We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Lopez-Fuller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
In the early days of the group, restaurant owners would ask me to let group members know to show they’re members to receive a complimentary appetizer of dessert. I would do this, yet hardly anyone would ask for this. Turned out, members didn’t want to fumble with their phones and if they did, the servers had no clue what they were talking about. A restaurant owner said I should create a card for members – and that’s what I did! I immediately had close to 40 restaurants eager to participate and group members excited about the community rewards card.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have created my brand through years of communicating with my community and local business owners. It’s a pleasure to connect people through food, events, social media and networking. It has been an easy journey because I love what I do. I continue working every day building my brand, meeting new people and improving my skills as a writer, business owner and voice for small businesses.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s assume we’re limited to Houston’s Bay Area. We would start off on a Friday night with the best dirty martini at Merlion in Seabrook, followed by some of Chef Andrew’s Thai food. Next we would hop over the Kemah bridge and spend time on the large patio at Kemah’s newest bar Kipp Rose. After more cocktails and music, we’d walk over to Skallywag Suds N Grub for some of the best wings around. Can you tell I like to eat and feed my friends? Saturday would consist of raw oysters, waterside at Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House in San Leon. These are the best, coldest, salty raw oysters around. You can slurp these guys down straight out of the shell. Afterwards, we’d sip cocktails on the comfortable rattan bucket swings overlooking the gulf and watching the sun set. And everyone knows what Sunday is…. brunch day! Marais in Dickinson has a live jazz brunch with either menu items to choose from or a brunch buffet with everything from an omelette bar to Cajun crab legs! We’d sit on the patio overlooking the bayou with our $10 bottle of champagne and pitcher of OJ and enjoy the beautiful day.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have built my business by building relationships with local restaurant owners and group members. Bay Area Houston Food Lovers is about connecting community and that wouldn’t be possible without the love and support from both sides – the locals and the businesses.

Website: www.bayareahoustonfoodlovers.com

Instagram: www.instragram.com/bayareahoustonfoodlovers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/bayareafoodlovers

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