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AIRPORT LEADERS NARROW LIST OF RESTAURANTS, SHOPS FOR NEW TERMINALS

By Stephen Baxter

Independent shops and restaurants from San Jose glided closer to the revamped Mineta San Jose International Airport in late April, as airport officials selected 16 shops and 21 restaurants to be considered by the city council in June.

An airport evaluation committee chose four of six bid packages, and closed its silent period on the bid process on April 28. David Vossbrink, communications director for the airport, said the list of shops and restaurants is preliminary and will be finalized in summer.

"Since each of the packages was proposed without reference to the others, we will have to make adjustments to ensure the final mix is good for the customer, the businesses and the airport," Vossbrink wrote in an e-mail.

The airport is in a three-year, $1.5 billion overhaul that will remodel Terminal A and construct a new Terminal B, parking garage, rental car facility and road system. Shops and food offerings also will be shuffled.

Among the San Jose businesses selected were: Schurra's Fine Confections, Paolo's restaurant, Willow Street Pizza, Consuelo's Mexican Bistro, Sushi Boat, Una Mas, Harbor Express, Gordon Biersch, Chiaramonte's Deli, Sonoma Chicken Coop and Mojo Burger.

Airport leaders also approved Shark's Cage, a San Jose Sharks hockey-themed restaurant; The Brit, a bar similar to Britannia Arms; and San Jose Rocks, a restaurant to show off the city's rock 'n' roll legacy with music memorabilia on the walls.

Tom Muller, a co-owner of Lou's Village, has been refining the San Jose Rocks project for the airport.

For two years, the group has held an annual dinner and benefit concert to induct San Jose musicians, radio personalities and others in to the San Jose Rocks Music Hall of Fame. The Grateful Dead, the Doobie Brothers and Fleetwood Mac have roots in Silicon Valley, and such tech firms as Apple Inc. have made contributions such as the iPod.

For its proposed restaurant at the airport, San Jose Rocks organizers have collected posters and instruments that could be used to decorate the roughly 1,500-square-foot space.

"The whole goal is to try to make it an airport experience unlike others," Muller said.

The Airport Commission is expected to consider the airport evaluation committee's recommendations at its May 12 meeting, and the San Jose City Council is scheduled to vote on the airport's shops and restaurants on June 3.