San Jose’s Japantown gets its first pizza place

Jtown Pizza launching with limited menu for its soft opening

San Jose’s historic Japantown — the city’s go-to neighborhood for Japanese food — has over the years also been home to restaurants offering Chinese, Mexican, Korean, Cuban, American barbecue/soul and Hawaiian cuisine.

Now, for the first time, there’s pizza.

At 5 p.m. today, South Bay entrepreneur Jordan Trigg and his Dipsomania restaurant group will throw open the doors at 625 N. Sixth St.

It’s a soft opening, with a limited menu to start with, for the JTown Pizza Co.

The restaurant occupies a storied building. The architectural gem, estimated to have been built between 1890 and 1905, served as a boardinghouse for Japanese workers before being transformed into a chop suey restaurant. The eatery, Ken Ying Low, thrived for decades in what was then part of Heinlenville, San Jose’s Chinatown. In later years, the building became a Filipino restaurant and then a Cuban one.

A few years ago, Carol Chen and Max Soloviev bought and renovated the landmark, reopening it as Wenzhou Fish, Noodles & More. But they found the restaurant business presented too big a time commitment for their family.

Enter Trigg, whose group already owns properties in Japantown (7 Bamboo, Jack’s) as well as in downtown Campbell (Boiler Maker, Spread) and Willow Glen (20Twenty).

At JTown Pizza, look for a new neon sign (Wenzhou had one) and an inaugural menu of New York style and artisanal pizzas and meatball egg rolls, plus craft brews on tap and cocktails.

The soft opening hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.