If you had left the Valley five years ago, the biggest surprise on your return this month might be San Juan’s cluster of luxury car dealerships: Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi and Acura. Across the Valley, luxury car dealers are selling BMWs, Maseratis and more Mercedes at a surprising pace. One Mercedes dealership moves 60 new cars monthly. Luxury car buyers, who are spending between $30,000 and $100,000, seem to…
Agriculture accounts for just over $1 billion dollars of the Valley’s economy, according to economists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service in Weslaco. That is about 2% of the four-county total of $53 billion, but agriculture remains a vital and diversified industry which is the most widespread in terms of land use. Agriculture is an industry where so many things are out of the producers’ control, that farmers…
In one sense, the Rio Grande Valley has long had food trucks, if you count ice cream trucks, portable raspas stands and the food sellers who wheel into festivals and market days. But the national trend for food trucks has finally taken root here, proven by the six-spot McAllen Food Park which opened in June with the support of the McAllen CVB and Chamber of Commerce. At least 75 compact…
When it’s hot outside, it’s smart to find activities indoors. This summer you and your kids have plenty of options to keep cool while having fun, learning new skills or honing existing talents. You can exercise your minds and bodies as you build self-confidence and muscles. Besides year-round activity venues, kids’ camps and programs abound along with several open to adults. Let longer daylight hours tempt you into pursuing a…
At the turn of the millennium, the U.S. fitness industry was on the cusp of a huge growth decade. Young adults in the 18–34-year-old range drove membership, helping to make it the fastest-growing job market by 2006. Large gyms, of more than 10,000 square feet, studded with endless rows of Nautilus equipment and treadmills, dotted the typical upscale suburban landscape. In recent years, however, the robust $20-billion-plus industry has undergone…
Leaving the Expressway, city streets and even county roads behind appeals to certain adventurous spirts. The owners of all-terrain vehicles, Jeeps, dirt bikes and mountain bikes roam the wide open spaces that many people never get a chance to see and enjoy. In rain and shine, dirt and mud, they find camaraderie, challenges and good times when out communing with Mother Nature, far from the trappings of civilization. Texas has…
By design and intent, any very small business (fewer than five employees) has had to learn to work smart. The owners can become generalists, willing to handle all types of challenges on their own, or they can choose to outsource non-core tasks. Most rely on technology to operate efficiently and to connect to potential and existing customers. In fact about 23 million of America’s small businesses have no employees other…
Back in the Valley’s early days, some businesses customarily brought their goods and services to their customers’ homes and businesses. In 1910 McAllen, for example, residents living on Main Street would hang a sheet on their porch if they wanted Dr. Frank Osborn to stop in for a house call. Fifty years later, ice cream trucks, pizza delivery cars and door-to-door peddlers were the final vestiges of house calls. Today,…
The Valley’s high proportion of young people includes very young people: infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Certain Valley businesses cater to that population, helping families keep their children clothed and entertained. Whether shopping for gifts for a friend’s newborn or playing beloved auntie and taking the tikes to the zoo for the day or searching for dress clothes for a wedding’s little ring bearer and flower girl, you will find what…
For many of us, the holidays revolve around food, old favorites and new. The Valley now boasts a growing number of artisan food businesses: small establishments that turn out a limited amount of their savory treats. These very small (for now) businesses bring a professional consistency to fresh, flavorful foods that you love to eat, week after week. The food produced by these passionate connoisseurs can be found both at…