Tate’s on Orange, a classic-style barbershop, is opening at 841 Orange Avenue. The shop is the project of Allie Gallegos Esquer and Luis Gallegos, who own and run the Night & Day Café just a couple of doors away. While Night & Day is in the process of expanding towards Tate’s, the two businesses are separated by Stay Coronado and Beyond.
As construction took place behind the scenes, Allie’s mom and local artist Jodie Esquer’s artwork covered the windows. Allie laughs when she says, “Everyone is so curious. I think everyone’s excited to see what’s different.”
Building Tate’s on Orange from the ground up was an entirely different experience for Allie and Luis than running Night & Day, which is a turnkey family business. From the initial idea for Tate’s through to its completion, their energy was pulled away from the Night & Day expansion and focused on Tate’s.
“We are still planning on expanding [Night & Day] and have the space next door,” Allie says. “It’s a lot more than we anticipated. We have to add handicap parking in the back and turn it into a parking lot. Tate’s on Orange came up, and it took a lot of energy. We’re focusing on opening Tate’s, and then we’re hopping right back into expanding Night & Day.”
Luis was the driving factor behind Tate’s on Orange. He had often thrown out the idea of having a barber shop, but they didn’t think they’d ever do it. When the space formerly occupied by Orange Avenue Beauty became available practically next door, they decided to go for it.
Tate’s is named after Luis and Allie’s young son. They were brainstorming different Coronado names, like Crown Town this or that, but nothing really stuck. Luis said it as a joke. “’Haha, Tate’s on Orange,’ and I loved that. With it being a family business, it’s personal to us,” said Allie.
The space inside is around 300 square feet. “It’s a very intimate space,” said Allie. “It reminds me a lot of Night & Day. It’s going back to that traditional barber spot where you’re close to each other, and you get to converse and know your neighbor.”
Allie recognizes that Coronado has some great barber shops and hair salons on the island and looks to offer a different experience.
“What we focus on are little details in the experience.” Allie sets the visual. “When you’re busy at work, and you’re a dad or business owner or a busy man, that time to yourself is so vital. For me, it’s getting my nails done. We want to give people a place to step away and get time back for themselves. For them to feel pampered and leave feeling better.” The focus will be on traditional scissors-based barbering. “It’s artwork,” Allie explains.
Tate’s will offer CBC beer options along with Coors Banquet and Miller High Life. As far as the decor, Allie shares, “We have nods to the military set up [including a military discount]. We’re building a vintage barber shop experience, and a lot of the decor we have are antiques.”
The staff will be led by Travo as the shop coordinator, and they’ve hired three other barbers filling more than half of their five chairs. Albeit in different industries, Allie’s hiring philosophy is the same at both Tate’s on Orange and Night & Day. “We don’t hire just to hire. We want to make sure that we’re building a great team,” said Allie.
As part of their soft opening, a limited number of appointments are available beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13 as they fine-tune their operations and booking system.
The Tate’s on Orange grand opening is scheduled for October 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Night & Day will cater. “We can’t wait to welcome everybody!” Allie says.
841 Orange Avenue • [email protected] • 619-554-3618
Tuesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
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