Helping Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que rise from the ashes

Frost has been amazing. In 2017, we had a fire that actually destroyed the kitchen. The smoke damage was so bad, we had to gut the whole restaurant. In the middle of that, our insurance policy was almost voided because of a clause in our contract with our lease agreement. We were stuck and we weren’t sure what we were going to do. A friend of ours said, “You need to go to Frost."

I called Frost and was connected with Monica. She helped us close the loan, no issues, and we got the restaurant back going. Because of the renovations, we were able to grow the business. That was all due to our relationship with Frost Bank. Frost has been a true partner.

Helping Talley Dunn Gallery bring contemporary art to the people

Frost is very supportive of me as a business owner. It's a great partnership. Having an art gallery is always challenging, but, certainly, going through the pandemic was a challenge. And it was remarkable working with Frost through COVID.

My business is 100 percent based on relationships with our artists, collectors, museums and projects we do; it's all relationship-based. We not only got through the pandemic, but we thrived because of all of those relationships. One of the things I valued most during that process was our relationship with Frost.

Helping the Longhorn Ballroom keep the music playing

If it had not been for Frost, this deal wouldn't have happened. We are in an industry that is not favorable to bankers. It takes someone like Frost to come in and hear our story and understand it. I shared my vision, and with the help of the bankers, it started looking pretty good. They were banking on me.

About the time we were ready to close, interest rates started rising: We had to get the deal done. They gave me a 60-day window, and we were right at it. If I had to go back and close the loan at much higher interest rates, it wouldn't have worked out. Frost was a fantastic partner and is continuing to be a fantastic partner.

Helping La Calle Doce focus on what they do best: Mexican seafood

Honestly, for the longest time, I've done business with bigger banks. It's not the same. When you do business with a small bank that knows you, you don't have to explain yourself.

Back in 1981, we had the opportunity to buy this place for very little money. My husband was one of those adventurous souls who started naming the dishes in Spanish. The menu is geared toward Latin people who speak Spanish — but everybody comes. We had a lot of business, and we still do.

Frost understands my business, and they're willing to help. During the pandemic, the way they worked with me was fantastic, fantastic.

Helping FREEZ Construction move their business to Texas

Without Frost, we wouldn't have this building. We met Jeff from Frost once and felt really comfortable with him. When we were trying to buy the building, we were such a new company our bank at the time wouldn't budge on anything. We're like, “I think it's time to call Jeff.” He's like, “All right, we're doing it.” We got the building, became clients and moved our entire business to Frost.

Frost has a network. When we moved FREEZ Construction from California, we needed a CPA, a lawyer, all of these things, and Jeff said, “I got you. Let me help ground you here. Put your roots down.” Having a partner willing to take your hand and help create that for you took so much stress off trying to move a business here.

Helping the Crowther Group build their construction business

Frost has flown alongside us every step of the way. I remember walking into large national banks, and they looked at me, saying, come back in seven years. Come back in three years. I’m like, I need help now. Frost sat down with me, and I told them about the relationship that we had and the work that we were doing. The Frost team looked at me and said, “We can help you out.”

When our business started to grow from one person, myself, to 30 people, the Frost team said, “What’s your business plan? Where do you strategically need to be?” We needed a new space. Frost asked, “Do you need a loan to expand your business?” Which was shocking. They’ve been great partners to us.