Never give up on your dreams or underestimate your DNA. That\u2019s the message from Cecile Wright, a Chicago native turned Texas entrepreneur, who is taking her goals to a new level while serving the people of Kashmere Gardens. <\/p>\n
KPRC 2\u2019s Lisa Hernandez caught up with Wright, owner of Neal & Nettie\u2019s Grocery, about her plans to nourish both the body and the mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to own my own grocery store,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI didn\u2019t see anyone who looked like me doing it, so I didn\u2019t think it was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Wright is realizing that dream on an 8,000-square-foot lot in Kashmere Gardens. A chef-turned-grocer, she moved to Texas years ago with a mission to serve underserved communities by bringing fresh, nutritious food to a neighborhood with limited options.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere once was a Burt\u2019s Meat Market, a neighborhood favorite. There also was a Louis White Grocery store off Lyons,\u201d Wright explained. \u201cThe community is really lacking access to healthy fruit and meat. They\u2019re also lacking access to nutrition education\u2014what should go on your plate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of her lot is being used to grow kale, collard greens, mustard greens, and more, all of which will be given away for free alongside nutrition guidance. This initiative is deeply personal for Wright:<\/p>\n
\u201cI have personally experienced a lot of loss with health issues. If people had been educated or changed their diets, we might not have had that outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about offering this guidance and produce for free, Wright laughed: \u201cI did have a moment where I was like, \u2018Am I crazy?\u2019 No, I\u2019m gonna go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the free produce, Wright is introducing a refrigerated food truck, packed with fresh fare for sale, made possible by a grant from Progressive Insurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to Progressive, our mobile meat shop will allow people to purchase meat and produce throughout the week, including items from local growers,\u201d Wright said. The truck, set to launch early next year, will carry the name Neal & Nettie\u2019s Grocery, honoring Wright\u2019s great-grandparents.<\/p>\n
Wright discovered just a few years ago that Neal and Nettie were sharecroppers from Nacogdoches who eventually opened their own grocery store after moving to Oklahoma over a century ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I realized it\u2019s in my blood and it\u2019s been in me this whole time, it gave me that extra boost of confidence. Yeah, this is what I\u2019m supposed to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her path to Kashmere Gardens wasn\u2019t without a little serendipity. A friend who already had a garden offered Wright a piece of property in the neighborhood, giving her the space she needed to bring her vision to life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all fell into place. I had everything I needed in my circle,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
Wright is grateful for the support and feedback that has helped her grow the business while serving more people.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo they need something else? Let us know. We\u2019re a grocery resource, but we\u2019re also a community hub,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Neal & Nettie\u2019s is located at 4318 Hirsch Road in Houston. This year they are partnering with AFROTECH Conference 2025 at the GRB, and are holding events at their Hirsch location today through Friday. For more information, and to learn about their garden and food truck, find them online here. <\/a><\/p>\n Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Never give up on your dreams or underestimate your DNA. That\u2019s the message from Cecile Wright, a Chicago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,17816,17817],"class_list":["post-25209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-kashmere-gardens","tag-neal-netties-grocery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}