location opened in 2021 and closed in May 2025, the Rec Room’s Facebook posts state.
This block on East San Fernando once was a very lively spot downtown. Gordon Biersch brewery once operated next door but closed in 2018.
The coffee shop is poised to help the block regain the vibrancy of past years.
The coffee shop will open next door to the Kaizen Lounge, with the Elyse Lounge around the corner on South First Street. Mas Loco Cantina is a busy spot a few doors away at the corner of South Second Street and East San Fernando.
It’s not clear when Omar will be able to open the new coffee shop. He is concerned about the sluggish and convoluted permit process at the city of San Jose.
“The city has so many rules for permits,” Omar said.
Despite the bureaucratic obstacles, Omar has high hopes for the new venue when it opens.
“We want customers to stay and hang out,” Omar said. “We don’t want people to just leave after they get their coffee. We really want to be different.”