Almaden Resident

News

Sonoma Chicken gearing up for February opening

By Eli Segall

Chunks of San Jose have been designated an "enterprise zone," opening up 5,900 businesses to a slew of state tax credits, rebates and benefits for the next 15 years.

Sonoma Chicken Coop's long-awaited Almaden Valley site will open its doors in February. That's the word from Sonoma co-owner Jeff Starbeck, whose restaurant will fill the vacant McDonald's site in Old Almaden Plaza, on the corner of McAbee Road and Almaden Expressway. Starbeck said he is preparing for a Feb. 1 grand opening.

When it was announced in June that Sonoma was moving in, the chicken eatery, which has locations in downtown San Jose and Campbell, had plans to open this fall.

"It's been longer than we anticipated, but that's the usually the case with subleases," Starbeck said. "We're excited to feed the hungry mouths of Almaden."

Sonoma Chicken Coop completed negotiations last month with McDonald's corporate headquarters in Illinois to assume the remaining eight years of its lease, Starbeck said. The South Bay company is also aiming for a 12-year extension with the landlord, the Moitozo family of San Jose, to keep the restaurant in Almaden for the next 20 years.

"I've got a lot of customers who are very excited about it opening up," said Trina Sanchez, who works at Image Nail Salon in the plaza. "I think it will do really well."

Starbeck said there were roadblocks to the fall opening in trying to work out a deal with the fast food behemoth.

"When you deal with corporate America, they go at their own pace," he said. "It was incredible; the people I needed to talk to were either on vacation or away on business trips."

Corporate officials for McDonald's could not be reached for comment.

The building's exterior remains untouched, but internal renovations are already under way to accommodate a 185-person maximum capacity, in addition to 40 more seats on the outside patio.

To service what Starbeck predicts will be a huge to-go business, the chicken coop will have a separate carry-out counter and three or four parking spaces for those taking food on the run.

"I think we'll help bring that shopping center back to life," Starbeck said.

McDonald's vacated the Almaden location last year. The fast-food restaurant moved into the space in the mid-1990s after upscale California Café vacated the spot.

Gillmor and Associates is the property manager for Old Almaden Plaza and will oversee the coop. Lisa Gillmor, a real estate agent with the company, confirmed negotiations for Sonoma's lease extension, which she expected will be finalized by the end of December.

Sonoma Chicken is also in the process of adding a fourth restaurant, this time by the San Jose Airport on Skyport Technology Drive. It should be ready for diners a month after the Almaden branch opens, Starbeck said.