Peña: How Brownsville Closed Out 2025: BCIC's December Recap

The tamales came from Parras in Los Fresnos. The pozole came from Brownsville Coffee Shop.

The table was served. The entrepreneurs, founders, and staff were ready.

In mid-December, our eBridge tenants luncheon was local businesses feeding local businesses, which felt like the perfect way of closing out 2025 for BCIC.

Some of them started as newcomers renting desk space. Now they're sharing meals, swapping referrals, and closing out the year as a community.

That's what we hoped eBridge would become, and it's happening.

December also showed Brownsville residents out in force, shopping locally through the holidays. That kind of activity signals disposable income and confidence. At the same time, out-of-market visitation rose 4.6% year over year, with 431,800 visitors generating more than 2.2 million visits across local businesses. Next month, when the sales tax report is released, we'll explain how these trends line up.

The eBridge community earned some recognition in December. UTRGV selected BCIC to receive its Community Partner Recognition Award for the 2024-2025 academic year, part of the university's Carnegie Community Engagement Reclassification work. Out of 13 organizations recognized across the Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville claimed three: BCIC, Gladys Porter Zoo, and Proyecto Juan Diego.

The award reflects our long-running partnership with UTRGV's Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center, which together operates eBridge and the programming that fills it. This partnership has now earned multiple IEDC and UEDA national awards.

In December, we also said goodbye to Nathan Burkhart, our Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, who left to lead the Convention and Visitors Bureau at the City of Brownsville. Nathan was part of the team that created eBridge itself and helped build programs like Startup Texas from the ground up. Much of what fills that building today, the tenants, the programming, the partnerships, carries his fingerprints. We're grateful for what he built and wish him well in his new role.

You might've seen those viral holiday socks sold out everywhere. Before the holidays, we ran our Holiday Giveaway. Brownsville favorites only. We skipped the hype and went local instead: a $75 La Vaquita Bakery gift card, a one-year Children's Museum family membership, and four pairs of 956 socks. Thank you to everyone who entered and helped grow our newsletter community along the way.

In the community, we joined the City for ribbon-cuttings at Oliveira Park and Cabler Park for their brand new restrooms and playground that will bring in so much joy to our beloved Brownsville families. Good things happening across Brownsville worth celebrating.

Behind the scenes, December was as busy as it can be.

The application window for our Quality of Life Grants closed. We spent time with local businesses and partners laying groundwork for new projects we're excited to share in the new year. To everyone who applied: thank you. Our team is getting to work, and we'll have updates soon.

Thank you for everything you did this December to move Brownsville forward. On behalf of our Board and staff, we wish you a healthy and prosperous 2026.

Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by Cori Peña, president of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation. The column first appeard in Peña's monthly e-newsletter.