Guerrero’s drive fuels passion to move city forward

By KAYLEY FRAZE The Lufkin Daily News

Liya Guerrero considers Lufkin Forward an investment in her future. Her unique perspective is what she invests in the project.

Guerrero said she was excited to be able to represent the people of Lufkin when she joined the board. The owner of Bella Grace Shoppe in downtown Lufkin, she has lived here her whole life.

“I look like you, I live where you live,” she said.

“Just like you, I could be a wife, I could be a mother, I could be a sister, I could be someone’s cousin, I could be a friend and I’m a business owner, so I feel like we relate to a lot of people in our community because we are true members of the community.”

Guerrero was born and raised in Lufkin, graduating from Lufkin High School in 2009. She worked in corrections for a while at the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office, worked in the medical field in Nacogdoches, worked at a bank and dabbled in photography and makeup artistry before opening Bella Grace Shoppe in 2019.

“I was all over the place; I wasn’t conformed to one idea of what my life should look like, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be in corporate America,” she said.

“I’m a little more artistic in a sense, and creative, and I’m not all black and white. Working all these jobs I felt was necessary to teach me the selfdiscipline and character that I have today. I don’t regret all of the things I’ve put my hand in because they’ve prepared me for seeing an avenue that looks successful to me.”

Bella Grace Shoppe was created from a vision that was all her own, Guerrero said. She built the store from nothing and has no loved ones with prior business knowledge, she said.

“Absolutely no one helped me with my store, and that’s been my biggest success to this day,” she said. “It was a lot of late nights, determination, self-discipline — and I feel like these things help me with Lufkin Forward, that drive and determination of always wanting more.”

Guerrero didn’t always know she wanted to open her own store, but the idea came about from promoting other businesses, she said.

“In the past, companies would send me free makeup or want me to model clothes — I was always kind of being invested in as an influencer. I figured if the power lies within me, why not take advantage and hit the ground running and open my own business?” she said. “I was already promoting other businesses — why not go ahead and invest in myself and in my future?”

Guerrero’s store is named after her daughter Grace. She also was adamant when creating the store that ‘Shoppe’ be in the name, not boutique, she said.

“I knew with it being labeled as a shop, I’d be able to carry a lot more than just traditional boutique clothing, so in the long run I do hope to invest in other things that aren’t traditional boutique items,” she said. “My husband was in the Marine Corps, and eventually, I do want to have a men’s section.”

Just as Guerrero loves being able to bring something unique to downtown Lufkin, she is able to offer that same unique perspective to Lufkin Forward 2.0 by being a Latina, she said.

“The board that we have now is very diverse, and we all are someone in the community that you can relate to,” she said. “I can represent the Hispanic community, and they’ll feel more open to talk to me, and my store gave me the platform for that because I meet so many people here. If they don’t personally know me, they at least know my face and it’s trusted.”

Guerrero said she dove in head first to Lufkin Forward 2.0 because she had already seen Lufkin Economic Development director Bob Samford speak and had seen how passionate he was.

“I just knew it was going to be a good team, especially when he mentioned the other people he wanted on the advi- sory council. I knew it was going to be a strong foundation for all of us and a safe space for all of us to grow with the community,” she said.

“It’s a chance for us to build the community together, and I feel like we finally have a shot at it with the diverse board, which is something we haven’t seen, and we have honest, direct members, and we’re going to be able to have those conversations with people and move the city forward.”

Kayley Fraze’s email address is kayley.fraze@lufkindailynews.com.