Meet the Finalists: New Business of the Year

Get to know our amazing individuals and organizations as we get ready to celebrate them at our 2025 Latino Leadership Awards on September 19th!

Throughout the next couple of weeks, we'll be sharing some info on the folks and agencies our city nominated to be recognized for their contributions and positive impact, promoting Latino progress across sectors in the Scenic City!

New Business of the Year: 2025 Nominees

Victoria's Bouquets

Africa Navarrete

Africa, a 35-year-old entrepreneur and proud mother of three, was born in Mexico. With a deep-rooted passion for flowers and creativity, she launched Victoria’s Bouquets in 2024—a business born from love, dedication, and a dream to share beauty with others.

Inspired by the joy flowers bring, Africa combines artistic design with personal touches in every bouquet. As a mom and business owner, she pours her heart into everything she does, creating floral arrangements that tell stories, celebrate moments, and brighten lives.

Through Victoria’s Bouquets, Africa continues to grow her vision—spreading color, elegance, and love, one bloom at a time.

Little Venezuela

Marlon Lugo and Amarilis Blanco

Little Venezuela is Chattanooga’s first dedicated Venezuelan restaurant, situated at 511 Market Street in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded by a passionate Venezuelan family, they transformed this place into a vibrant culinary destination serving traditional dishes like arepas, cheesy cachapas, sopa de res, pastelitos, empanadas, and patacones. Over months of operation, it has quickly earned acclaim for bringing authentic Venezuelan flavors to Chattanooga, offering hearty portions, attentive service, and a cozy, welcoming atmosphere reminiscent of Venezuelan hospitality.

Radio Fiesta Latina

Keylin Mejia and Nolberto Ayala

Fiesta Latina Chatt was born with a clear mission: to give a voice to the Spanish-speaking community of Chattanooga, TN—a vibrant, hardworking, and culturally rich community that deserved a space of its own to stay informed, express itself, and feel connected.

From the beginning, our dream was to create a radio station that truly represented our people. We knew that traditional media doesn’t always make space for our voices, so we decided to take action. Although our goal is to one day have an FM radio station, the most accessible way to begin was through an online platform, which has allowed us to quickly reach more homes, phones, and hearts.