Brady Highlights Contributions and Difficulties of Local Small Business

In recognition of National Small Business Week, Congressman Kevin Brady featured North Harris County local businesswoman K.C. Choe during remarks on the House floor. Ms. Choe is the owner of a Schlotzsky’s Deli on FM 1960 West, and has been a restaurateur since 1984. She opened her Schlotzsky’s in October 1995.

Sponsored by the National Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Week is an opportunity to show appreciation for local businesses and the men and women who run them. "Small business is the engine of our economic growth in America and they are the quiet heroes of the economy," said Congressman Brady during his nationally televised June 4 speech.

Born in Korea, Ms. Choe became an American citizen in 1979. Both she and her employee, Tammy Karpas, were featured in an April 1996 edition of The Family Image, a family-owned local magazine highlighting traditional family values published by Ron and Barbara Frazier from Spring, Texas.

Brady said of Ms. Choe: "She and her family have faced a thousand challenges to keep that business alive, growing and prospering. And like a lot of businesses, it’s hard to believe the type of regulation and challenges they are up against that our federal government helps create." Brady then listed 25 different regulatory programs run by 9 different Federal agencies that a typical restaurant must comply with. "And those are just the federal regulations," said Brady, who noted additional state and local regulations must also be complied with by restaurants.

"In order to create new jobs, we need to reduce this kind of burden on people like K.C. and other independent businesses. They deserve lower taxes, less regulation, and less red tape. America was built on the strength of its risk takers, not on the strength of its government," said Brady. The first term congressman, a former Chamber of Commerce executive for 18 years, is a strong proponent of free enterprise and job creation.

Ms. Choe’s Schlotzsky’s is located at 376 FM 1960 West.