The Weslaco Chamber of Commerce has kicked off its Love Local campaign through Nov. 27. The weekly drawing will reward those supporting Weslaco businesses by making purchases of at least $20. In order to be eligible for drawings, customers must send the chamber a photo of their receipt(s) through Facebook messenger. The more people shop, the more entries they receive. Customers may also receive extra entries by uploading a picture…
Juan Rosales started out small, buying used books, figurines and old music albums. He called it “Just Trying To Make A Buck” back then in 2012, declining his wife’s suggestion of “Juan’s Junk” for his nascent surplus business. “I bought a few Just Trying To Make A Buck things and I got hooked,” said Rosales, a retired manager of the cigarette distribution business. He then began attending government and school auctions. His…
Hometown pharmacies in Mercedes mean featuring orange-and-white themes and a community’s love for high school football. At Mid-Valley Pharmacy, a Mercedes Tiger football helmet sits up high on a main counter. Around the corner at Coach’s Pharmacy on Texas Avenue, the pharmacist is a former football coach. He also wears something orange to work every day. The down-home connections are especially pertinent these days. Customers throughout the Mid-Valley depend on…
Texas wineries and distilleries are facing a crisis. As Texas continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, tasting rooms at hundreds of wineries and distilleries remain closed. This limits consumer access, negatively affects sales, impacts jobs and reduces tax revenue for local and state governments. Gov. Greg Abbott’s Executive Order closing bars had the consequence of forcing Texas winery and distillery tasting rooms to close. Industry leaders recently announced the launch…
Karla Ugarte and Juan Palma were coming off nine solid months of new business success when they reached for more in opening their second Keto Sweets & Treats. The husband-and-wife team were building from solid ground with the customer and revenue gains from their Alamo bakery along Expressway 77/83. Moving into the bigger McAllen market with a location near the always busy intersection of 10th Street and Trenton Road was…
Patrick Alvarez walks into big-box stores and their rows of school supplies and his trained teacher eye makes an astute observation. “A lot of the inventory doesn’t move,” said Alvarez, a social studies teacher at a Brownsville charter school. “It’s not what teachers really need.” The dollar stores offer discounts on inexpensive items like glitter and markers, but what about the more specific supplies and decorations teachers commonly need to…
Sandy Pena is at one of her store counters, entering inventory to soon be featured on her website. It’s early June and in downtown Weslaco the temperatures already feel like mid-August. Inside Lionel’s Western Wear & Boutique, Pena is upbeat and feeling the new possibilities in the midst of a pandemic. “I’m not depressed or dejected at all,” Pena said. “I’m optimistic about retail. I think there’s still a place…
Shopping or dining Harlingen local businesses may pay off for some customers. The Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the “Shop Local” Lucky Draw contest the entire month of May. Each week, the Harlingen Chamber will hold a drawing and give away a $50 give card from a Harlingen business. To enter the weekly drawing, customers need to make a purchase at a participating business. Then they must write…
Rio Grande Valley businesses, like those around the country, are dealing with disruptions and an upheaval in a way of life unlike anything experienced in our lifetimes. Here’s a look at how three RGV businesses prepared for what they knew was coming and how they are doing in adapting to a new normal. Menchaca Family Clinic Michael Menchaca didn’t wait for any official announcements for Menchaca Family Clinic. The family…
One day, Bonnie Emerson was getting ready to stage another weekend Rancho Viejo Farmers Market – and then the world changed. The threat of the coronavirus led Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to issue an executive order on March 19 that limited public gatherings and eventually led to the closing of many businesses. The Rancho Viejo Farmers Market of March 21-22 saw an abrupt cancellation with no roadmap of what to…