Business

One of the many reasons that Beaumont is a great place to live and work is the resources available to businesses. Entrepreneurs can take advantage of all that the Lamar University Small Business Development Center has to offer.

“The Small Business Administration has identified that small business is the backbone of an economy and the data strongly suggested that businesses that start with assistance from a Small Business Development Center typically stay in business longer,” said Dave Mulcahy, director of the Lamar University Small Business Development Center.

Lamar University hosts the Small Business Development Center and has done so for more than 25 years as part of a grant from the SBA and the state of Texas.

A Community Resource

Although the role of the Small Business Development Center is broad, it assists with business plan development, financial projects, loan proposals and business training. It goes deeper; after Hurricane Harvey the Small Business Development Center helped to deploy around 4,000 disaster loans and hosted an Small Business Administration Business and Disaster Recovery Center.

The Small Business Development Center offers a range of services, which help businesses large and small, as well as both start-ups and firmly established enterprises.

“There are many reasons why individuals come to our center, but the main reason they should come is to explore the what-ifs, the hows and the whys,” Mulcahy said.

The Small Business Development Center guides clients through doing intensive research. For start-ups those questions often revolve around pricing and market conditions. Some of the questions the Small Business Development Center helps their clients find answers to include:

  • How many customers will I have to serve per day to meet my financial obligations?
  • What does my pricing model need to look like to meet those obligations?
  • How do I show a profit that I can use to service any debt that I may have incurred?
  • How do I know if there is room for me and my concept in the local market or should I look at other markets?

For established businesses, the questions may be different, but are equally important to thriving and growing. For example, businesses may have brisk sales, but no profit. The Small Business Development Center may be able to help the business owner understand why. It’s also important for established businesses to know the worth of their business. The Small Business Development Center may be able to help them identify a value range, as well as to see how key performance indicators may affect that range.

Have the basics covered first

“A common misconception is that the Small Business Development Center will help a start-up find a grant. First, there are no grants that I have found, over 25 years, that will help a start-up,” Mulcahy said.

Before you begin a business, you need to make sure that your credit score is acceptable, that you have a good concept, knowledge or experience in the industry and that you’ve got some savings or collateral to get started. Once those things are in place, the Small Business Development Center has a variety of resources, including workshops and seminars, programs for learning to sell products and services to government agencies, internationally, and other specialty programs and a comprehensive business library.


Places to Eat in Beaumont

Bon appetite!
Culinary Scene Tempts Taste Buds

Big juicy steaks, fat pizzas brimming with all the trimmings or a fresh plate of tasty sushi can be found in Beaumont’s buzzing restaurant scene. The fine spirit of Texas hospitality is in every delicious bite as Beaumont’s culinary menu is transforming the city into a foodie destination. So pull up a chair in a cozy setting for fine dining, or grab a stool at a casual eatery and enjoy hearty pub grub with good friends over a cold beer and so much more.

Just miles from the Gulf of Mexico, Beaumont is a destination for seafood that is fresh and plentiful. Local fish is available daily, along with shrimp, oysters and scallops.

Piping hot sides of creamy corn, green beans, cornbread and frosty glasses of sweet iced-tea are happy companions in Southern fare, and nobody does it better than Beaumont. Check out Republic Chicken or Suga’s Deep South Cuisine and Jazz Bar to discover new riffs on old favorites or uptown twists that leave your taste buds humming.

Sample sushi and innovative tapas in a sleek and casual setting at Koi Japanese Sushi Bar & Lounge for a change of pace treat.

For fall-off-the-bone tender barbecue, head to Tony’s BBQ & Steak House Inc. where pork ribs and brisket are filled with flavor to savor and smoked over south Texas hickory for eight hours.

Out and about, stop in for coffee at signature shops like Rao’s Bakery, serving breakfast sandwiches, pastry and gelato alongside piping hot joe. At Texas Coffee Company, the brew is crafted with fresh roasted and expertly ground 100 percent Arabica coffee beans, a tradition since 1921.

At Zummo Meat Co. pick up legendary sausages, thick-sliced hickory-smoked bacon and links of Cajun style boudain, a highly seasoned pork and rice dressing stuffed in a sausage casing, to take home. Serving the area since 1908, Zummo also offers online ordering for home shipping.

If you want to try it all, indulge in the best of Beaumont at the annual Taste of the Triangle celebration every Fat Tuesday when restaurants dish up a showcase of palate-pleasing fare. The party atmosphere whets the appetite with live entertainment, and proceeds benefit local charities. And for tried and true old-timey treats, try the carnival food offerings of the YMBL South Texas State Fair and Rodeo. It’s two weeks of food, fun and entertainment between late March and early April.

If you’re too tired to explore the restaurant scene after a full day of shopping, visiting museums or checking out festivals and events, just call for delivery or use a handy service like Waitr to pick up your food at restaurants of choice.


History

Beaumont, Texas – A Brief History

About 3 miles south of Beaumont on a salt dome named Spindletop Hill, a spectacular event changed the economy and history of Texas in the blink of an eye when drillers tapped one of the world’s largest oil fields. It was January 1901.

“It was one of the greatest wells ever seen,” said Troy Gray, director of the Spindletop Gladys City Museum. “They weren’t expecting a gusher, but maybe several barrels a day seeping out of the ground, but when they struck oil at 1,139 feet, it went on for nine days, blowing an oil stream 150 to 200 feet high, straight into the air and gushing roughly 100,000 barrels a day. They didn’t have the capping technology that exists today, so it was chaos for a while until they could figure it all out. Oil was everywhere.”

In a matter of days, the petroleum industry was born: Fortunes were made — and some lost — as land changed hands and the population surged.

“Almost overnight, Beaumont’s population went from 9,000 to 50,000,” Gray said. “The oil brought bankers, land speculators, wildcatters, workmen and throngs of onlookers.”

Today the oil-drenched history of Beaumont is celebrated and preserved at the museum, which recreates Gladys City, the turn-of-the century town that grew up around Spindletop Hill. It’s a showcase of the boomtown and culture that existed after the geyser’s discovery.

“We have about 15 different buildings that house artifacts and exhibits of the time period,” Gray said. “There’s a doctor’s office, a barber shop and general store with living quarters upstairs. One of the cool things we have is a working blacksmith. He forges iron and makes knives on site. We invite guests and visitors to get involved with the enrichment classes we offer that include blacksmithing, and wood and leather working and lots of other crafts. It’s a hands-on experience that puts people in touch with the times. The classes are a day long, and we enroll 16 year-olds on up to senior citizens.”

People travel from around the world to learn about Spindletop.

“We see visitors from Colombia, England, Italy, Canada and many other countries. What we have here captures the imagination,” Gray said. “It’s what started the oil business, and ultimately changed the world. It’s recorded in history books; students learn about it in school.”

A special thrill for visitors is the viewing of a replica derrick that spews a plume of sparkling water into the sky, simulating the original oil stream in a reenactment as water surges skyward for two minutes.

The oil geyser is formally known as the Lucas Gusher, and named after Anthony Lucas, one of the team members who discovered it. Commemorating his discovery of oil at Spindletop Hill, the Lucas Gusher Monument, a 58-foot pink granite obelisk, was erected and dedicated in 1941. The monument and entire Spindletop field have been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Owned by Lamar University, the museum is open year-round, but closed on Mondays and major holidays. Call (409) 880-1750 or visit www.lamar.edu/spindletop-gladys-city to plan your trip.


Board of Directors

2018-2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Roxanne Acosta-Hellberg
Get Recovery Inc.

Ashley Alemayehu
ExxonMobil

Patrick R Anderson
Becker Print & Mail

Slate Babineaux
Air Comfort, Inc.

Kevin Bohm
Edward Jones Investments – Kevin Bohm

Paula Bothe
Four Alarm Productions, Inc.

Patrick W Calhoun
Lamar Institute of Technology

Gary Chalk
CenterPoint Energy

Dean Conwell
Beaumont Convention & Visitors Bureau

Steve Grantham
MidSouth Bank – Ave A location

Bob Hamer
Mobiloil Credit Union – Delaware

Lori Higgins
Mobiloil Credit Union – Delaware

W. Dennis Isaacs
Golden Triangle Business Roundtable

Chad Mason
Mason Construction, Ltd.

Rebekah Maxwell
ReStep Marketing

Nakisha Myles Burns
Beaumont Independent School District

Jennifer Nichols
Orgain, Bell & Tucker, L.L.P.

Ivy Pate
CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System

Michael Perez
Thrive Mortgage, LLC

Mary W Poole
Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas

Terri Potter
Market Basket Food Stores

Fernando Salazar
ExxonMobil

Ann Scoggin
Coldwell Banker Southern Homes Real Estate – Ann Scoggin

Josh Smith
Bill Clark Pest Control, Inc.

Tim Sudela
American Valve & Hydrant Manufacturing Company

Pamela S Williams
Entergy Texas, Inc.

CHAMBER Ambassadors

Jessica Abbott
Lori Allen
Patrick Anderson
Emily Brackin
Ashleigh Buchholz-Wert
Michele Cobb, DC
Tyrel Coudrain
Amy Dansby
Daryl Fant
Dawn Fournier
Brenda Gray
Terri Harley
Carrie Haskett
Modesty Hawthorne
Glenn Hicks
Kandis Hodgkinson
Tamara Jarrell
James Johnson
Michael Kibodeaux
Laura Kressman
Dee Lane
Kevin Lee
Tracey Lumpkin
Sabbina Mayer
Yancey Mbolda
Sara McDonald
Patrick Nichols
Lane Olson
Patti Owens
Tommy Patrizi
Sheree Pierce
Terri Potter
Rhonda Robichau
Brenna Rodriguez
Sue Rogers
Cassie Simpson
Brandon Spears
Patti Standley
Crystal Thibodeau
Wendy Thibodeaux
Pam Trosclair
Thomas White
Harold Whitfield
Sandra Whitmire
Jay Wilson
Pamela Wise

ADVISORY BOARD

Stephanie Abrego
Becky Ames
Eddie Arnold
Chris Boone
Emily Brackin
Tina Broussard
Ben Case
Sade’ Chick
Bessie F Chisum
Christina Crawford
Joe Domino
Craig Escamilla
Dr. Kenneth Evans
Carolyn R Fernandez
Trey Fielder
Chris Fisher
Dawn Fournier
Sharita R Gardner
Natasha Garrett
Guy Goodson
Leslie Harrison
Kyle Hayes
Sylvester Hill
Dr. Lonnie Howard
John Hunley
Karyn Husbands
Martha Kapparis
Matthew Kaufman
Payton Keith
Kal Kincaid
Josh Knichel
Laura Kressman
Dee Lane
Ted Moor
John Morrell
David Mosley
Kevin Nectoux
Jennifer Pate
Vernon Pierce
Randy Reese
Carolyn Ridout
Sue Lane Rogers
John Rollins
Patrick Shannon
Katie Shepley
Cassie Fiorenza Simpson
Paul Skinner
Dave Stephens
Angela Thames
Crystal Thibodeau
David Thornhill
Anthony Toups
Donna Valentine
Dr. Henry Venta
Marco Villasana
Pamela Wise
Charlotte Yeates
Pamela M Young