In collaboration with the City of San José and the San Jose Downtown Association, MOMENT Post Street continues the expansion of the award-winning MOMENT local retail project in downtown San José by turning two more long-time vacant storefront spaces on Post Street into an exciting cluster of retail vibrancy—featuring six creative small businesses most of which are owned by queer women of color. Initially launched under the umbrella of local creative retail organization San José Made, MOMENT is a standalone sister brand focusing on the activation of new, empty, or underutilized retail storefront spaces to reduce retail vacancies, increase opportunities for creative small businesses, and help create exciting community-minded destinations.

MOMENT Post Street is the third phase of the current MOMENT Downtown San José Program, which includes the existing MOMENT San Pedro Square storefronts and the newly opened MOMENT Paseo on the Paseo de San Antonio. Post Street, an existing, thriving corridor within Downtown San José’s Historic District, was naturally considered for the program. The objective for bringing MOMENT to Post Street has consistently been to introduce businesses that harmonize with the existing community, and we take pride in the fact that most of the new establishments are LGBTQIA+ or women-owned and are all open to everyone.

MOMENT DTSJ is hoping to elevate the retail landscape by placing high-quality tenants in long-time vacant spaces across multiple districts downtown. In total, we now see four businesses at San Pedro Square, five new businesses at MOMENT Paseo launched earlier this year, and six more businesses on Post Street. 

Funded by the City of San José, the MOMENT Downtown San José Program significantly lowers the barrier of entry for local creative small businesses to have their retail storefront in downtown San José by providing affordable percentage-based rent terms, space improvement grants, and significant marketing support through MOMENT and its sister company San José Made. In the selection process for potential tenants, MOMENT prioritizes the importance of small businesses that will help contribute to the greater diversity and retail experience in downtown San José. This includes consciously considering BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, and gender non-conforming business owners.

Once confirmed by the MOMENT team, each program participant signs up for a one-year lease during which time they can establish their store’s presence, build their audience, refine their operational plan, and ultimately assess the viability of having a storefront long-term. At the end of the initial lease duration, the Program participants will have the opportunity to enter direct conversations about leasing their storefront space for a longer duration.