You might find Jody Esquer walking around Coronado, meeting up with the friends she has had since her Village elementary days in the 5th grade. Back then, she was Jody Wood. The familiar face spent many years running Night & Day Cafe before her daughter, Allie and new husband, Luis Gallegos, took it over at the end of 2023. You can read all about Jody and Allie as one of our Mother and Daughter Business Duos. You may also recognize Jody’s artwork around town throughout the years.
Jody Comes to Coronado in 1970
When Jody was nine, her father decided on a major shift in his life and rejoined the Navy at 42. He had joined the Navy at 17, and then the army at 22 to be a Paratrooper and on the front lines in Korea. After “re-upping,” the family moved, first to Rhode Island, from El Paso, Texas. He was enlisted as a LT. CMDR. She recalls, “Dad had a lot of medals from his time in Korea. We spent nine weeks in Middletown, Rhode Island, followed by eight weeks in Port Hueneme, then off to Coronado, for his first station of duty, from 1970-1975.” She jokes that they went from “Inlanders to Islanders.” A dream come true!
In Coronado, Jody’s story continues, “We drove into Coronado in a ruby red VW van, no car seats. I was on top of the big steamer trunk that we had most of our possessions in, it was my ‘personal slip and slide’ at every sudden stop! When we first drove down Orange Ave, we saw a lot of kids with long hair, Hang Ten t-shirts and baggy Levi’s jeans. I will never forget Dad’s first comment, ‘Just a bunch of long-haired hippies!’ Little did he know, we would be those kids, slipping into the Coronado scene, effortlessly.
“Dad worked at the Naval Amphibious Base, as a Public Works Officer, a Sea Bee, in charge of the welding department. We rented a house at 561 Marina, just off Ocean Blvd. Dad got to the house on Marina and it was $300 a month. My dad commented, ‘God Dang, highway robbery,’” Jody laughs.
Early Friendship that Last for Life
During her five years in Coronado, Jody made friends that would last a lifetime and who still live only blocks away from each other. “We loved it as kids here. In 5th grade, I was in Mrs. Haught’s class. I was the new girl. Luckily, Susie Meade was the one that had the nerve to say ‘Yeah, I’ll show the new girl around.’ My head was bandaged up because I had just gotten bitten by a dog. I probably looked different, because I would wear cowboy type attire to school (I was a Texas gal). The Meade’s house on Star Park was my second home, it was the coolest way to spend my early childhood. Susie’s brother Joey had a band in the basement, we had rubber rafts, we roamed the halls of the Del and spent hours at the beach and riding our bikes all over town.”
A Military Family on the Move
As with many military families, Jody’s father got deployed; she was 13, her sisters were 15 and 17. He went to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for one year. Then her Mom purchased their home at 175 I Ave. for $55,000. “Boy, how things have changed!” The family moved again in 1975, this time to Guam for two years. Jody laughs, “It was 10th grade in a private Catholic girls school and I’m not Catholic or religious. So, that was an interesting two years.”
Following Guam came a few years in Monterey. After high school graduation, Jody was itching to get back to the island. “I got my first roommate, Terry Curtin, who is Doug St. Denis’ daughter. We lived on 1st Street, and I worked at the Brigantine as a bus girl and hostess. I lived here until I was 19. Then I moved to Colorado to be a ski bum for a year and lived with Susie Meade in Colorado while she attended Fort Lewis College.” Fun was had by all!
After Colorado, Jody moved back to Monterey with her childhood sweetheart and had her first daughter, Chelsea. The two separated, and a few years later Jody found her way back to Coronado where she met her current husband, Hector Esquer. They had two daughters, Allie and Sophie, and she has been at her same residence since 1996.
Staying in Coronado
After years of adventuring, you’ll find Jody staying put in Coronado now. “I love that a lot of my friends from the 5th grade still live here and live close to me. I’ve got one friend that lives a block away, one friend that lives two blocks away, one friend that lives three blocks away. We all know each other’s history and we’re still young enough where we can remember everything.
“I know a lot of people complain like, ‘Oh my God, everything’s changed! Why does everything have to change?’ Change is inevitable. Death, taxes and change. A given. But gosh, you can still walk up to The Del, cruise the beach, dance in the park, grab a free shuttle to anywhere in town. Even listen to Joey Harris, the same guy playing in the Meade’s basement in 1970. I am confident we are going to get our beach back, we will surf again! We just have to have a ton of hope, positivity and not take ‘No for an answer!’”
What it’s like to live in Coronado
Jody puts things in perspective, “I recently went for one night of camping; I don’t know if you could call it camping, I slept in my car (not a great idea). But I went up to Cardiff because I thought that would be fun. I have a friend that camps all the time and I wanted to surf again! Then I consecutively hit every surf spot down the coast. I wish I could say conditions were perfect, haha, ‘summer surf.’ But it was just a good idea to get off the island. Sorry Carol Cahill, it will always be an Island to me! Long story, longer. I love driving over that bridge and just pinching myself, this is home! It never gets tiresome. It never gets old.
“We have options! ‘I don’t want to go to Concert in The Park tonight’ or ‘there’s a concert over at the Shell, we’ll go next week.’ It’s just endless, all the things you can do. You don’t have to spend money; I play pickle ball for free – thank you Sarah. Surfing, as long as you have your board and everything, it’s free. There are so many things you can do, just biking, walking, dancing in the park, the list goes on and on. So good to just get outside.” She adds, “I hope with all hope that the city keeps our outside dining, it is a no-brainer for this town!”
Jody, the Artist
Jody’s art can be seen all around Coronado, and for sale at Sea la Vie and the Historical Society Museum Store. She was the graphic designer behind the old CoraMart building mural, which was considered temporary art. The mural was up from 2018-2021. She created the graphics which were superimposed onto a photograph by local photographer and gallery owner, Dan McGeorge. The project was conceptualized and put together by the Cultural Arts Commission Working Team.
Jody also worked on “Art Outside the Box” Strand Project, which was the beautification of electrical boxes from the Amphibious Base to the Cays. As a Public Art Program Area member, she was tasked with pulling together the photos for the project (along with members of the Strand Beautification Members), many of which were taken by the late Brian Lippe. At the time Jody shared, “The process of choosing what photos to use from Brian Lippe’s extensive archives was truly a group effort.
“For example, Liza Butler put so much thought into the overall cohesive theme, making sure only native flora and wildlife on the Silver Strand was used. I learned so much through working with this group. Always a huge plus with any project!”
Now, looking back years later, Jody confesses, “I think I grew tons of gray hair. You had to come up with a dye strike, there’s 1/4 of an inch here and there’s an overlap there, as you are measuring the boxes, some in the middle of the Strand median! Kelly Purvis and Jeff Tyler were my lifeline; and I got to wear a CalTrans’s vest.”
The Spreckels Bathrooms Makeover
Another project she helped kick off was the makeover of the Spreckels Park bathrooms. “I did the digital renderings with the carousel and the vintage trolley theme. We would all have a ‘think tank,’ then I would do the digital rendering, so people knew what I was talking about. Like, the fish are going to be here, the birds are going to be there and so on.”
Bringing Her Dad to Coronado
Jody shares that the The Knot is her father’s work of art. “I love my dad’s sculpture The Knot. It was up in the Sacramento foothill’s area at a sculpture garden. I thought ‘My dad really wanted Coronado to have the Knot because this is where he started welding at the Amphibious base.’
“We had this dream – what if it’s down by the amphib base and it’s pointing to where he taught welding? I wanted to sell it for $22,000 because that’s how much he put into it. That’s how much bronze was used. That was in 2011. Cut to 2022 – it’s already been two years! My sisters and I ended up donating it. In a nice turn of events, the installation got delayed a week. Instead of Sept. 1, it got dedicated September 7, which is my dad’s birthday! That was just Dad saying, ‘good job Jody.’ It all worked out.”
Find Jody Today
Jody’s days at Night and Day are technically over, “Allie made the transition seamless. I never felt like I had to go in there and micromanage. Allie and Luis [Allie’s new husband and the superhero N&D cook] and their staff have just taken over.”
Today, Jody has a vision for art in Coronado. “It would be great to get a co-op of local artists. There are so many good ones. We’re trying to figure out a club or something where we can kind of rah-rah with each other and get something more directly related to promoting local artists. It’s in the think tank phase right now. We want to include the family of artists in Coronado.”
She shares why there is such a need. “You hear so much as an artist ‘Oh, you’re so talented;’ but if I had to live off of my art, I would be begging on the street. Yes we are talented, but we don’t really have that big of a voice. They’ll say, ‘You have to be at art in the park,’ but it’s just different. It’s a different kind of genre that we’re going for.”
Jody has seen this work in other places. “I love Carmel’s Art Association, it’s an actual building and everyone can go there for meetings. In Santa Fe, you have that groovy energy, where everyone feels like they can just be whoever. Have you ever tried to work in a vacuum? At some point you probably think you’re crazy! You’re standing back all the time looking at your work, like I don’t know, is this something people want?”
Join Coronado Art Club!
If you are interested in a co-op experience join Coronado Art Club, “Creating and developing artist opportunities through marketing, outreach, workshops and networking with local businesses.” Spearheading the club is Cathy Surgeoner Deibler, Jody Wood Esquer, and Katie Karosich. You can reach out to Jody @jodyesquer and Katie @katiekarosichart. To see more artwork of Jody’s, view her Art by Jody Esquer Pinterest. Commission her for an art piece through Instagram at @jodyesquer. Until then, visit her daughter Allie at Night and Day and grab the Mario’s Surf & Turf Burrito, a family classic.
