Wheels over walls: Business owners opt for mobility in New Caney, Porter

Schouten is one of multiple business owners in the New Caney and Porter area who have opted to launch businesses while forgoing a brick-and-mortar storefront. Since January 2025, at least 12 mobile businesses or companies with nontraditional facilities—such as food trucks, mobile pet services and beverage companies—have opened, per Community Impact reporting.

At a glance

Mobile or nontraditional storefront options may be appealing to business owners because they offer lower barriers to entry, said Mark Linabury, president and CEO of the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber.

“The mind immediately goes to food [trucks],” Linabury said. “There are other opportunities out there and ... it’s such a great entrepreneurial journey, and the key is to create balance to where everyone can succeed.”

As of April 22, almost 370 food trucks alone were operating in Montgomery County, according to the county’s health department. Historical data on food truck permitting counts or on other types of mobile businesses operating in the county was not available as of press time April 24.

Bobbi Lynn Donnan, owner of Fur-Vana Mobile Pet Spa—which offers curbside dog and cat grooming services in East Montgomery County and the Lake Houston area—said she operated from a brick-and-mortar location for 13 years before choosing to go mobile in July. Donnan said she saw a demand to make pet grooming more accessible for elderly clients or people with multiple pets.

“It’s a service that I can offer where it’s easy and very convenient for them,” Donnan said.

New Caney Community Market regularly works with many local businesses utilizing a mobile or nontraditional business model, owner and manager Megan Stubbs said via email April 12.

“These models provide a significant level of flexibility,” Stubbs said. “They allow business owners to operate in various locations while cultivating a loyal customer base that continues to support them across different venues.”

Brian and Christina King, owners of Bubbles & Beyond—a mobile laundry service—said they were motivated to open their business to provide customers with a more convenient option. The company provides clothing cleaning via pick up and delivery.

However, convenience for the customer can sometimes translate to more work for the mobile business owner, the Kings said.

“The tradeoff is on our side,” the Kings said. “Mobile takes a lot more coordination. Routes, timing and consistency all have to be tight every day. If you’re not organized, it falls apart fast.”

Donnan agreed that operating a mobile business also comes with a lot of work.

“I’ve got to take care of a generator, I’ve got a lot of tires to maintain—so that’s a different aspect of things,” Donnan said.

Linabury said mobile businesses are not unique to New Caney and Porter. However, he speculated that perhaps high pricing for commercial rent opportunities in the area draws business owners to nontraditional storefronts.

“In Porter, New Caney, I would say we don’t have an abundance of ... lower-lease, lower-rent commercial opportunities for smaller business,” Linabury said.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said local growth may be spurring a rise in new businesses.

“With our area growing at such a rapid pace, we are seeing an increase not just [in] mobile businesses, but brick-and-mortar storefronts ... as well.”

The average monthly rental price for retail spaces was $18.22 per square foot for 2025 in the North Region—which includes the New Caney, Conroe and Spring areas—according to data from Partners Real Estate. However, the average rental price for retail was $20.66 per square foot for the overall Houston region in 2025.

• “Entrepreneurship and starting a business is still just as exciting as ever, and people are looking for lower barriers to entry, possibly, to get started without having to go straight to brick-and-mortar," Linabury said.
• “We built this [business] to go to the customer instead of making them come to us. It just makes more sense for how people live now,” the Kings said.
• “Any business, whatever their business model may be, that is operating safely and following proper regulations are enhancing our community by creating jobs and improving our overall access to services,” Gray said.

Having a variety of local businesses to shop or eat at can be great for the community, Linabury said. However, he added that mobile businesses can sometimes create challenges for brick-and-mortar businesses.

“It depends on if they’re competing directly with an existing brick-and-mortar who has invested a lot of time and money into a successful business, so that could be considered a con. ... It really just depends on the [mobile] business and what their future goals are,” Linabury said.

Schouten said she and her husband may eventually choose to open a traditional coffee shop, but they don’t want to rush.

“We do eventually plan on doing brick-and-mortar, but we also know that sometimes that is a caveat to building things too quickly and too fast,” Schouten said. “Because we’re doing great right now.”