San Jose: Lazy Dog restaurant is coming to this former Chevys Fresh Mex site

Look for Almaden Plaza location to open after the long-planned San Mateo/Foster City one does

The Lazy Dog, a comfort-food specialist, is coming to South San Jose.

This popular SoCal-based chain is building one of its newest restaurants at Almaden Plaza, on the former Chevys Fresh Mex site along Almaden Expressway.

This will be the group’s first location in San Jose, and its sixth in the Bay Area. There are Lazy Dogs in Cupertino, Dublin, Newark and Concord, and one is scheduled to open in the San Mateo/Foster City area soon. Hiring for that restaurant has started in advance of the doors opening in April.

Lazy Dog’s casual American menu — Campfire Pot Roast, BBQ Bison Meatloaf made with grass-raised bison, Southern Fried Chicken Salad with Nashville hot sauce — is supplemented by seasonal specials. Meatless entrees include another riff on the trend, a Nashville Hot Portobello Mushroom, and Spaghetti Squash with “Beetballs.” Brunch is served both weekend days.

During the pandemic era, the restaurant’s take-home TV dinners — restaurant-quality versions of the 1950s and ’60s meals — have been especially popular. On Feb.  16, a Fish N Chips version will join the lineup of Roasted Turkey, Fried Chicken and Pot Roast. Each is $10 and includes dessert.

Lazy Dog founder Chris Simms’ restaurants are designed to evoke the feelings he remembers from family vacations in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. And the name? After a day of skiing, Simms spotted a dog lying by a warm fireplace in the lodge. He told his friends he “wished everyone could enjoy life as much as that ‘lazy dog’ by the fire,” the company website says. Naturally, the restaurant’s patios are dog-friendly.

The first Lazy Dog opened in 2003 in Huntington Beach. There are now more than 35 locations, primarily in Southern California, with expansions in Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Georgia and other states.

Details: The new restaurant will be built at 5305 Almaden Expressway, San Jose. Find details at www.lazydogrestaurants.com.