HOUSTON (KIAH) — Nancy Bonilla owns Nano’s Boutique in Pasadena, a children’s clothing store. She opened this boutique back in 2021 with the hopes that enough time had passed since the pandemic. A pandemic she would never forget.

Bonilla lost six of her uncles in a three-month frame to COVID. “It was like hit after, it was just back to back,” she said.

Now she faces another challenge keeping up with the demands of inflation. As the price of everything rises she’s had to offer incentives to her customers like discounts and gifts with every purchase.

“Everything is getting more expensive and the wages stay the same that is the problem,” she added.

Nancy isn’t the only entrepreneur in the family, as her brother is also a business owner. He recently told her a story about how one man came in begging for work.

He explained he was undocumented and was willing to work to make just enough to feed his family. “I understand how as a parent, you will do anything to feed your family.”

Just down the block, Obed Morales, the owner of a Central American restaurant called Oasis, says he will have to increase the prices on his menu.

“It’s not something I want to do, but the price of ingredients has increased,” he said.