SATX-NBF: Impact 9/17/2025

Bahamian cuisine and Texas barbecue have found the perfect match at a local eatery in New Braunfels.

Cool Vibes Smoke & Flame is tucked away inside a gas station at 486 Landa St., owned by cooks and brothers-in-law Nate Levin and Shawn Dean.

The context: The pair started the eatery over a shared loved of barbecue and fostering community though food.

“We both have a cooking background, I love to make barbecue, and Shawn ran a food truck in the Bahamas before moving to Texas,” Levin said.

Using Dean’s expertise in the food industry and knowledge of Texas barbecue, Levin said they started by doing catering and cooking at local community events in early 2023.

“Sometimes we would just post up on the side of the road,” Levin said.

Then, in early 2024, Levin said they moved into their current permanent location, a place that “always seems to be busy.”

• 486 Landa St., New Braunfels

A new delivery service has opened across San Antonio, offering residents a unique fall experience.

In case you missed it: Called The Pumpkin Parlor, Owners Nicolas and Viviana Angarita began the service at the beginning of September.

They deliver and set up pumpkin displays to customers across the San Antonio area, from Boerne to New Braunfels.

“What began as a simple seasonal porch-decorating tradition quickly grew into a full-blown pumpkin concierge delivery service,” their website states.

What you need to know: Angarita said customers can order pumpkins, Halloween DIY projects and more. These are then delivered directly to their door.

“We have three packages people can choose from,” he said.

Each package contains an assortment of pumpkins from large to small, hay bales, ornamental gourds and more.

Cardiovascular care has just gotten an upgrade in North San Antonio, thanks to the opening of a new laboratory.

What you need to know: Methodist Hospital Stone Oak unveiled a new cardiac catheterization lab on Aug. 29, according to a news release.

The lab will perform and treat angiograms and venograms, pulmonary embolism cases, pericardial access and drains and lumbar drains.

The increased capability to perform these procedures will help to provide care for a wider range of patients in northern San Antonio.

"This new cath lab is a major step forward in our ongoing commitment to expanding and enhancing our hospital’s capabilities," Michael Beaver, the CEO of Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, said in the release.

The background: The new cardiac lab is a part of a $104 million expansion project planned for the hospital, as previously reported by Community Impact.

• 1139 E. Sonterra Blvd., San Antonio

Education in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, may become more accessible for Texas public school students this school year.

What happened: Officials from national education nonprofit Learning Undefeated and the Texas Education Agency celebrated the opening of eight new mobile STEM labs at a Sept. 10 ribbon-cutting ceremony in Austin. The TEA-funded labs are expected to visit 270 school districts across the state in the 2025-26 school year.

Notable quote: “In an ever-changing world, access to STEM education remains critical to help prepare our students for career pathways and lifelong success,” said Alejando Delgado, TEA deputy commissioner of operations.

The overview: Learning Undefeated built eight new mobile STEM labs after receiving a $3.5 million grant from the TEA, according to Learning Defeated information. The organization opened its first mobile STEM lab in Texas in 2020.

The nine regionally-based labs will now visit elementary and middle school campuses across the state’s 20 educational service center regions. Kindergarten through eighth grade students may participate in a variety of STEM activities to learn engineering design.