Gilbert Hernandez had 500 books and a $5,000 loan when taking his business from markets and pop-ups to a storefront in downtown Brownsville. It was the first days of January 2022. His new bookstore Buho now had a physical location in a historic downtown building that got its start in 1921 as a pharmacy on Washington Street. The 29-year-old Hernandez was out to prove a point. His research revealed that…
Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda is known for making the rounds of her city and dropping in on locally-owned small businesses. In mid-January, she made such a visit to The Reading Turtle. In the mayor’s words, it’s “a cozy bookstore” and where she made a pact with her young son. “I’ve made a deal with my son,” Sepulveda wrote on her Harlingen mayor Facebook page. “Every time he completes a book,…
The Storybook Garden sits on a corner of Texas Boulevard just a moment’s walk from Business 83 in Weslaco. It’s main street Weslaco and an appropriate place to find an independent bookstore with deep ties to its community. The historic hotel site suits the purposes and goals of Sarah Cuadra, the bookstore’s owner. “We want to be a place for families to come and meet and develop a love for…