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…
The Rio Grande Valley’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis will be prolonged. It could take 12-to-18 months, at the minimum, said leading bankers and economic development specialists. They say the recovery from the widespread business shutdowns this spring will stretch well into 2021. Recovery will also be dependent on one key factor. “It’s all going to depend on how we contain COVID,” said David Deanda, the president of Lone…
Leadership Mid-Valley Class XV is currently offering 20 $500 mini-grants to Mid-Valley businesses that are Weslaco Chamber Members. Applications are available online through June 3. Businesses will be selected by a lottery system on Facebook live on June 15. “These times have resulted in economic hardship for millions of small businesses throughout the United States and there is no better time to give back to our very own,” LMV Class…
Irineo Capetillo knows what it’s like to navigate through the birth, emergence and subsequent struggles of a business that even in success, needs assistance if it hopes to see further growth. Going into 2019, Capetillo knew his Kapal Industries had outgrown its Donna facility. He also needed a second facility to expand his cabinet making and countertops manufacturing operations. The early search for a second facility in the Rio Grande…
Ranch House Burgers II has new and temporary hours in the era of COVID-19. Every other day, the Mission restaurant is open from midnight to 3 a.m. Its customers are primarily police officers, state troopers and first responders. “They got tired of burritos from the convenience stores,” said Mike Barrera, the restaurant’s owner. “We’re a business, so we do charge for the meals to help keep my staff employed, but it’s…
South Texas College will maintain a distance learning environment for all classes during the summer 2020 semester which begins June 1. There is the potential of classes returning to a face-to-face format during the term if conditions allow. Students already registered for summer semester courses were notified of the online or alternate class format changes. “We are striving to insure that students are able to continue moving towards the academic…
Down-home Rio Grande Valley cooking is gaining statewide accolades for the Brownsville-based Wing Barn. The growing regional restaurant chain was recently named one of the “Top 25 Best Places for Chicken Wings in Texas” by Big 7 Travel. The widely-read and well-sourced social media site offers recommendations on the best destinations, hotels and restaurants around the country and world for travelers to visit and enjoy. The accolade comes at a…
Esteban Mejia Jr. has the restless energy of an Air Force veteran who once worked long shifts as a nuclear cruise technician. Returning home, the Mercedes native built an information technology business from scratch. He’s now working to extend his brand. “My dad would tell me, growing up, ‘Never back down from work,’’ he said. “So I’m always thinking, ‘what else, what else can I do?’” Mejia is the founder…
SWG Engineering LLC, a local civil engineering firm, was recently distinguished by two national organizations for the solutions it provided Rio Grande Valley municipalities in 2019. The American Society of Civil Engineers Rio Grande Valley Branch presented SWG with the 2019 Innovative Project of the Year award. The recognition comes for the firm’s canal-to-pipeline conversion for the Delta Lake Irrigation District. SWG turned the A-20 open canal into 4.5 miles…
Anabell Cardona was 15-years plus into managing clinics and doctors’ offices in Weslaco and McAllen. It was then she figured the time was right, in her mid-30s, to make a career breakthrough. Cardona recalls having no fear in 2001 as she sat in front of a banker and faced a business loan with six figures in it. She was ready to purchase Valley Grande Institute of Weslaco. “Where do I…