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Effort seeks to put Escondido— and your business—on the map


David Zumaya is recruiting businesses to be on the Escondido Map. Here he shows the maps from 1988 and 1997—a look he is replicating for the modern day.

David Zumaya is on a mission: to put Escondido on the map. Or rather put Escondido’s businesses on an illustrated map of the city: the 2021 Escondido Map.

The original Escondido Map was published in 1988, to celebrate the city’s centennial. It was a big happy birthday card, illustrated like a Disneyland map, the original amusement park map. “We don’t know how many they printed but it was a souvenir map that also promoted the businesses,” Zumaya told The Times-Advocate.  “There were no websites in that year so each one had a phone number on it.” On the thoroughly modern map Zumaya is assembling, “We will have a landing page website to be driven by the QR code map. We will have a digital version at Escondidomap.com and all businesses will have their information and business from that landing page.”

He continued, “My main purpose is to bring the community together and to support local businesses. It’s not just businesses. We have nonprofits that have signed up as well. The Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Business Association and The Times-Advocate are supporting it.”

Creating the map is Angie Lopez, an art school graduate of John Paul the Great University.  

The artwork of Angie Lopez, who will personalize businesses on the Escondido Map.

Zumaya added, “We have commitments that we will reproduce it on the full back page of The Times-Advocate and a centerfold in Escondido Magazine and 40,000 of the posters that will be distributed throughout the community. City Hall wants to put one up somewhere—and more importantly everyone on the map will get their own supply of 100 plus posters to distribute to their customers.”

The map will be printed on high quality poster stock. “The goal is that once the first one comes out to see how we can reprint one every few years update it. What I see happening is to provide a map for San Marcos, Poway and North County inland communities. That’s the goal that we have depending on funding,” he said.

Although Zumaya is the proprietor of My San Diego North County, the map is a personal project that he expects to just cover costs. “It supports my overall mission of supporting North County and bringing those communities together. To share on our media page of 13,000 plus followers on social media for My San Diego North County,” he said.

Premium listings have so far been purchased by six businesses. Sunnyside Kitchen was the first, followed by Gems N’ Loans, Escalante Chiropractic, Kennedy’s Meat Company, Deborah’s Next To New Consignment and Gosch Ford Escondido.

“We still have another twenty spaces available,” Zumaya said. “We already have something like thirty-five businesses. The goal is to get another twenty at least. So the deadline is extended another month.”

He added, “I want to invite as many businesses, law offices, medical and dental practices, grocery stores, auto repair, shopping centers, gym studios, bakeries and restaurants and any of the 20 plus wineries we have in Escondido.  The whole purpose is to support these local businesses by having them on the map and digitally—which is the overall mission of what I do.” 

Zumaya is looking forward to seeing the map in people’s hands and hanging in offices and in the library. 

One business that has signed up, North County Plating, was on the original map. That building later burned down with the map inside. “But one of the children of the owner want to be on the map with her business, which is now called Chrome Plating USA,” said Zumaya.

Another business from the original map, Citracado Dental, is also returning. So is Southland Paving, which still displays the 1998 map on the wall. 

Zumaya concluded, “This project is a labor of love. I’ve been wanting to do this for the last five years.”

Find out more by visiting EscondidoMap.com. The deadline to reserve a space has been extended until next month.

A close-up of the original Escondido Map, showing how businesses were portrayed.

 

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