San Jose’s popular Santana Row adds a new all-day restaurant and bar serving California cuisine to its ranks this summer. The outdoor shopping center addition, Flora, replaces the long-running Rosie McCann’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, which closed in 2024 after nearly 20 years in business.
South Bay restaurant vets Danny Shafazand (NOVA Nightclub, Second Story, Wild Rose Eatery and Bar), Russ Fukushima (Water Tower Kitchen, Blush Raw Bar Lounge), and Jameson Parvizad (Second Story, Water Tower Kitchen) bring a wealth of hospitality experience to the restaurant, though it’s their first project together. Shafazand shares that the group looked for the right opportunity to collaborate, and when the Rosie McCann’s space opened up, it seemed like a fit. Shafazand and Parvisad were former employees, and its location on the busy shopping street made it appealing.
The team envisions a menu that moves seamlessly from brunch to dinner to late-night drinks — with a 2 a.m. call time on the weekends. Shafazand says they’re still in the process of finding a head chef, but the vision is to serve food rooted in California cuisine, chasing seasonal, high-quality ingredients. “We’re looking to get pretty creative with the menu here,” Shafazand says. “It’s not going to be a huge menu, but it’ll be pretty substantial [with] different things that are not your standard breakfast, standard brunch, lunch.”
A rendering of the interior of Flora in San Jose, showcasing the bar and floral-themed lighting above.
A rendering of the interior of Flora in San Jose, with pairs of people seated at tables with plants around them.
The drinks are another important element to the equation. The menu will incorporate modern takes on classic cocktails, as well as thoughtful nonalcoholic options. The space won’t be a white tablecloth affair, Shafazand assures, but the team is looking for an “elevated” feel, which will most noticeably come in the design. They’re working with San Diego-based firm Basile Studio to reimagine Rosie McCann’s as a modern, indoor-outdoor restaurant.
Basile is a well-known entity among San Diego restaurateurs and bar owners, having designed spaces like Raised by Wolves and Kindred. But they’ve been slowly breaking into the Bay Area, most recently with the design of Eos & Nyx and the Pressroom in downtown San Jose, and now Flora. As former San Diegans, Shafazand and Fukushima were aware of the design firm’s It Girl status, and Basile was the first and only company the trio decided to work with. “The work they do is crazy,” Shafazand says. “The common denominator with all their work is extreme amounts of detail and color, and the vibe. When you walk into one of their venues, you clearly know this is a Basile Studios venue.”
Shafazand says a newly built wraparound bar will straddle the inside and outside of the restaurant, and there are floral and plant details throughout. The lighting should help create different moods as the day shifts into night in pace with the menu, and the team sees music playing a bigger role, possibly with DJs in the evening. “We want people to come, have fun, have a good meal, [with] high-quality ingredients, beautiful plateware, nice presentation, and the drinks to match,” Shafazand says. “Everything’s going to be high-quality, that’s a given, but the big thing is just having a place that’s fun, where it’s a gathering — it’s high energy.”
Flora (355 Santana Row #1060, San Jose) debuts in late summer 2026.
A rendering of the entrance of Flora in San Jose, featuring floral-themed lights and wallpaper, a bar on the left, and tables to the right.
A rendering of the interior of Flora in San Jose, with a figure standing behind the host stand, a bar to the left, and people seated at tables