CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — During these challenging and trying times, several local businesses across South Texas have struggled to do their best to keep their doors open.
Noe Bocanegra, the owner of War & Peace Limited and a U.S. veteran, came out of retirement to reopen his store to serve area veterans.
Bocanegra’s store was previously located at Sunrise Mall for more than two decades. War & Peace Limited is now located at La Palmera Mall and reopened in February of 2020.
However, due to the ongoing pandemic, Bocanegra had to close for three months.
“And before you know it we said, ‘you know what, nobody is shopping anymore let’s close down the place and the mall shut down’ and we said, ‘you know what, the whole country is shutting down for a few months let’s see what happens,” said Bocanegra.
In May of the same year he and his team were able to open once again - slowly and with new merchandise of face coverings.
“We do enjoy taking care of our customers,” Bocanegra said.
His store is taking a great effort to help protect the community.
“So now, we have over 400 different designs and we’re still selling masks, it’s the best thing because it keeps people safe,” said Bocanegra.
Many customers who stop by say they enjoy their visits.
“So it means, hey, people come from all over the I’m sure, to locate some of these items that are here to represent military service military life," said U.S. Marine Corpus vet Reynaldo Torres. "It does mean a lot to have something like this in the area."
Torres comes from a family of men who has served in the United States Marine Corps including his son. Torres made a trip to War & Peace Limited to find a birthday gift for his son and adds what Bocanegra's shop means to him.
“If you spend too much time here, you can get emotional because it brings back memories of what a lot of people have gone through I’m sure," Torres said. "But I enjoy coming here for that one reason I don’t come very, very, often because I become emotional thinking about all these other people who have gone and have injuries."
Bocanegra says he cares deeply about all veterans and their needs. Everyone is encouraged to stop by and look at the many items that are inside the store.
“And there’s nothing wrong with showing your pride whatever service you were in and we have it here," Bocanegra said. "Be proud to have been in service you’re a veteran, thank you for your service."