Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply held a grand opening at its first site in the Rio Grande Valley in early April. 

Nearly 2,000 miles from its flagship store in Bozeman, Mont., this Murdoch’s is at the corner of Expressway 83 and Bryan Road in Mission, a location next to a Burlington store in a new retail development area. 

“It’s a perfect retail outlet that fits well with the city of Mission and our culture,” said Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza. “The whole community was anticipating its opening. It was like Christmas in April.” 

The Mission Economic Development Corporation refers to this area as the Bryan corridor in anticipation of more growth along that stretch of the expressway. The Mission Gateway shopping center where the new stores sit is well positioned in this corridor. It’s fewer than 10 miles from the Anzalduas International Bridge.

Anzalduas is currently open to personal-vehicle traffic and empty cargo trucks traveling into Mexico. The bridge will expand to fully loaded cargo trucks by late 2024 or early 2025, opening up a new world of possibilities for Mission. The bridge for years was restricted to what it could do with commercial traffic. City leaders expect the expanded bridge operations to bring increased traffic, job opportunities and an economy growing even more briskly in a city that’s already prospering.

“When they vet the City of Mission, other retailers look at our sales tax,” Mayor Gonzalez Garza said of 16 percent growth over the last year in those tax revenues.

Growth Surging

Another new development in Mission is Shops at 495 on north Conway Avenue.

It’s a busy area for restaurants and shops in the city. Lines of vehicles form daily at a Starbuck’s. Shops at 495 also houses Wing Daddy’s, which features wings and burgers. Fork To Fit, a local meal-prep business, recently opened a new location at the Shops. Another restaurant coming soon is El Portón, where foodies are drawn to authentic Mexican cuisine.

Just over a mile east on FM 495 is The Loretto, a popular bistro. Loretto Plaza will soon complement the bistro, offering retail and office space. The city of Mission and the Mission EDC recognize the impact of small business. The chief operating officer for the EDC, Belen Guerrero-Aguirre, points out that Mission does not have a traditional mall. 

“Our small businesses really push ‘shop local,’ ’’ Guerrero-Aguirre said. 

Mission’s newly hired city manager, Mike Perez, said retail isn’t the only sector developing in the city.

“At our recent City Council meeting, we approved approximately 1,000 new residential lots,” he said. “The more rooftops you have, the more people you have living and working there. And where you have rooftops, restaurants and other retail will follow.” 

It’s all part of market analysis when developers and business owners seek to find new locations. A drive around Mission highlights the new residential and retail developments happening throughout the city,

“Mission is growing,” Guerrero-Aguirre said. “And we’re ready for more investments and more firsts.”