\u201cAt this time, it\u2019s just time to go,\u201d Bernadette Garcia, who manages the restaurant, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe can\u2019t serve our customers (here). We want to go back to the way we used to serve our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n When San Jose began converting the Alura Inn into a shelter last summer, Garcia said her sales immediately dropped 50%. Los Garcias and Alura Inn share a parking lot. Even though the inn has 42 rooms, Garcia said parking was never an issue until the city converted the motel and installed a fence to block off motel parking. The fencing left Garcia with 18 spaces. Garcia said she was never informed about the city\u2019s plan to turn Alura into a shelter until the conversion was well underway.<\/p>\n Alura Inn was\u00a0one of five motels<\/a>\u00a0the city converted into shelters last year to move hundreds of people living in\u00a0Columbus Park<\/a>\u00a0into housing as it\u00a0decommissioned<\/a>\u00a0its then-largest homeless encampment.<\/p>\n San Jose Housing Department spokesperson Sarah Fields said the city has been in regular communication with Garcia.\u00a0 She said city staff discussed with Garcia a city program that provides up to $10,000 to support outdoor improvements like signs and worked with her to reconfigure the parking.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to ensure that both the motel-based shelter program and the neighboring business can successfully operate at this site,\u201d Fields told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe remain committed to supporting local businesses while also reducing unsheltered homelessness across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia said the housing department promised her an additional eight to 10 spaces, but never followed through.<\/p>\n Representatives for Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, whose district includes the restaurant, did not\u00a0 respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n \u2018We tried everything\u2019<\/p>\n With the restaurant\u2019s profits rapidly sinking,\u00a0Garcia was forced to borrow money to make ends meet. Garcia worried she would have to close the restaurant. A family friend helped her secure another location and negotiated a deal on the rent. The move was something Garcia never anticipated in her 22 years of running the business, but she wasn\u2019t ready to shut it down.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was our last resort. We tried everything,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big move. It\u2019s been a hardship for\u00a0 almost a\u00a0 year.\u201d<\/p>\n Los Garcias has been at 1390 Oakland Road in North San Jose for the last two decades and has accumulated a regular customer base that feels like one big family.<\/p>\n Lorenzo Castaneda, 40, has been coming to the restaurant for the past decade. Castaneda, who works near Los Garcias, was at the restaurant on his lunch break with two friends on Tuesday. Parking had filled up and people coming into the restaurant parked in the fire lane.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 We remain committed to supporting local businesses while also reducing unsheltered homelessness across the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Fields, San Jose Housing Department spokesperson<\/p>\n Castaneda comes to Los Garcias for the authentic, homemade Mexican\u00a0 food and the breakfast burrito \u2014 one of his favorite items on the menu. He stopped coming as frequently because he couldn\u2019t find parking, but said he\u2019s looking forward to returning to Los Garcias at least once a week or more once they move into the new location.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to come here because the food\u2019s amazing, (but) we would skip it because the parking is so bad,\u201d Castaneda told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Jeff Chernoff, 62, a family friend who helped Garcia secure the new location, said Los Garcias is irreplaceable to the community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a good opportunity,\u201d Chernoff told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cTheir food is going to take them a long way. Everything is fresh, you can\u2019t beat that.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Joyce Chu at\u00a0joyce@sanjosespotlight.com\u00a0or @joyce_speaks on X.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/LNM-20250616-SJSPOTLIGHTLOGO-01.jpg\")
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Lorenzo Castaneda, left, has been coming to the restaurant for the past decade. He\u2019s looking forward to visiting Los Garcia\u2019s more frequently once they move. (Joyce Chu\/San Jose Spotlight)<\/p>\n