CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Saratoga Boulevard is transforming. Construction crews, new signage and national brands that once required a drive to San Antonio or Houston are now taking shape on Corpus Christi's southside — a corridor city leaders have called the fastest growing in the city.
Al Arreola Jr., president and CEO of the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, said the influx of national chains is no accident.
"I think those major brands or staples are recognizing the power, the retail power that Corpus Christi has," Arreola said.
Arreola said national chains aren't just serving Corpus Christi residents — they're drawing customers from across the entire region.
"Anytime you see further retail expansion or residential growth, that's feeding the tax base, whether you're talking about property tax or sales tax, and so that's a good thing for our infrastructure," Arreola said.
The growth is already visible across the southside. Crumbl Cookie opened its first Corpus Christi location July 10 at the Shops at La Palmera, drawing a line wrapped around the building on opening day. Dutch Bros is set to open in September on Saratoga Boulevard. Just up the road, a $4 million Yard House is nearly complete.
For some residents, the momentum feels long overdue.
"It feels like Corpus is finally becoming to the spot that everybody wants it to be, right? Like we all know the community is great," southside resident August Garcia said.
But others say the pace of growth still isn't fast enough. Chris Mendell, a southside resident who has spent 23 years as a military spouse, said Corpus Christi lags behind other cities where she has lived.
"As somebody who has been a military wife for 23 years, I think that Corpus is very much behind every other place that we've ever been stationed," Mendell said.
Mendell said she's still waiting on more affordable grocery options.
"People have been for years begging for Trader Joe's, for Whole Foods, for Costco, for Aldi, which is very low priced compared to even HEB and Walmart," Mendell said.
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