CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As the population increases, local officials on Padre Island said there is a lot of potential for local businesses.
New commercial developments, a good school district and a high quality of life are among the reasons for Padre Island's growth. That’s leading to new businesses planning to welcome customers soon.
Nueces County Precinct 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney said Padre Island offers an opportunity to live on or close to the water at a reasonable price. With more people moving there, he said businesses will follow.
"The more businesses that are there on the island, more restaurants and more shopping and more, you know, grocery stores and things of that nature, then people don't have to leave the island if they won't want to," Chesney said.
He said there has not always been space for businesses to move into and grow on Padre Island, but that can change when commercial developments start to open there over the next three-five years.
While local businesses will have to cater to Padre Island's large tourist population, he believes they also need locals as customers.
"The locals, I think, are the backbone of those businesses,” Chesney said. “They always have been, they always will be, and because that area has continued to grow from a standpoint of permanent residents, then those permanent businesses have become more and more prominent."
Merida May Mendoza bought the building of the old location of JB's German Restaurant & Bakery and the two acres behind it for additional parking about six weeks ago. She plans to start her own restaurant, set to open in November.
Merida's Tapas & Cantina will serve Latin American influenced food. Plans include a marina with up to 25 boat slips and a 3,000 square foot deck.
"We have a lot of people that honk when they're driving by or stop and taking pictures and want to see what's going on with the new place,” Mendoza said. “So, it's really nice to see this, this loved building on the island that's been vacant for two and a half years come back to life."
It's not the only new spot coming to Padre Island.
Co-owners Erin Anglin and Dennis Jarzombek have owned Desserted Island Ice Cream in Port Aransas for 18 years and plan to open another location on Padre Island in two weeks. The new location has their phones ringing with people asking when they open.
They had customers from Padre Island that would come to Port Aransas just for their treats, but now they will not have to travel as far.
As they have removed their hiring sign, recruitment has not been an issue for them either.
"I couldn't believe it. We had so many people applying we had to take it down," Anglin said.
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