Messinger MICHAEL

The man behind Blanco Urban Venue

Over the course of the past decade, real estate developer Michael Messinger has built an impressive footprint in downtown San Jose—specifically, at the corner of Santa Clara and San Pedro Streets, right at the gateway to San Pedro Square. Part owner of the Farmers Union, Olla Cocina, and San Pedro Social, his most recent endeavor is Blanco Urban Venue, a new event space with a sophisticated, modern vibe and what he describes as a “blank canvas,” a place that can be transformed for nearly any type of gathering (hence the name Blanco).

Messinger set out to create a space where people can do whatever they want, distinguishing the venue from many event spaces where decor is either limited or the natural beauty is the main draw. “Most weddings I’ve gone to are in wineries or out in the country, or, in my day, you got married in hotels. We wanted to create something that was not the typical wedding venue. It’s nice to be married in vineyards, but the new generations want to be a little hip,” he shares.

A San Jose native who started his career as a stockbroker before getting into real estate, Messinger is not one for the spotlight, but his love for building community by creating venues for locals to enjoy together is clear. The Farmers Union was his first attempt to bring a restaurant with a San Francisco feel to downtown, striking a balance between upscale and approachable, with a seasonal and locally-sourced menu. Right next door, Olla Cocina offers a fast casual Mexican menu with plenty of open space for friends to gather over a margarita. The sprawling San Pedro Social offers arcade games, an outside patio, and a downstairs bowling alley, encouraging mingling and playfulness.

Messinger’s face lights up when talking about each location and how they are a part of bringing energy and vitality to the city. “It’s a whole little corner there,” he says. “You get married at Blanco, you get a rehearsal dinner at Farmers, and you get the afterparty at Social.”

Written by Nathan Zanon

Daniel Garcia

Blanco is a departure from the restaurant/bar concepts of his other San Jose ventures. A three-story building that includes open-air balconies on both the second and third floors, it offers a different kind of event space in the downtown area from what was previously available. Built from the ground up, Blanco’s open architecture creates plenty of room, but with a feel that is both cozy and exciting. Its proximity to a bustling block adds to the energy; the open balconies give wedding and event guests a view of the block, recently closed to vehicle traffic and populated nightly with socializing San Joseans. In turn, the people on the street feed off the fun at Blanco. DJs and dancing greet pedestrians as soon as they walk under the archway that welcomes visitors to San Pedro Square.

People have been very creative with the space—which offers two rooftop decks and a fireplace in the background—like bringing in a lot of colored lights and DJs, adding drapes on the walls and the ceiling, and hanging ivy on the chandeliers. While they offer rentals for any kind of event, from corporate and private parties to seminars to watch parties, the biggest draw has been weddings. “We felt it would work in downtown San Jose—and it definitely has,” he shares. The space has a lot of quality and character thanks to Messinger’s insistence that it be built high-quality with attention to detail to ensure it lasts. “We hired a bunch of artisans to really handcraft things, like all the railings on the balcony, and the doors are 150-yearold wood. We didn’t spare any expenses on it—hardwood floors, the bathrooms are decked out,” he shares. “It’s quality workmanship. I can’t do it halfway, I guess.”

Part of Messinger’s goal with all these projects has been to help San Jose establish a strong downtown like he sees in many other major cities. Over the decades, San Jose has struggled to have a consistent, walkable, and connected space with the energy of a downtown nightlife. He clearly sees San Pedro Square as that kind of presence, a central hub to the other walkable nearby districts like Little Italy, Fountain Alley, and SoFA.

“The city has definitely had a lot of ups and downs,” he says of his time living and developing in the South Bay. “It’s a bit of a roller coaster ride, and it still is that way. But you know, I bought all my properties based on the best location.” Although there was a downswing in business during the pandemic and a subsequent delay in the development of the Google campus that would have brought significant foot traffic, the neighborhood has been surging back to life.

With properties not only in San Jose but scattered around the Bay Area, Messinger has built a legacy of sorts, but it is also becoming clear that it may be time to wind down. He’s handed many of the business operations off to longtime colleagues and to his son Grant and moved south to Newport Beach with his wife.

“It’s been a lot of work for many, many years, trying to get them all done,” he sighs. “I love creating…Even with the old buildings, they have a lot of character, but they’re [also] kind of a blank palette where you have to start over, redo them from the ground up. I like just creating concepts and putting them into spaces so it looks really cool. I’m doing one last one in Livermore. ‘Hopefully it’s the last one,’…my wife says.” He trails off with a wry chuckle, a hint that perhaps he has said something similar before, and it was not, in fact, the last one. C