Throughout 2025, Community Impact spoke with owners and managers of eight local businesses to be featured in our monthly editions. Here’s a look back at the Katy and Fulshear retailers we featured.

1. Cottage Charm preserves 'Old Katy' aesthetic at historic wedding, event venue

Magdalena and Hector LaRotta bought Cottage Charm, an event venue in Old Katy, in January 2023, but the historic home was originally built in 1905.

Located in downtown Katy and shaded by 100-year-old heritage oak trees, the historic Romack house provides a nostalgic aesthetic for weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, quinceañeras and other special occasions, Maggie LaRotta said.2. Color Match Studio in Katy helps identify clients' natural harmony

Audrey Schlorholtz said her goal at Color Match Studio in Katy is identifying which colors coordinate with a person’s natural harmony—her favorite word.


Certified to practice True Colour International’s 12-tone color analysis method, Schlorholtz has helped her clients find their most complimentary color scheme for jewelry, clothing and hair colors since she opened the business in May 2022.3. Katy bread shop and bakery Temptation's Bite makes everything with love

For Nora Varela and Melissa Merlina, the mother-and-daughter duo who own Temptation’s Bite in Katy, the bakery was founded on the principle of love, Merlina said.

Temptation's Bite offers a variety of international baked goods, including Venezuelan breads such as cachitos, a kind of croissant with various fillings; golfeados, a sticky bun with sugar and cheese; croissants; cookies; empanadas; chutneys; and lasagna.
Head chef and owner Tim van Ee decided to change careers and focus on his passion for cooking in late-2018. (Courtesy Flavors on Fire)
Head chef and owner Tim van Ee decided to change careers and focus on his passion for cooking in late-2018. (Courtesy Flavors on Fire)


4. Flavors on Fire hosts intimate dinners, interactive cooking classes in Katy


From Morroccan and Vietnamese cuisine to cake decorating and pizza making, Flavors on Fire owner and chef Tim van Ee invites home cooks in Katy to test their skills in his kitchen.

A team of three chefs, led by van Ee, teach a variety of cooking classes, but they also cater and host intimate 15-seat dinners and private events.5. Hibiscus Aesthetics and Wellness celebrates 4 years of business

During the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jacinta Anyaoku decided it was time for a career change.

She had been working as a primary physician in Houston when she had her first son and needed to take some extra time off for maternity leave. Her request for additional time was denied, pushing her to begin her own practice.


In 2021, Anyaoku founded Hibiscus Aesthetics and Wellness as a primary care practice, and has now transitioned the business to offer only aesthetic treatments.6. Lifetime of Clicks Photography supports moms beyond the camera

While her most popular service is newborn photography, Kelly Richman said she created her photography business to serve mothers.

Richman grew up shooting photography as a hobby, but started taking it more seriously when she became a mother. After experiencing a traumatic pregnancy and birth, she said she realized how important documenting her family was to her.7. Katy business named one of the top 100 small businesses in the US

What started with a squeegee, a bucket and a truck in Olivia and Kyle Martin’s garage has turned into a nationally recognized, award-winning small business.


The couple combined Olivia Martin’s passion for marketing and entrepreneurship with Kyle Martin’s experience and founded KTX Window Cleaning in 2018. The business offers residential, commercial and office building window cleaning, as well as services such as gutter cleaning, screen repairs and pressure washing.8. Waggin’ Tails offers a home away from home for Katy-Fulshear pets

Twenty years ago, Denise Einkauf founded Waggin’ Tails Pet Ranch to provide a home away from home for dogs and cats.

Offering day camps, boarding, training and grooming, Waggin’ Tails Pet Ranch quickly grew successful. The ranch now features 15 acres of land, a filtered pond and a doggy swimming pool, and in 2020, Einkauf opened Waggin’ Tails Animal Inn, the sister property of the ranch in Richmond.