City plans to revitalize Leopard Street [Video]

All it took was the opening of a Starbucks for Ryan Rivas to see a positive impact on his barbershop across the street. Officials say there’s room for more growth.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With so much discussion about development across Corpus Christi, one of the oldest parts of town could be a hidden gem for investors.

We’re talking about a section of Leopard Street from Six Points all the way to the Nueces Bay Boulevard.

You could call it one of the westside’s major arteries and, for some motorist, it’s also a first impression of the city.

“It used to be, I don’t know if a lot of people remember, old Highway 9 on the way into Corpus. It’s lost its way over the years, we would like to see it come back,” said Ryan Rivas.

Rivas and his dad chose to move their family owned barbershop, “Roland and Johnny’s” to the corner of Leopard Street and …