With culinary lessons learned at fine-dining establishments in places like New Orleans, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, a couple has teamed up with Laguna Madre area veteran restaurateurs to create a new dining experience on South Padre Island. “There are some really great restaurants here but we wanted to offer something different,” said Walter Greenwood, executive chef of F&B SPI. “For example, we want to bring coastal Italian flavors here.…
Hotelier Barry Patel is upping his ante in the South Padre Island tourism economy with the construction of a Courtyard by Marriott near his Hilton Garden Inn on the north end of the coastal town. He is wagering the Island’s future will deal him a full house. “I am very optimistic about the Island,” said Patel, a former mayor. “The things that the city has done in the last three…
Selling is hard work, and successful sales people constantly push the envelope and step outside their comfort zone. “There is nothing good inside your comfort zone,” Chris’mere Mallard told about 30 sales people during a recent seminar at the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce. And, to prove his point, Mallard used interactive tactics to put most everyone in the room on the spot, either in group exercises or individual challenges.…
When the final school bell rings in the summer break, many parents turn to private businesses for programs to keep their children active through new experiences. Throughout the Rio Grande Valley there are dozens upon dozens of summer camps offering just about any activity that catches a youngster’s fancy. From horseback riding to physical fitness and art to academics, these businesses offer year-round classes in their fields, but come summer…
The Rio Grande Valley dodged a bullet last year as Hurricane Harvey made its way up the Texas Gulf Coast, where it left a trail of damage and flooding from Corpus Christi to Houston and beyond. Record-breaking rainfall left southeast Texas besieged by deep water that trapped people in their homes and made it next to impossible for businesses to operate. Every year as hurricane season starts in June, Valley…
Editor’s Note: Leadership can mean different things to different people. Valley Business Report turns to experienced business leaders in the Rio Grande Valley to learn more about their views on leadership in their own words. Through a question-and-answer format, Leadership Matters presents comments on leadership from Valley CEOs and other business leaders. Paul R. Rodriguez is president and CEO of Valley Land Title Company, which provides title insurance products and…
The aroma of incense is in the air. Posters of rock and roll legends line the walls along with pieces of art created from old vinyl records, such as an image of The Doors’ Jim Morrison. Rows upon rows of bins are filled with vinyl records used and new. “I want this place to look like my bedroom when I was a kid, posters on the wall and all that,”…
Public-private collaborations to build a workforce for the future have picked up speed in recent years amidst growing concerns that some skills needed to prosper are lagging behind advancements in technology. Electric cars whizzing around at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour offer a recent example of how some young people in the Rio Grande Valley are looking forward. Thirty-one teams representing middle schools, high schools and colleges…
The Iwo Jima Monument towers over the Marine Military Academy parade grounds in Harlingen, an iconic symbol of one of the fiercest battles of World War II and the final resting place of a Rio Grande Valley Marine depicted in the sculpture and later killed in the battle. Across Iwo Jima Boulevard is the main gate to the 141-acre MMA campus, where for more than 50 years teenagers have learned…
One of the first customers of the recently opened Venture X shared workspace in Harlingen was a Dallas production company that needed a place to make an advertising pitch to South Texas H-E-B executives. The company had made arrangements for a space in the Los Fresnos area, but discovered internet connectivity problems in advance of the meeting. So they contacted Venture X and rented a 10-person meeting room equipped with…