Stripes Follows McDonald’s North With New Donna Location

McDonald’s apparently won’t be alone at Val Verde and Minnesota roads.

Just as a new McDonald’s moves forward at the Donna-area intersection, another major convenience and fuel project is preparing to follow it north.

A new 4,746-square-foot convenience store with fueling services is planned at North Val Verde Road and Minnesota Road, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing. The ground-up project carries an estimated construction cost of $1.2 million.

State records officially register the project as “7-Eleven 42589 Donna, TX.” However, 7-Eleven operates the Stripes brand throughout South Texas, and Stripes’ current branding identifies the company as “Powered by 7-Eleven.” Local references to the upcoming Donna project are also identifying the location as Stripes.

That makes the familiar South Texas brand the name to watch as the project moves forward.

Stripes Follows McDonald’s to the Same Donna Intersection

The project comes right behind another development Texas Construction Media has been tracking at the exact same crossroads.

A new 4,146-square-foot McDonald’s is planned at North Val Verde and Minnesota roads. The ground-up restaurant carries an estimated construction cost of $750,000 and has already reached Review Complete status with the state.

McDonald’s Pushes North With New Donna Location

Now Stripes appears poised to join it.

Construction on the convenience store and fueling project is currently scheduled to begin Dec. 10, 2026, shortly before the McDonald’s construction schedule reaches its listed completion date at the end of December.

Stripes’ project is then expected to continue through Oct. 30, 2027.

As always, those construction dates should not be treated as confirmed opening dates.

Val Verde and Minnesota Has Been Growing for Years

The arrival of two recognizable brands makes the intersection stand out, but development around Val Verde and Minnesota didn’t begin with McDonald’s and Stripes.

Hidalgo County records show subdivision activity around the intersection going back more than a decade.

In 2015, county officials reviewed Maiz Acres No. 6 at Val Verde and Minnesota roads. Planning discussions included driveway access near Val Verde and coordination with the City of Donna.

Other subdivisions have also developed around the corridor, while newer residential construction continues in the broader northern Donna area.

That gives the two commercial projects something important around them: rooftops.

McDonald’s and Stripes aren’t simply appearing along an isolated rural road. They’re entering a corridor that has gradually added homes and development while extending commercial activity farther north from Donna’s traditional Interstate 2 and Business 83 core.

Val Verde Road Is Preparing for an Even Bigger Change

Then there’s the road itself.

North Val Verde Road is FM 1423, and TxDOT is planning a substantial transformation of the corridor.

The agency’s latest proposal would widen approximately 8.4 miles between SH 107 and Business 83, transforming the existing two-lane roadway into a six-lane divided corridor with a raised median, left-turn lanes, sidewalks, shared-use paths, curbs and drainage improvements.

Minnesota Road has played a particularly interesting role in that planning.

An earlier TxDOT concept divided the improvements at Minnesota Road. The section extending south from Minnesota toward Interstate 2 was proposed for expansion from two lanes to six lanes, while the portion north of Minnesota initially called for four lanes. TxDOT has since proposed six lanes throughout the larger corridor.

TxDOT has cited population growth and increasing congestion among the reasons improvements are needed along FM 1423.

There is no evidence that the planned highway expansion directly caused McDonald’s or Stripes to choose this intersection.

But the combination is difficult to ignore.

Is a New Commercial Corner Emerging in North Donna?

The new McDonald’s was already a sign that commercial development was moving farther north along Val Verde Road.

Now another national company is investing $1.2 million in a ground-up convenience store and fueling project at the same intersection.

Add the residential development surrounding the corridor and TxDOT’s long-term plans for Val Verde Road, and Minnesota Road is becoming an intersection worth watching.

It’s still too early to call this a new commercial center. Two projects don’t establish that on their own.

But they certainly raise the question.

First, McDonald’s pushed north.

Now Stripes is following.

And if another major project surfaces around Val Verde and Minnesota, we may have our answer.