“This time around we were able o impress them. We’re very pleased we were able to convince them to come here,” said Martinez. “Many of them were leery of safety along the border that’s why they were kind of hesitant at first, but when they saw they said, ‘Well it looks very safe.’ Like every city even here in the US, there are places you want to keep away from especially after dark hours, but there’s a lot of safety measures in Piedras.”

The conference would bring a large amount of business to the city, said Martinez, especially hotels.

“They are planning to come back in January to discuss the convention and logistics, the planning committee will arrive in June, then they start with an event on the 13, 14, 15, and 16 so it’s a great number of hotel rooms they’re going to be using over four nights,” said Martinez. “It’s something we had not had in Eagle Pass before and we’re hoping to impress them so that they continue coming back and refer us to other associations of their caliber.”

Eagle Pass residents and visitors can also look forward to visiting the new Chik-fil-a by next month. The fast food chain will employ from 75 to 100 full time and part time employees and is expected to open the third week of October, said Martinez. Chik-fil-a has begun the hiring process with help from the Texas Workforce Commission.

In other food related news, author Sandra Nichols is currently conducting research for a new children’s book on the history of the nacho. “It’s a very good project because it gets the information out so people can know that it started right here on this border in Piedras Negras, and how this popular treat grew to an international level,” said Martinez, who is working with the author to connect her to relatives of nacho creator Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya.