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How local businesses are thriving in Houston Southeast

HOUSTON – The Southeast Management District, also known as Houston Southeast, is dedicated to providing opportunities for business owners and neighbors alike.

Aiming is to provide opportunities to help new businesses get a head start and support existing businesses as they continue to grow and thrive, Houston Southeast was, “created over 20 years ago to provide additional enhancements to the business owners. We have over 3500 businesses in the area, and we provide additional public safety, beautification, graffiti removal, public transportation projects and things like that for the, business owners in this area,” explained Brian Smith, Chairman of Houston Southeast.

From the Texas Medical Center to the University of Houston. Hermann Park to Emancipation Park, Houston Southeast spans 31 square miles of the city of Houston.

It’s a great place to come to work, to live and play. We have a lot of entertainment through the district. Bars, places for, kids. Like I said, parks. There’s pocket parks throughout the district. But, just a great place to allow your business to grow,” said Smith.

Entrepreneur Shanquita Fuller has seen her business, Simply Scents Candle Co., thrive from its home on Almeda Road in Houston Southeast.

“I started making candles in my grandmother’s kitchen,” said Fuller of her business’ beginnings. The Air Force veteran had been working as a flight attendant but soon learned her rookie position made her susceptible to last-in-first-out layoffs. “I was so junior that they would lay me off and I was like, man, this is the third time I’m getting laid off,” said Fuller. Struggling to buy Christmas gifts after a recent layoff, Martha Steward provided Fuller the first spark of inspiration.

“She was talking about candle making, and I was like, maybe I can make some candles and give them away for Christmas gifts because I can’t afford to buy everyone gifts for Christmas. But as I started making the candles and getting into the candle making process, that’s when the magic all happened,” said Fuller.

From her Grandmother’s kitchen to a garage and car trunk for a shopfront, Fuller now employs a team who make candles on site at Simply Scents Candle Co. and while many neighbors shop in person at the store, a pivot during the pandemic now sees Fuller as the CEO of a thriving online business as well.

“We still manufacture and distribute our candles right here on site. Everything is hand poured right here. I’m so excited because we’re getting ready to move to our new warehouse, which is still in the Southeast...it’s just a little ways up, but it’s much bigger, so we have more space and more room to make really great candles,” said Fuller.

All along, Fuller has appreciated being part of the Houston Southeast family. “Just as far as expansion of the the business, they’ve always been here to help us to grow,” she said.

Jonathan Howard is a director on the board at Houston Southeast. He explained to Houston Life that the management district is about providing support and opportunities to local businesses.

“We’re here to help businesses thrive. We’re here to spur economic development. And if you are an aspiring business owner, if you’re a business owner, an aspiring commercial property owner, or a commercial property owner, you need to be tapped in to Houston Southeast,” Howard said explaining that Houston Southeast offers a number of resources from demolition grants, to business improvement grants, even workshops that help business owners learn how to get funding and work with the city.

“We have, so many businesses in the district, some that are 50 years old, that started a long time ago, even even older than that. And then we have some that are just getting started, and we’re here to help every single one of them,” said Howard.

A new addition to the neighborhood, CALWM just recently celebrated the grand opening of their new space in Houston Southeast. The veterinary clinic is a dream made real for co-owner, Dr. Aziza Glass, who said she always wanted to own her own business.

“CALWM is a full service veterinary hospital that’s located in the heart of Houston Southeast. We are in the greater Third Ward area, and I’m very happy, very grateful to be here and to be a part of the Houston Southeast business community,” said Dr. Aziza.

Dr. Aziza grew up in Houston Southeast.

“For the longest time, we didn’t have any veterinarians in this area, and I think that the community suffered because of it.” Dr. Aziza explained that in the past neighbors would have to go out of their way to find good quality pet care.

When it came time to find a location for the CALWM clinic, Dr. Aziza knew exactly where she wanted to be.

“When we were actually looking for locations for this practice, we were offered spaces in Katy and The Woodlands and other places at a discounted rate...but we turned them down because we knew that our hearts were in Houston Southeast, and we knew that we wanted to be able to give back to our community. It’s nice to be able to say that you are an active community member and community partner,” Dr. Aziza said.

CALWM offers everything you would expect from a local veterinary clinic as well as integrative medicine.

“We offer all the typical stuff like your vaccinations, heartworm testing, bloodwork, spay and neuter surgeries, dental cleanings. But we also do integrative medicine. So we offer, more specialized services like acupuncture, cold laser therapy. We have great light therapy that we use for skin diseases. And, we even use Chinese herbal formulas in order to help enhance, our treatment plan,” explained Dr. Aziza.

Just like Dr. Aziza, Jonathan Howard also grew up in the neighborhood.

“Whether you’re an aspiring business owner, a business owner, an aspiring commercial property owner, or a commercial property owner, or whether you just want to know where the best places are to eat, work, and play in Southeast Houston, you need to be tapped in,” he said adding that the best way to do that is to follow Houston Southeast on Instagram HERE and on Facebook HERE.

For more information on the opportunities available in Houston Southeast, visit HoustonSE.org or call (713) 942-0500.

Visit Simply Scents Candle Co. at 5217 Almeda Rd, Houston, TX 77004 or shop online at simplyscentscandles.com. You can call the store on 281.974.3040.

You can find CALWM at 4902 San Jacinto St, Houston, TX 77004. Their number is 832.662.2956. Learn more online here at cawlmvet.com

Houston Life’s Melanie Camp took some time to explore some of Houston Southeast, meeting Dr. Aziza and Shanquita Fuller and Brian Smith and Jonathan Howard. Watch the video above.


About the Author
Melanie Camp headshot

Melanie Camp is a correspondent on KPRC 2’s Houston Life. 

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