- What began as a therapeutic hobby during her husband’s cancer battle has blossomed into Succulent Senorita, a Covington plant shop built on love and resilience.
- Owner Becca Calhoun combines her entrepreneurial spirit and Mexican heritage to create a vibrant, culturally inspired space filled with succulents, art, and handmade pottery.
- Calhoun plans to expand the Succulent Senorita brand beyond plants — including a new line of homemade salsas — while staying “rooted in Covington.”
When Becca Calhoun’s husband, Anthony, was sick with pancreatic cancer, she used succulent plants as a way to keep her mind at ease.
In the midst of his cancer battle, Anthony purchased a customized greenhouse for Becca. When he began to heal, Becca decided to turn her love for plants into a small business, Succulent Senorita.
“My business is built on love, and you can feel that it’s built solely on the love that I had for my husband, and my husband has for me,” Becca said.
As a self-described serial entrepreneur, Becca started her business journey owning a personal training gym, then went on to establish a spray-tan store. Becca said she loved to decorate her gym with succulent plants, which caught the attention of her regular customers. Once they started inquiring about buying some of the plants, she knew she had something.
Succulent plants are characterized by their ability to store water in their thick, fleshy leaves, stems or roots, enabling them to survive in dry environments, such as cacti and agave.
Anthony jokingly told LINK nky that the store was a way to channel Becca’s habit of filling their gym with plants.
“We embraced what she’s done for years with the plants and the succulents and the cactus and, you know, we put a greenhouse up behind our house, and I was trying to get her plants under control, and instead, she opened up a plant business,” he said.
Upon entering Succulent Senoritas at 506 W. 6th St. in Covington’s Mainstrasse neighborhood, customers are greeted by a fresh and earthy aroma. Becca has carefully curated the plants, incorporating shelving, artwork, and pottery featuring culturally inspired designs to create a vibe of comfort and love.
Succulent Senoritas also allows Becca to express her Mexican heritage, which she considers a core part of her identity. Much of the artwork and pottery displayed throughout her store reflects Mexican culture.
“In my Mexican culture, we’re very much about celebrating and about design has always been like, just old colors and stuff,” she said. “That’s why, when I decided to do the plants, I wanted to do them already potted, so I found a lot of vintage vessels, a lot of local handmade artist pieces that just make it a much nicer presentation and gift.”
Becca said Covington is a multicultural, multidimensional city that gives her the freedom to express herself openly. She is proud to be a part of the growing list of Mexican businesses within the community.
“I’ve always felt very safe here expressing my Mexican side and my ethnicity, and to watch it grow with Olla and all the different heritage restaurants and bars and businesses that have come in, I’m very proud to be a part of that,” she said.
Looking ahead, Becca is using her Succulent Senorita branding to branch into other ventures, such as salsa. She’s launched an in-house salsa brand with 10 flavors, with more to come. She expressed her desire to remain in Covington, a city that’s allowed her to thrive by being herself.
“I definitely want to stay rooted in Covington,” Becca said. “It’s where my heart is. I want to stay rooted in Covington. That’s my main goal.”
