Plus, you can grab bites from Dee Dee Thai and Veracruz All Natural while enjoying the Leona gardens. | Photo by ATXtoday
New Year, no beer. Whether or not you’re participating in Dry January, knowing a spot with a great non-alcoholic beverage is always a win. Luckily, you’ve got us to help you curate craft mocktails.
Kinda Tropical | Try a hop water michelada, a N/A rosemary bees knees, or a mimosa with alcohol-free wine to pair with the delicious bites at this cozy bar.
Leona | You can sip an espresso tonic, a pineapple mint agua fresca, or a Seedlip green papaya margarita in the beautiful gardens of this new spot.
Nido | Located inside The Loren, we’re tempted by the Earl Grey mule tea infusion and the “Piña Please” with a Tajin rim. Psst — the view from this restaurant will knock your socks off.
Vic & Al’s | Wash down one of Vic & Al’s delicious Cajun dishes (we recommend the red bean fritters) with a seasonal mocktail, which typically run $6, by the way.
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority announced that Phase One of the 183 North Mobility Project is now open. The new portion includes the northbound 183 Express Lanes from Burnet Road to SH 45.
Development
Planned Downtown condo development Luminary, which was expected to break ground in late 2025, has been put on pause to await “stable market conditions.” (Austin Business Journal)
Opening
A new, all-you-can-eat sushi bar Oumi Sushi Grill + Bar debuted its soft opening phase in late December. Adults can order whatever their hearts desire for $24 during lunch or $36 during dinner.
Closed
Austin-based Sprinkles Cupcakes shut down all of its locations, including its shop at Domain NORTHSIDE, on the last day of 2025. The sweets purveyor was most famous for its cupcake “ATM” vending machines. (Austin American-Statesman)
Coming Soon
Sally’s Apizza — a beloved pizza chain from New Haven, Connecticut — plans to open 45 locations in Texas starting this year. The business is currently scouting real estate in Austin. (CultureMap)
Gallery
Thousands of people jumped in Barton Springs Pool on New Year’s Day to partake in the annual Polar Bear Plunge tradition. Since it was an unseasonably warm day, and the pool maintains a temperature of 68º, it probably wasn’t that cold. (Austin American-Statesman)
Feel Good
Ascension Seton Medical Center (most likely) welcomed the first baby born in Austin in 2026: Derek Sanchez, who was born at 12:02 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Another baby, Opal June Ixchel Cruz, was born just three minutes later at St. David’s Women’s Center. (KXAN)
Mailbag
Reader Todd C. emailed in to let us know that he’s getting out in the community with our list of Austin’s rooftop bars: “I sent that list to my wife and said we should make it a summer activity to make it to as many of these as possible. We have made it to nine!” Be like Todd.
Sports
Texas’s moves in the transfer portal are changing every day. Get the updates and the biggest stories every day from the local experts of the Texas Longhorns with Locked On’s daily podcasts.
Job
Manifesting a new job for 2026? Let us help. Our Job Board has 240,000 active listings across industries like healthcare, education, manufacturing, and information technology. Search open jobs now.
Category
Business
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The trial run for 2026 is over — now it’s time for the real thing. I’m hitting the ground running by interviewing some of Austin’s movers and shakers, so make sure to read tomorrow’s newsletter. By the way, if there’s something you’d like to see me cover this year, let me know by submitting to this form.
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