Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former CEO of Uber, has quietly been working on another Bay Area ghost kitchen, this time headed to San Jose.
His company CloudKitchens is set to move into 82 E. Santa Clara St. in downtown San Jose and is expected to launch 26 commercial kitchens on the ground floor of the historic Odd Fellows Building. The site is also expected to include a dine-in restaurant and coffee bar, according to the Mercury News.
The project has been underway since 2021, but details have largely been kept under wraps. It comes on the heels of two controversial CloudKitchens venues in Oakland that have created havoc for residents. It’s still unclear when the San Jose ghost kitchen is slated to open or what food vendors will launch inside the building. San Jose Planning told SFGATE that businesses will need to submit their own building permits for their individual stalls and that it expects to see submitted applications starting in May.
Nanci Klein, director of San Jose’s Economic Development & Cultural Affairs, told SFGATE via email that she is thrilled about local businesses joining the venture.
“The project will occupy a historic building that has been empty since 2017 and activate a prominent corner,” Klein said. “Expanding even further the number and variety of places to have lunch and dinner will bring enhanced vibrancy to downtown San Jose’s Historic District.”
Business leaders echoed Klein’s sentiment back in 2021. Scott Knies, executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association, told the San Jose Spotlight that he was excited to see Kalanick revive the Odd Fellows Building, which had formerly been a furniture store before its closure in 2017. Anticipating bouts of traffic, Knies added that Kalanick’s company will need to figure out how to prevent road congestion once the ghost kitchen opens.
Traffic jams have been a concern at different Bay Area CloudKitchens spaces. During an April 2021 meeting between CloudKitchens and Oakland residents, locals worried that the route near the Longfellow Food Pickup site at 5325 Adeline St. was too narrow to accommodate the flow of traffic. Nate Pollak, CloudKitchens Northwest region general manager, told locals that the company was working on a traffic plan.
The exterior of Longfellow Food Pickup at 5325 Adeline St. in Oakland on July 30, 2021. Neighbors worried then that the narrow streets around the facility would create traffic jams.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATESince that meeting, traffic woes haven’t diminished according to Angela Gennino, the president of the Golden Gate Community Association.
“It’s gotten worse,” Gennino told SFGATE. “People are just double parking in the red zone, and they aren’t paying attention to pedestrians or bicyclists. There have been many complaints to the city of Oakland.”
Garbage pileup has likewise been a problem at both the Adeline Street site and Oakland Food Hall at 2353 E. 12th St., which is also operated by CloudKitchens. Gennino said that she’s noticed hundreds of discarded cigarette butts and dumpsters overflowing with garbage around the Oakland ghost kitchen buildings.
“CloudKitchens has been worthless about cleaning up the grounds and respecting neighbors,” Gennino said.
Separately, Mila Yoo described a chaotic scene in 2021 just outside the Oakland Food Hall space. At the time, she saw drivers “fighting over parking” and noticed cars parked on the sidewalk. She added that the E. 12th St. location, which bears “food hall” in its name, felt more sterile than inviting.
“People think that it’s just a bunch of small kitchens working, and it’s kind of cute, and you can go pick up your food — it’s not at all like that. It’s just a delivery hub for these drivers,” Yoo previously told SFGATE.
Customers wait to pick up food orders from Oakland Food Hall on East 12th Street in Oakland on July 30, 2021. The “ghost kitchen” facility houses different commercial kitchens that make takeout orders for customers.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATECloudKitchens hasn’t been without its own set of issues. The company promises to streamline operations for small businesses, but last year, Business Insider reported that operators complained about unhygienic spaces that lacked restrooms, in addition to doing little to prevent safety concerns at or around CloudKitchens sites. Later, four business operators filed lawsuits against Kalanick’s company due to “deceptive business practices.” Kalanick has likewise had a problematic past. He stepped down as the CEO of Uber in 2017 after the company came under fire following allegations of a toxic work environment, gender discrimination and sexual harassment.
Gennino is dubious that the upcoming CloudKitchens space in San Jose will open without a hitch. She reasoned that if the building doesn’t offer off-street parking for delivery drivers or guests picking up food orders, then it could spell “disaster” for nearby businesses.
SFGATE reached out to CloudKitchens for comment but did not hear back by publication.