Small Business Boost | HoustonTexans.com

Sweets by Belen is women-owned, Peruvian and Latin inspired bakery located in southwest Houston. Sweets by Belen creates high quality made-from-scratch desserts using tropical fruits and ingredients. Belen and her team make these treats by hand with a lot of care and love. From her nomination: "This is a small sweets boutique in the heart of Gulfton, a predominant Latino and refugee community. Belen is owned by an Afro-Latina and she has opened a store that is truly unique to the community. She is a great role model for many young girls in the community and her sweet goods are truly delicious and a must-try!

The Artz is a local Black-owned business founded in 2016. The Artz received over 30 nominations for the Small Business Boost where nominators emphasized how important the Artz has been to the community during COVID-19 by offering a safe, active environment for kids. The Artz is the largest aerial arts and circus studio in Houston and is an inclusive space offering a wide range of classes for ages 2 to 102. Per owner, DeMarco Howard, "Our priority is providing a supportive environment where people of all abilities can come workout and have fun. This incredible grant opportunity is helping us in our current goal of finding a space we can call our own. We offer a unique way for everyone in the family to work out, experience something new and have fun at the same time."

Kidtastic Park is a safe, clean and fun-filled indoor playground where children can grow, learn and play. From celebrating birthdays to discovering new adventures, our playground is designed with parents and kids in mind. From a special toddler area for children learning to walk and needing a smaller area to play in to twisty tunnels and super slides for the bigger kids, Kidtastic Park is about learning while playing. With a zip line, merry-go-round, slides, obstacle courses, educational elements, and so much more, we want to encourage more family time. With COVID, capacity is limited by requiring reservations and we clean AND sanitize between every play session.

Little Matts Cafe is a small neighborhood restaurant that opened in 2009 and has always had a focus on giving back to the community. Little Matt's owners donate the proceeds to Texans Children's Hospital in memory of their son Bobby who was a patient there. The cafe started as a way to provide a fun respite for families dealing with illness. At the front of the restaurant, there is a "Wish Wall" where guests can be reminded of wishes that do come true every day. During COVID-19, Little Matt's has kept all of their staff and continued to ensure that them and their families have all the support they need.

The Plated Plant is a nutritional counseling and meal delivery company that provides customized meal plans to help clients transition to a plant based diet, lose weight and combat disease. Services include in-home meal prep, cooking classes, coaching, and community education for kids and families. The Garden of Eatin', still in development, is a mobile market and smoothie bar fashioned from an old school bus that will bring fresh produce and healthy items to food deserts in Houston.

The first winner of the Houston Texans Small Business Boost presented by Amegy Bank of Texas is Three Brothers Bakery. This small local business with three locations was founded in 1949. Since its founding, the bakery has survived floods, a fire, hurricanes and now a pandemic and stands on the shoulders of Holocaust survivors. Through this challenging time, they have continued to support their team and help other small businesses navigate this latest curveball.