For years, Corpus Christi residents watched Sunrise Mall slowly empty out, deteriorate and eventually begin coming down.
Now, another small piece of the property is preparing for new life.
7 Brew Coffee is planning a new drive-thru location at 1305 Airline Road, an address tied directly to the former Sunrise Mall property.
A newly reviewed Texas construction filing calls for a $1.25 million ground-up project featuring one of 7 Brew’s compact, prefabricated drive-thru coffee stands.
At only 510 square feet, it may be tiny compared with the mall that once occupied the property.
But after years of uncertainty surrounding Sunrise Mall, the location is what makes this project interesting.
7 Brew Planned at Former Sunrise Mall Property
Construction on the new 7 Brew is currently scheduled to begin January 4, 2027, with completion targeted for April 12.
The stand will operate entirely through drive-thru lanes rather than a traditional indoor café.
Previous Texas construction records identify 1305 Airline Road as Sunrise Mall, confirming the connection between the new project and the former shopping center property. View an earlier Sunrise Mall construction record
The exact position of the new 7 Brew within the former mall property has not been independently confirmed, so Texas Construction Media isn’t going to guess which pad it will occupy.
Still, its arrival adds another piece to a redevelopment story Corpus Christi has been following for years.
Sunrise Mall Was Once a Corpus Christi Destination
Sunrise Mall wasn’t always an abandoned property waiting for redevelopment.
The shopping center opened during the early 1980s and became one of Corpus Christi’s major retail destinations.
Eventually, however, shopping patterns shifted. Tenants disappeared, the property deteriorated and the once-busy mall became one of the city’s most visible redevelopment challenges.
Corpus Christi’s Bayside Area Development Plan specifically identifies Sunrise Mall as a major redevelopment opportunity. The city’s long-term vision discusses transforming the property with a mixture of uses that could include retail, restaurants, housing, hotels and entertainment. Read Corpus Christi’s Bayside Area Development Plan
Then, after years of speculation about the property’s future, demolition finally began in August 2024.
Much of the deteriorating mall has since been removed, although portions of the former complex and surrounding property have remained part of continuing redevelopment efforts. See KRIS 6’s look at the Sunrise Mall property
Redevelopment Is Happening Piece by Piece
The future of Sunrise Mall hasn’t arrived as one enormous project.
Instead, pieces of the property are beginning to take on new uses.
Plans reported around the site have included concepts ranging from apartments and hospitality to entertainment and other commercial development. Some of those larger ideas remain proposals rather than guaranteed projects.
One reuse that has already attracted attention is Midnight Rodeo, which has been connected to the former Stein Mart portion of the property as part of the site’s shift toward new entertainment uses. Read more about changes at the former Sunrise Mall
Now 7 Brew adds another tangible project to the mix.
A 510-square-foot coffee stand obviously isn’t going to redevelop Sunrise Mall by itself.
But that’s not really the point.
After years when the biggest Sunrise Mall news involved vacancies, deterioration and demolition, new construction at the property is a different kind of headline.
7 Brew Continues Growing Across Corpus Christi
The Airline Road project also continues 7 Brew’s aggressive expansion around Corpus Christi.
The drive-thru coffee chain already operates multiple stands across the city, including locations along South Alameda Street, Saratoga Boulevard and Northwest Boulevard. See 7 Brew’s Corpus Christi locations
Another 7 Brew project has also been moving forward on Waldron Road, meaning Airline Road is part of a much broader local expansion rather than the chain’s first introduction to the market.
That’s why we aren’t putting a location number on this one.
Depending on when the projects actually open, counting them gets messy fast.
What isn’t messy is the company’s strategy: 7 Brew clearly sees room for more drive-thru coffee stands in Corpus Christi.
And now one of them is headed for a property nearly everyone in the city recognizes.
What’s Next for Sunrise Mall?
The new 7 Brew is currently scheduled to complete construction in April 2027.
As always, that construction completion date should not be treated as a confirmed opening date. 7 Brew has not announced an exact opening day for the Airline Road stand.
There are also much bigger questions still surrounding the former Sunrise Mall property.
How much of the city’s long-term mixed-use vision ultimately becomes reality remains to be seen.
But redevelopment doesn’t always happen with one dramatic groundbreaking.
Sometimes it happens one project, one tenant and apparently one 510-square-foot coffee stand at a time.
After decades of shopping, years of decline and finally demolition, something new is brewing at Sunrise Mall.