Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
Less than a year ago, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce held its annual event, The Man and Woman of the Year 2023. On this occasion, Larry D. Fallek, a successful businessman, was designated as The Man of the Year. This recognition was a brilliant choice, as Larry has always preferred to stay behind the scenes, never seeking recognition despite his numerous achievements. Larry’s humility and aversion to the spotlight made this honor all the more fitting.
The venue was filled with individuals who have helped make McAllen a special place to live. “Without each of you in this room, McAllen would not be the great city it is,” said McAllen Chamber CEO Liz Suarez. She continued, “Thank you to all of you tonight, especially to our Man and Woman of the Year. Beyond them, this room is full of great servant leaders, and from the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful for being a benefactor of the great community you have built together. And, of course, this Chamber team is committed to making certain that we make you proud and represent you well.”
Before Larry’s acceptance speech, a video was played where friends had the opportunity to say something about The Man of the Year. Sony Rego then called Larry to the podium to accept this honor. As The Woman of the Year in 2022, Sony knew how intense this moment was, recognizing it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Larry began his speech by saying, “Thank you, everybody, for being here. I appreciate it, and there’s not much to say after watching that video. I’m just very impressed with myself. But as the video mentioned, I don’t like honors. I really don’t like being the center of attention. But since I’m up here, I must say a few words. I got married to my lovely wife Patty over here. We’ve been married since, what, 1967? Yeah. I lived in Washington, D.C., and then worked as an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service, the national office. We were ready to leave the D.C. area to move back to Texas. It just happened that a large insurance company based in D.C. was moving to Houston, and I was writing many of the revenue rulings regarding retirement plans and their rules.”
Larry and Patty were ready to move back to Texas, so Larry decided to take a position as legal counsel with this insurance company in Houston. They spent two or three years in Houston until Larry’s father died in 1970. Larry asked Patty to travel to McAllen to help run the family store. After some time, she returned to Houston and suggested, ‘Why don’t we move to McAllen?’ Larry asked her why, and she said she loved it there, especially working in the store and handling the cash at the register. “Now, she handles all our money, and I can’t argue,” Larry said.
Larry and Patty decided to move back to McAllen and built his home by hiring a young builder. Even though Larry was running a couple of men’s clothing stores, he made the time and started doing real estate deals. “My first one was in 1972 with my high school best friend, Sid Orton. We bought a fairly large piece of property in Edinburg and built the first Pizza Hut in South Texas.”
This endeavor didn’t stop there; he continued building Pizza Hut establishments. “I’m not just talking about McAllen; I mean from Corpus Christi to Laredo, Texas. We accomplished that in the early seventies,” he said. He recalls, “I used to have my store on Main Street, Mike’s Man Shop, registered in November 1970, and the old First National Bank was right behind my store. Every morning, I would walk over there to have coffee at the First National Bank building with these wonderful men: Vannie E. Cook, Calvin R. Bentsen, and Bill Schupp. They inspired me greatly, and I learned much from them early on. I wanted to become involved in making a better McAllen.”
As he learned from these successful gentlemen, he decided to contribute to McAllen by joining its highly successful chamber. “I became part of the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber was very active in those days and still is. We organized trips to various locations in Mexico, including Guadalajara and Ciudad Victoria. Many might not know that the Chamber owned the Industrial Zone, the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone. While I was president of the chamber around 1987, we helped form the McAllen Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). I hired Mike Allen to be our president of the MEDC, and it has become a great organization. Glenn Jarvis and I wrote the corporation bylaws for its formation. Hiring Mike Allen to lead it was key, and today, the MEDC remains one of the biggest drivers of economic growth for the city of McAllen.”
Larry highlighted a memorable event from the seventies: a young Cuban named Alter Holand arrived in downtown McAllen. He moved to McAllen, and they quickly became close friends. Together, they embarked on various projects, including purchasing the old First National Bank building behind Larry’s store. After the bank relocated to its new Bentson Tower, they donated the old building to the City of McAllen. Eventually, the city demolished it, transforming the space into a large parking garage that benefits McAllen and its economy.
Larry shared an intriguing story that requires some interpretation, as playing poker can involve both winning and losing. Could he take a gamble by purchasing a large property this time? He said, “Some people know that I used to play some poker in college, but my life-changing event wasn’t about winning or losing money. I made a deal to buy the old Fairway Hotel property. Does anyone here remember the old Fairway Hotel? A few people do, but you have to be old like me to remember,” he said. The Fairway Hotel was an iconic and popular property in its time.
Larry talked to Alter about it and decided to go ahead and buy the Fairway Hotel property, which eventually led to the Marriott Courtyard on the site. “We built that in 1995, a long time ago. This also led to the bringing of Tommy Joyner as a partner to manage the hotel. Then, we ventured into the restaurant business and got Rick Guerra involved. I admire and love these people who are still friends today. Over about 20 years, we opened around 20 restaurants and hotels, many in South Texas, McAllen, and other parts of mid-Texas. My son Michael is now in charge of our ventures, and without him, I couldn’t have accomplished what I do today.”
“I urge everyone to participate in the city and the Chamber of Commerce. Sign up for different committees, join the chamber, and get involved. You’ll create friendships, learn, engage, and unleash your creativity. I deeply appreciate this honor. As you can tell, I don’t like being the center of attention, but I want to congratulate everyone who has been Woman of the Year or Man of the Year in the past. I certainly don’t think I deserve it, but I accept it with gratitude. Thank you all, and good evening.”
According to Mike Blum, In the 1980s, McAllen faced significant challenges as numerous peso devaluations negatively impacted downtown stores. During this period, shoppers found it difficult to find basic amenities like public restrooms since most retail stores did not offer them. Larry Fallek recognized this issue and took decisive action to address it.
The old post office, now the McAllen Heritage Museum, was an empty building at the time. Larry took it upon himself to contact his favorite Congressman, Kika de la Garza, to advocate for the property. He convinced the General Services Administration (GSA) to make the property available to the city. This initiative transformed the vacant building into a valuable community asset.
Blum reflected on this crucial moment: “Larry’s efforts were a game changer. The museum’s establishment profoundly impacted everyone in McAllen, though Larry himself did not benefit directly. He pursued this project because he believed it was the right thing to do and saw it through to completion.”
Larry’s vision and dedication to the community exemplify his commitment to improving McAllen and his ability to make a lasting impact through thoughtful action. Michael (Mike) Blum is a Partner and Managing Broker for NAI Rio Grande Valley.
Congratulations again to Larry. This is a well-deserved recognition, and this community is grateful to have him as part of McAllen and the region.
