Not long after I began my blog, I put together a simple spreadsheet that has a row for each post, with the post’s name and a list of the main topics of that post in that row. My spreadsheet enables me to quickly remember whether I’d written about a given topic before, and, if so, when. And because it is a spreadsheet — and, likely, because I have an engineering background and an engineering mindset — I included columns for the length of each post (in words) and the number of images the post includes. Finally, just for grins, I keep a running total of those last two columns. Recently my word count total crossed the one million word mark. While in reality there is anything particularly magical about that milestone, I’m pleased to have written one million words (and counting) about Redwood City and our surrounding communities, just in my blog alone (I’ve written more than a quarter million words for The Daily Journal as well). Oh, and I’ve published 4,350 images. Just thought I’d share that…

Using that spreadsheet I was able to quickly determine that it was in my October 25 post, Weekend Update, that I mentioned that the space at the end of Theatre Way formerly occupied by Mobius Fit appeared to be getting refitted (no pun intended) as yet another gym/workout place. And this week I saw a logo that let me know that indeed it is becoming a (the?) new home for Undisputed Boxing Gym, the folks who previously operated out of a building along Convention Way (that is now home to Taormina Motorsports, a repair/maintenance place for exotic sports cars). Some time ago Undisputed moved from 380 Convention Way to a spot across the street and down a bit: they are currently located at 335 Convention Way, Unit C. Whether their Theatre Way location is a move or an expansion, we’ll have to see. In any case, I’m gratified that my original hunch that a gym/workout outfit was taking the spot on Theatre Way next to Das Bierhauz was correct.

This week, some restaurant news. First off, I’ve now had a chance to sample two or three different items from Baires Bakery & Café, Redwood City’s newest Argentinian-style bakery. I’ve only had pastries so far — Baires also serves a handful of not-so-sweet breakfast, brunch, and lunch items — but so far, so good! One of these days I’ll stop in and have lunch there while I’m out walking. I do like the interior of their space; it is quite open and airy, and the seating seems comfortable (I’ve yet to sit inside for any length of time). They appear to be doing a fairly good business so far, so people are discovering the place. Do check them out! You’ll find them in the former Brick Monkey space, at 2400 Broadway in Redwood City. They’re currently open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

At the corner of Broadway and Jefferson Avenue, in the former Old Spaghetti Factory space, work continues, slowly, on the needed renovations to transform it into a home for Ocean Oyster Bar & Grill. Some months ago I noted that their website had gotten a clock that was counting down the days until their opening, but that clock pointed to an opening on September 30 — a date that has of course come and gone. Their website no longer includes that countdown clock — it has reverted to simply saying “Coming Soon!!” (with those two exclamation points) — so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. In any case, I do see some evidence of continued progress, although the biggest issue — the window/door wall along Broadway — remains unfinished, at least for now:

For those of you who are sushi lovers, Redwood City has a new option: Nagai Edomae Sushi. This is another of those small, apparently high-end places that only offers a fixed-price omakase (“chef’s choice”) menu. I don’t expect that I’ll be dining there — sushi isn’t really my thing — so if anyone does (or already has), let us know what you think! So far it has five stars on Yelp, but it is early days — there are only eleven reviews up there as I write this — so you may want to take that rating with a gran of salt. In any case, you’ll find Nagai Edomae Sushi in the former Galette Crêperie & Gelato space, at 2074 Broadway:

If you’ve noticed construction appearing to block the entrance to Mazra, the highly regarded Mediterranean BBQ and tapas place on Broadway in Redwood City, have no fear — it has nothing to do with the months-ago kitchen fire, and the restaurant isn’t going anywhere. Mazra is simply building a better, safer space out on the street for outdoor dining:

Mazra is still very much open for business, and their new outdoor front deck (they also have outdoor seating in the rear) should be available soon, if it isn’t already (I took the above picture last Monday).

Last on this week’s restaurant front, I was delighted to notice that one of the live/work spaces on the ground floor of the orange-ish mostly residential building at 201 Marshall St. (where Broadway crosses the Caltrain tracks) is now home to East Meets West Bowls, a place that aims to serve “healthy rice and salad bowls.”

I have yet to try it, but based on its website and a peek inside through their windows, what East Meets West is serving looks delicious (and right up my alley). You’ll find it in unit 101 on the Arguello Street side of the building, at the end farthest from Broadway. According to its website, East Meets West is open seven days a week beginning at 10 a.m., and closing at 7 p.m. on weekdays (3 p.m. on weekends). It doesn’t do delivery, but you can pre-order via the website, the app, or by phone (you pay when you arrive to pick up your food). They have a small space, so although you can indeed dine in, be aware that the amount of seating is limited.

Enough about restaurants for this week. In case you hadn’t heard, the Redwood City Council approved the 1900 Broadway/847 Woodside Road mixed-use project at its October 28 meeting. This is the seven-story office project (with two retail spaces on the ground floor and an open public plaza on the corner) planned for the former Wells Fargo Bank site at the corner of Broadway and Main Street in downtown Redwood City. Tied to the project is a 72-unit affordable housing building slated to replace the former mortuary (currently a church) at 847 Woodside Rd. Although the project has surmounted the most significant political hurdle, it still faces challenges around financing and identifying one or more potential office tenants. Thus, just because the project was approved doesn’t guarantee that it’ll actually get built. But I for one hope that it does; it would not only revitalize a key corner in Redwood City’s downtown, it would provide a nice chunk of desperately needed affordable housing. In any case, I don’t expect to see movement on this project one way or another for two years or so, so don’t expect to hear much from me on this particular project for a while. But I will be keeping my eyes and ears open to any signs of activity.

Just beyond the official boundary of downtown Redwood City, the four-story, 91-room hotel currently under development at the corner of Veterans Boulevard and Brewster Avenue is making good progress. The various concrete walls and support pillars that will form the building’s ground floor — which will contain not only the hotel’s lobby but its 71-space parking garage (using stackers; this hotel is being constructed on a relatively small parcel) — continue to be formed up and poured:

This is a slow process, but once this part is done I expect that the upper three stories — where all of the guest rooms will be located — will move along somewhat faster. This hotel is of course ideally located for those doing business with the city or the county — it is directly across Brewster Avenue from all of the various buildings that comprise the county seat — and easy to get to from the freeway, so it likely will do good business once completed.

Over on the other side of the freeway, the demolition of the former Century Park 12 Theatres complex is essentially complete, with only the disposal of the piles of sorted construction debris still to completed. I should note that the concrete, at least, that made up the building’s foundation and likely part of its walls, is being ground-up on site. It presumably will be added to the concrete mix that’ll be used when constructing the project’s two large residential buildings and the Villa Sport fitness club that will soon rise up on the 14-acre site at 557 E Bayshore Rd.

I came back from across the freeway by making my way through the site where, hopefully, 131 townhouse-style condominiums will be constructed (at 1548 Maple St.): there are no signs of progress on that project. I then walked through the former Docktown Marina, past San Mateo County’s Navigation Center, and over the freeway via Maple Street. The project to update that overpass and make it safer for pedestrians (and, perhaps, cyclists?) is nearly done. I’m pleased to say that the sidewalk on the southern side of the overpass is much wider and more comfortable now, and the high fencing on both sides that replaced the former knee-high guardrails improves safety immensely. This used to be my primary means of crossing Highway 101, and although the Highway 101 pedestrian/cycling underpass (at the end of Main Street, near Sports Basement) is more convenient for most of what I need to do, particularly for those living in the Navigation Center the improvements to the Maple Street overpass should be much appreciated.

Back on the west side, the three apartment buildings being constructed on Broadway Plaza (at the corner of Broadway and Chestnut Street) are making great progress:

Here is a view of the project from along Bay Road (the project site is bordered by Broadway, Woodside Road, Bay Road, and Chestnut Street):

This phase of the project is slated to contain 518 for-rent apartments (about 120 of which will be made affordable at the Very Low and Low income levels), so when it is complete (in 2026, apparently) it should make a serious impact on our city’s housing shortage. And then, presumably, Phase 2 (three office buildings planned for the other half of the 11-acre site) will get underway.

Lastly, while wandering through downtown Redwood City (on my way to Baires Bakery, in fact!) I noticed that some pieces were being added to the top of the Marshall Street Parking Garage. I was pretty sure that the garage itself wasn’t getting additional parking levels — I surely would have heard something about that — so my curiosity led me to climb the stairs to the topmost level in order to see what was up. As it turns out, it appears that a couple of cell towers (one on the Marshall Street side and, I think, one on the Broadway side) of the garage building were being installed behind a fake facade that should help them blend in with the building somewhat.

That does it for this week’s walks. Until next week…