CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For generations, Corpus Christi families have marked life’s biggest moments at Habeeb’s Jewelers. Behind the counters sits a family story that began long before the first store opened its doors.
Linda Habeeb’s father arrived in Corpus Christi at age 8 speaking mainly Arabic after his mother was advised to leave cold San Francisco for a warmer climate. The family was extremely poor. “Mother said when your daddy says he walked to school in the snow barefooted, he did,” Linda recalled. “They lived… with dirt floors… apple crates for tables… six kids that lived in this little bitty house.” He quit school in the eighth grade to deliver telegrams for Western Union and later served as an airplane mechanic in the Army Air Forces in Italy during World War II.
After the war, Linda’s uncle Joe Salem, who already operated jewelry stores, encouraged her father to learn the trade. “Dad really loved it,” she said. “He enjoyed it and he read everything he could get his hands on. He learned how to do everything. He did all his own repairs… He was a master engraver.” On September 29, 1956, her parents opened the first Habeeb’s Jewelers as original tenants in the brand-new Town and Country Shopping Center. “We’ve come a long way since 1956, but we’re still here,” Linda said.
The business grew. In 1974 the family moved across the parking lot into a larger space that could hold silver, wedding gifts, and invitations. Her father later built Habeeb Square on what was then a quiet stretch of Padre Island Drive (formerly Lexington Avenue) and eventually relocated there. Sisters Vicky and Camille opened neighboring stores—Victoria’s Jewels and Camille’s Original Jewelry Designs—creating a three-sister presence that continues today. Linda has stood behind the counters since she was eight. “I’m still standing behind the same counters and now after me my daughter will take over,” she said.
The family’s approach has always centered on education, honesty, and personal care. Linda spends as much time teaching a young couple about color, clarity, and cut as she does with a major purchase. “I tell them I’m guiding you the same way that I would guide my own children,” she said. “I handpick every diamond… In my heart I know that any customer that buys a diamond from me will enjoy it every day for the rest of their lives.” Customers who bought rings decades ago now bring their children and grandchildren. One couple returned after forty years to trade up while keeping the original stone for a necklace. Another family from Alaska sent gold from multiple relatives so Linda could melt it into matching wedding bands. “You’re stuck with me forever,” she tells newly engaged couples. “I’ll take care of you forever.”
Linda credits her parents with building the business on “honesty, integrity, and caring.” She told her own children the same standard applies: “You have to really care and you have to run this business just like your grandparents ran it.” That philosophy, she said, is why the doors have stayed open through changing retail times and why she still opens after hours or on days off when a customer needs her.
On Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 4 to 8 p.m., the family will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Habeeb’s Jewelers along with the 50th anniversary of Camille’s and the 48th of Victoria’s. The public is invited. Gifts will be given to everyone who attends as a thank-you. Three sisters, one community, and a shared legacy that began with a young man who arrived speaking little English and decided the jewelry business was worth learning by hand.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
