Category Archives: Retail

Development Makes the RGV Prosperous

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Eighty years ago, the Rio Grande Valley was a rural, agriculturally based economy with little growth happening. Fast forward to 10 years ago, and the RGV was quickly becoming a thriving metropolitan area as development intensified. Today, the region has completely transformed economically. It has become an area developed by improving and increasing commercial, retail, industrial, entertainment, medical and higher education institutions.  Education In 2013, the transformation of the RGV’s…

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Values Are A Natural Fit

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J.J. Serrano Jr.

J.J. Serrano Jr. can look out his office windows and see his alma mater across the way on Panther Drive. “It’s crazy,” said Serrano, the facilities leader of H-E-B’s Weslaco Retail Support Center on 1100 Panther Drive. “That’s my high school over there.” Weslaco High School is in his front view, but behind Serrano’s office is a cavernous 408,000-square-foot distribution and transportation center. It serves as the nerve center for…

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Shop Fresh at Tres Lagos Farmers’ Market

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Pica Natural artisans spices that can be used for seasoning, dips or salsas.

The weekend is fast approaching and if you’re looking for a leisurely, family-friendly Sunday afternoon, Tres Lagos Farmers’ Market should be on your list. The Tres Lagos Farmers’ Market takes place from Sept. 1 from 2-5 p.m. at 4350 Tres Lagos Blvd. in McAllen. There’s live music playing as you walk the market, which features roughly 30 different vendors to shop from.    The market also offers a wide variety…

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Using Science to Craft Beer

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Steve Padilla, UTRGV legacy alum, and owner of Big River Brewery. (photo, Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

It’s not about the type of beer that fills your glass; it’s all about the process. Just ask Steve Padilla. Owner of Big River Brewery in Pharr and alumnus of UTRGV legacy institution UT Pan American, Padilla says that whether you prefer stouts, lagers or seasonal sours, his authentic Valley brews came from ideas fermented in the science classroom. Padilla got a degree in nursing in 2008. As a nurse and anesthetist,…

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When Passion Becomes Business

Arts Profiles Retail Comments
Very Artsy owner, Veronica Cerda-Ayala, stands at her checkout counter, which used to be an old restaurant cashier stand that she transformed by added the molding details on the front and painted in a trendy ombre pattern.

Whether writing, playing a sport, dancing or creating something new, our hobbies are a labor of love and enjoyment. Every once in a while, we are lucky enough to turn our hobbies into something more. This is exactly what Veronica Cerda-Ayala did.  After 18 years of being a teacher, Ayala decided she was ready to pursue her true passion … home decor. She began several years ago in her very…

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Farmers Market Freshness

Agriculture Food & Entertainment News Profiles Retail Comments
Rebecca de la Garza buys a specialty bread from April Kminiak of Frannys' Garden of Bayview at the Brownsville farmers market.

Although the Rio Grande Valley is one of the state and country’s best fertile regions to grow fruits, vegetables and livestock, consumers have not had the opportunity to get the best the land produces unless they go to a grocery store or to a fruit stand. Winter vegetables, for example, usually ship to many places in the United States. Goat cheese isn’t a supermarket staple in this part of the…

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Big Boots Are Filled

Manufacturing/Industrial News Profiles Retail Comments

In the mid-1990s, Carlos Rodriguez found himself back in his native Mexico. He had an industrial engineering degree in hand, but with an economy in tatters, he found no real jobs in his field. “I had no job, no car, no nothing, but a lot of enthusiasm to start a new adventure,” he recalled. Rodriguez had just returned from Canada. Here he took intensive English classes in Vancouver to bolster…

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CarMax Opens in Pharr

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The largest retailer of used vehicles, CarMax, is now open in Pharr. The first location in the Rio Grande Valley and the 22nd in Texas. CarMax was welcomed by City of Pharr officials and the Greater Pharr Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon-cutting ceremony  June 13. CarMax offers more than 300 used vehicles. It also offers customers the ability to choose vehicle transfers from any other CarMax location in the country.…

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McAllen Inventor Makes Hanging Up EZ

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Juan Guerrero of EZ Stud Finder

Juan Guerrero has the mind of an engineer … analyzing, probing, figuring out a problem in using a well-honed process. “I do enjoy having projects that interest me,” said Guerrero, a retired electrical engineer with more than 20 years in the maquiladora industry for companies like Zenith and TRW. One idea that Guerrero latched on to came about when spending time with construction workers and carpenters who were building his…

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Bootique Creates Retail Niche

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Chrissy Santana arranges merchandise in the Bootique’s newly created western wear section. (VBR)

The history of a legendary Rio Grande Valley bootmaker provides the backdrop for the Bootique, a clothing and gift shop in downtown Raymondville. The store is in a portion of the brick building where Abraham Rios crafted custom footwear for decades. The building’s current owners, Cruz and Sonya Tijerina, ran the Bootique until they sold the business to Elma Chavez, former director of the Raymondville Chamber of Commerce. The Tijerinas…

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