New store offers stringed instruments, lessons A Valley Symphony Orchestra viola player has opened a new business in Harlingen to share his love of stringed instruments. The Harlingen Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting and grand opening on July 13 for Cremona House, the venture started by 29-year-old Miguel Gutierrez. The name comes from the Italian city in the Lombardy region known for its tradition of violin-making. Cremona House…
What used to be a family home is now splintered debris after being beat by strong winds. An office building or retail store that serves as a source of sales and income for several workers is now unusable and unprofitable in the blink of an eye. Who do you call? Helping communities recover and rebuild after hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other disasters is a side of the U.S. Small Business…
Rene Castro’s dad asked him a simple question – could Rene make a solar screen for one of the windows in the house. “I went to Home Depot, bought the material and made it,” Castro said. “Then he just said you should do this on the side. But I knew nothing about the solar screen business.” A few weeks later, he decided to start RRC Quality Solar Screens and now,…
George Perez sits down at a table inside the recently opened Vermillion restaurant in Harlingen. He takes a taste of the ceviche that was just placed in front of him. The ceviche is as fresh as could be, the colors from the diced tomatoes, jalapenos and onion radiate from the plate, emphasizing the freshness. The chips that accompany them carry with them the warm smell of the oven. “We’re not…
Kyle Orgera is on one end of the craft beer spectrum, he brews about 10 times a year. Now that his brother is in town, the two plan to brew more and have talked about opening a business. Steve Padilla is on the other end of the spectrum. After finding the taste for craft beer while in school in Erie, Pa., he decide then that the Valley needed more options…
“Once you find somebody who shares your values and work ethic, you have to make a decision on how to keep them. If you just increase their salary, you still risk losing them at any point. Laurie Tresch was an employee we needed to keep,” said Allan Crockett, who with his wife Terrie and sons runs Hilco, Crockett Farms and Gulf Coast Contractors. “Laurie is the face of Hilco, the…
The landscape will tell you that you are in a different place. Bait shops and bait stores, cabins, homes and apartments for rent – during the summer in most fishing cities — but here in Arroyo City, the weather is great for fishing year round. Fishing is the lifeblood of this town. Seated along the Arroyo Colorado, this similar-named city is all about fishing – and you’re almost a stone’s…
Marty Moore looked down at the ruined pair of jeans in his hands, the jeans he had promised a first-time customer of D&M Cleaners to clean and just shrugged. “Looks like we bought these jeans,” he said as he stared at the black that ran all over the white designer jeans. “That’s the right thing to do.” Moore promptly called the customer and told her what happened. She returned to…
Cover Cap protects against weather Adriana Cantu’s husband works on construction projects all around the United States. When he complained about the cold, she stayed up nights working on a design to protect his head from the elements. At the time she was a parent-educator with the PSJA school district, teaching crafts and sewing, skills that enabled stay-at-home moms to work for others or themselves. Cantu came up with the…
Local assistance for small businesses It is exciting when a new business opens in the Rio Grande Valley, and we LOVE it because it strengthens both the community and the economy. The latest U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy stats show small firm openings have accounted for 40 percent of the “new” American jobs over the last two decades. During the first quarter of fiscal 2017, SBA approved 31…