Downtown merchant meetings to produce results

By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com

Owners and managers of Sam Houston Boulevard businesses gather at the San Benito EDC's downtown merchants meeting on Wednesday. (Courtesy photo)

Owners and managers of Sam Houston Boulevard businesses gather at the San Benito EDC’s downtown merchant meeting on Wednesday. (Courtesy photo)

It may be in the summer when residents could begin seeing changes in downtown San Benito.

Salomon Torres, San Benito Economic Development Corporation Executive Director, made that point on Friday when discussing the monthly merchant meetings he’s spearheading between downtown business owners and managers.

The plan is to also fill vacant lots that dot Sam Houston Boulevard stretching from Business 77 to Expressway 83, otherwise referred to as San Benito’s downtown district, in hopes of spurring business growth.

If the second of these merchant meetings, held Wednesday, April 24, inside of the Vega Professional Building and home of new business Ensure Driving School, then the EDC may well be on its way.

“It was pretty interesting and very informative,” said Richard Rios, owner of RGVida, after the meeting on Wednesday. “It’s good to know what other concerns are outside of your personal concerns. (Parking) is a problem. There are a lot of problems with traffic flow. We’ve even had our own customers want more parking spaces. It’s a good start to get some ideas out there.”

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2013/04/27/downtown-merchant-meetings-to-produce-results/

1 comment

  1. First you need to bring back all the people who use to drive up and down San Houston Blvd back in the 80″s they use to call it the strip . People would drive bumper to bumper cruseing and parking all along Sam Houston sitting on top of the cars. Mostly teenagers or the younger crowd. I remember there were people there cruseing who caem all the way from Mcallen, Raymondville, Brownsville and inbetween just to meet different people. But some one in city hall had to go pull the plug and created a cerfew and cops inforced it and there went to crowds. Back then you could’nt find an empty slot at he local STAR”S Drive Inn cars makeing the turn around at stars just to head back to Sam Houstion Blvd. Maybe a few broken window at business but maybe if there wold have been a business opened there to attract the evening crowds they may have not thrown any rocks but instead gone inside the business to listen to a little soft rock music. Oppurtunity knocked but there was no one home. Turn the time clock foward and what this group should do is bring all their resources and minds together and invest in one or more business Fine Resturants, Bar and Grills, Arts Theater, Bowling Alley. Oh yea here we go Parking Lots!

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