Justin Calonia of Visit Vallejo 'the ultimate brand steward' for the city

May 21-Born and raised in Vallejo and a proud member of the city's Filipino community, Justin Calonia has been described as "the ultimate brand steward" for the city in his role as the business and marketing manager of Visit Vallejo.

Formed in 1987, the nonprofit organization is the epitome of "small but mighty." Its programs include the annual Restaurant Week, a major annual event, and twice-yearly beautification cleanups, despite currently having a staff of only two (the other is CEO Kirk Smith) and one contract bookkeeper.

Located at the Vallejo Ferry Terminal, Visit Vallejo differs from the city's chambers of commerce in that its main goal is to promote Vallejo as an overnight travel destination -something Calonia, 32, is well-positioned to accomplish.

Trumpeting his hometown's attractions is something Calonia has always done, as well as putting on events that draw visitors from other parts of the Bay Area.

His job at Visit Vallejo flowed out of his experience as an organizer of Vallejo's Pista Sa Nayon. The event is one of the city's top cultural offerings, bringing more than 10,000 people to Vallejo to celebrate Filipino independence and highlight the community's historical relationship with the city. This year's event is on June 6 at the Mare Island Coal Sheds.

He also worked as a happiness ambassador and account manager at garten, a corporate wellness and food-service platform that provides healthy snacks, catered meals, and micro-kitchen management to businesses.

Though he attended the University of California, Merced, his social media skills are self-taught, as is the case with many if not most prominent influencers and creators.

"There are three pillars to my work at Visit Vallejo," Calonia said. "Hardcopy marketing, digital marketing and community connectivity."

Hardcopy marketing includes such things as posting flyers for local events and businesses at Visit Vallejo's Visitor Center at the Ferry Terminal.

A less traditional but equally important marketing activity is the organization's twice-yearly beautification cleanups, which make the area more inviting to visitors.

Most recently, 75 community members showed up in August 2025 to work on areas adjacent to the Solano Inn and Prime Suites off Mariposa and Solano avenues, a location contributing to visitors' first impression of the city.

"We were able to bring together sponsors and stakeholders of Vallejo in partnership with Recology, which provided the dumpsters, and the San Francisco Bay Ferry. They helped plan the event and ensured we had all the equipment and gear we needed," Calonia said.

Also falling under the rubric of hardcopy marketing is Restaurant Week, the organization's biggest event, now in its eighth year.

The annual tradition invites locals, foodies and restaurateurs to meander through downtown and surrounding streets to experience Vallejo through its unique food.

Participating restaurants offer week-long meals and deals, from a free slice of banana cream pie to a $10 bacon-lover burger and fries combo. Last year, 25 restaurants participated, and Calonia said Visit Vallejo is looking to add more this year.

Participants can register for the Vallejo Restaurant Week Challenge, earning "foodie badges" to compete among leaderboards for prizes.

"In 2024, the estimated total revenue to local restaurants generated by Restaurant Week was $11,875," Calonia said.

"The average ticket price for each restaurant was $25," he said. "I tracked customer participation through QR codes." A QR code is the square black-and-white image noticeable in such places as product packaging or movie tickets. "We had 475 participants," Calonia said. "We had a similar number in 2025."

There's also a digital component, Calonia said.

"We amassed over a million views on Instagram," he said.

Digital marketing involves posting on platforms including X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. Beyond simply posting event announcements and business news, Calonia has developed partnerships with influencers and content creators who have thousands of followers.

They in turn share information about Vallejo businesses and events with their followers, encouraging them to come to Vallejo.

"Joanne Pomares has two businesses, Sushi Obsession, her food business, and Sushi Obsessed Joanne, an Instagram account that highlights sushi restaurants all over," Calonia said.

Pomares, a Vallejo resident, runs Sushi Obsession as a pop-up business in Vallejo and the Bay Area. Her Instagram account has nearly 6,000 followers.

Calonia said the first step is for people to learn about a Vallejo restaurant or other business on an influencer's social media feed. Usually they then follow a link to the restaurant's website, to learn more and also ensure that it's a real business.

The third pillar of Calonia's work at Visit Vallejo is acting as an advisor and supporter of local businesses, he said.

For example, the Vallejo Jazz Festival in July -"it's their first time hosting a festival here, so I reached out to them and said, 'Hey, it's your first time throwing this event, people in Vallejo want you to succeed.'

"We are adding them to our website. They became one of our partners," Calonia said.

Calonia is an ally to Vallejo's LGBTQ+ community. He shared that the Drag Queen Brunch at Bambino's, which he helped arrange, is nearing its first-year anniversary.

His work with the brunch is not associated with Visit Vallejo, but by helping to get the event going and publicizing it, Calonia is encouraging people to come to Vallejo.

Kirk Smith, Visit Vallejo's chief executive, said the organization "Would not be where we are today without Justin's innovative thinking, passion for Vallejo, event organizational skills and exceptional technical expertise. He represents everything we should all be excited about when it comes to the future of Vallejo."

Smith himself has deep roots in the local community. He has over 35 years in the theme park industry including 25 years at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. He served as general manager at Six Flags during his last two years there.

The chief executive noted that Calonia "is an absolute pleasure to work with daily and often serves as my teacher for how things are done today in this ever-evolving digital world for this older baby boomer."

Smith described Calonia as "the ultimate brand steward for all things Vallejo. His creativity and genuine love for the cultural aspects of our community help to move our city forward."

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