Inside Today: Explore the area’s growing sushi trends • Page 1B
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Saturday, May 15, 2021 • Vol. 66 • No. 20
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Employment shortage hitting neighborhood businesses By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
John White’s “Help Wanted” sign outside Miller’s Café in the Garden Oaks shopping center at 3830 N. Shepherd Dr. has been up for nearly a month – but the phone isn’t ringing. “Typically, I have people coming in here asking me for jobs all the time – at least weekly,” said White, who co-owns Miller’s Gar-
den Oaks location. “I was going to let that sign ride for a month, then go on Indeed to find people.” White’s story is not an unfamiliar one. Contrary to what consistently seeing “Help Wanted” or “Now Hiring” signs might imply, many businesses around the country and the local area are struggling to find the necessary workers who help their operation run smoothly.
“I’m not even getting many resumes,” White said. “I’ve had just two people call me in the last few weeks.” Brad Pruitt, who helped open the first Ike’s Love and Sandwiches location in Houston at 1051 Heights Blvd. in August 2019, said he’s never seen a job market like this one in his six years hiring workers. “For the most part right See Shortage P. 5A
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Photo by Landan Kuhlmann “Now Hiring” signs are popping up all around the area as local businesses struggle to find employees to fill open positions.
Catalytic converter thefts jarring local residents
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INSIDE.
High marks. Local teachers such Sinclair Elementary’s Barbara Smith are being recognized by HISD.
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Laura and Adrian Tracy are combining their interests and skills for their new business, Modern Vintage.
Shop til you drop. More options than ever exist for community members at one of the area’s many outdoor markets.
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Safe House. Heights artist John Carroll Runnels has a new project for the community.
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On a roll. Handies Douzo’s hand rolls quickly became a favorite during a recent visit.
Pandemic pivot leads to new business By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Candlelight Plaza area residents Laura and Adrian Tracy could teach a class on pivoting during the pandemic. When husband Adrian lost a 10year gig at catering company, A Fare Extraordinaire, due to a loss of revenue during COVID-19, the couple turned his cocktail mixing skills and Laura’s retail, design and marketing savvy into a burgeoning business. Modern Vintage hand produces and bottles cocktail mixers. “At his job, Adrian managed the beverage program and had to deliver top-shelf craft cocktails at high-end events servicing up to 1,000,” Laura said. “His solution was to develop prebatched cocktails that didn’t diminish the cocktail experience itself.” When Durham Elementary, where their children attend, asked the couple to supply the cocktail mixers for their annual gala, they complied. And due to the positive feedback they received,
Contributed photo Grapefruit Lemon Basil is one of four year-round options from Modern Vintage.
Laura and Adrian decided to try a small batch of Spiced Old Fashioned mixers to make a little extra money for the holidays. “We started out with 100 bottles and worried that would be too much,”
Laura said. “We sold out in a week.” The next batch of 200 also sold out with publicity on their neighborhood social media channels. Erin Simpson, the owner of Third Born Ginger Beer and fellow parent at Durham Elementary, helped the couple get a head start too. When they found that porch deliveries were no longer feasible because of the number of deliveries they had to make, the Tracys approached Village Liquor on North Shepherd, which started carrying the line. Levi Rollins and Eric Munoz who own Urban Eats also started selling Modern Vintage and allowed the couple to use their kitchen on Sundays to make the mixes. Then Relic General Store and Manready Mercantile in the Heights picked up the brand as well. By January, their growth necessitated further expansion. The Tracys signed on with Favorite Brands, a statewide wine, liquor, and See Pivot P. 5A
See Converters P. 5A
Contributee photo Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise nationwide, and the local community has not been immune from the trend.
West 18th Street improvement project set for June completion By Betsy Denson Betsy@theleadernews.com
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THE INDEX. Church....................................................... 4A Classifieds.............................................. 5A Coupons................................................... 3B Food/Drink............................................. 1B Opinion..................................................... 3A Public Information......................... 2A Puzzles...................................................... 3A Sports......................................................... 4A
Contributed photo
Shepherd Park Plaza residents Kathleen Ponter and Rachelle Vento both traveled to Timbergrove’s Brookhollow Marketplace on unrelated trips about two months apart earlier this year. However, the two are now connected through a string of thefts that is sweeping through the Houston region. Vento and Ponter both had their catalytic converters stolen while inside various stores at the new shopping center near Dacoma Street and Highway 290 during those aforementioned trips. “It sounded like a rocket taking off (when I turned my car on), and then I see my check engine light come on,” said Vento, who had the catalytic converter stolen off her Honda Element near the end of March. “I had no idea what was going on.” Ponter had a similar experience about two months earlier in January at the same shopping center. “When I first started the car after finishing with the shopping, it sounded like I was at a motorcycle rally,” she said. Vento and Ponter’s stories are not uncommon ones around the area, as Sgt. Jesse Fite with the Houston Police Department’s Metal Theft Unit said catalytic converter thefts are on the rise both in Houston and nationwide over the last six months. According to data from HPD, the department had fielded 935 calls related to stolen catalytic converters through the end of March – more than a 300 percent increase from the same period last year. HPD had 210 calls through the first three months of last year, according to the data – a figure that was individually outstripped in January (298 calls), February (329), and March (308) of this
Photo by Landan Kuhlmann Construction workers continue work along West T.C. Jester and West 18th Street in the Heights. The road improvement project is slated for completion in early June.
A major street improvement project at West T C Jester Blvd. and West 18th St. has been a hazard for drivers over the past month. According to Houston Public Works Public Information Officer Erin Jones, the project will soon be complete. “Completion is estimated for early June,” Jones said. “Crews are making base repairs before laying down the asphalt overlay for the entire project.” The work is part of the West 18th Street Improvement Project according to the Build
Houston Forward website. The project description calls for the replacement of asphalt and concrete pavement sections and base material depending on the street condition, including replacement of damaged curbs, sidewalks, and storm inlets as necessary along the major roadway within the limits of the project. New pavement markings will be implemented at various levels depending on the extent of roadway surface rehabilitation. Jones said that this project is utilizing existing Capital Improvement Program and bud-
geted resources available for street construction through the Dedicated Drainage and Street Renewal Fund, including transfers from METRO’s General Mobility Program funded by the 1-cent sales tax and the City’s Ad Valorem tax. Drivers have been frustrated by the deep holes at the intersection there although those have been filled in recently. Citizens can check on the status of Capital Improvement Projects and other Houston Public Works projects at buildhoustonforward.org in the “Find a Project” section.
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