Business built of glass stays strong with Flores family ties

Walk into any Whataburger in Corpus Christi and you’ll see the craftsmanship of Gulf Coast Glass Co. Also true if you are working out at Gold’s Gym or Freedom Fitness. And still true if you are in a home with custom-made shower doors.
Gulf Coast Glass has been specializing in custom glass and mirror work in the Coastal Bend almost since Martin Flores started the business in 1982. Although he began his career installing auto glass, he quickly moved on to more challenging work. Recently, that included cutting and installing glass in antique street lights in the French Quarter in New Orleans.
“We get so many special requests,” said Guadalupe Flores, who has owned the business since her husband retired in 2005 because of illness. “Other glass companies don’t want to touch them, but we always try.”
Flores helped her husband start the business, working from her dining room table when the two youngest of their four kids were toddlers. Those children now work with her in the company offices at 3929 Ayers St. Grandkids also join in after school, helping by cleaning display glass and mirrors — a third generation on their way to learning the business.
“When Mathilda and Marcos were little, they knew to stop running around and to be quiet when I answered the phone,” Flores said. “Mathilda would answer her play phone like me, ‘Gulf Coast Glass!’ Now she does it for real every day.”
While the two oldest sons have both worked in the business, one now owns his own glass company in Corpus Christi. Far from considering him a competitor, Flores and her husband helped him get started by giving him a truck.
Like her daughter Mathilda Vasquez, the youngest son, Marcos, has been with the company since he was old enough to lift a pane of glass. He works as a glazier, a skill that isn’t taught in school.
“You have to learn by experience,” Flores said, adding that it sometimes makes it hard to find experienced employees. “My husband learned from his uncles; then he taught his kids.”
A glazier has to know more than installing glass. They have to also know how to read blueprints and keep up with ever-changing city and state codes, including requirements for hurricane-proof glass. With all the custom work in such a friable material, glaziers must learn to be precise with measurements and cuts and careful with handling.
New trends in glass include adding a coating that repels water and makes it easier to clean. Also, glass doors are being cut in shapes, and few shower doors come with frames anymore.
“Everyone wants a frameless shower door,” Flores said, showing examples on her showroom floor. “And S-shaped doors are popular now, too.”
Working in the glass industry is satisfying but can be hard, Flores said, especially when faced with her husband’s continuing need for home health care. She looks to inspiration in having her family nearby but also in the words of a poem she keeps hanging behind her desk.
“Don’t Quit,” she said, reading the title. “That keeps me going. I always keep it nearby. I won’t even change the cheap little frame it’s in.”
Printed on a the scene of a sunset over hills and water, the poem ends with its strongest affirmation: “… stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit, It’s when things seem worse, that you must not quit.”
Her husband hasn’t quit either. He still comes in some mornings, helping his family continue the legacy he built on glass with the strength of family ties.
“It’s satisfying work,” Flores said. “I love working with the family, and I love our customers. We have good customers that we keep in contact with. We have good relationships with our customers. Corpus Christi is growing. Although I probably won’t still be at this desk in 10 years, I think my kids will be.”
Gulf Coast Glass Co. at 3929 Ayers St. in Corpus Christi can be reached by calling (361) 854-6155.