An oft-heard question among South Bay foodies — What’s going to happen to that Lira restaurant space in Campbell? — now has an answer.
A noted Los Gatos bartender-turned-restaurateur, Jason Seele, plans to open a bar-lounge at the downtown corner of East Campbell and South Central avenues, with a hoped-for opening date in October.
Seele explains the concept as a “modern, technique-driven cocktail bar centered around experimentation, creativity and the process of developing something unexpected.” Hence the intriguing business name, which has already gone up on the front door: Trial | Error.
Small plates will complement the libations. “We made a deliberate decision to stay focused on what we know and do best: an ambitious cocktail program paired with creative, delicious food designed for sharing,” he said. Executive chef Manuel “Manny” Santillan is heading the kitchen.
Seele brings an impressive resume to the project. A winner of numerous cocktail competitions and longtime South Bay bartender, he operated the Jack Rose Libation House, named for the cocktail favored by author John Steinbeck, who lived and wrote a half-mile from the Los Gatos site, until that property was sold for housing. For the last several years, he has owned the Los Gatos Soda Works.
Lira, the much-acclaimed restaurant that made its debut Jan. 31, 2025, at this Campbell site, with a celebrity chef at the helm, closed its doors after New Year’s Eve 2026.
Chef Tucker Ricchio, a San Jose native who was the season 2 winner of Gordon Ramsay’s “Next Level Chef,” and the owners parted ways less than five months into the project. The owners kept the restaurant going for another several months.
Prior to Lira, that building housed the Flights restaurant concept, which specialized in trios of drinks, appetizers and desserts, and before that, Socialight.
Details: 368 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell.