Hot Headlines

Massive development coming to North Austin, more restaurant shutters, plus the week's popular stories

Broadmoor will become a mixed-use development, complete with offices, apartments, retail, and even a hotel.

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Editor's note: It's that time again — time to to check in with our top stories of the week. From a mixed-use development breaking ground in North Austin to yet another sad Austin restaurant shutter, here are the five stories that captured Austin's attention over the past seven days.

1. Massive 6 million-square-foot development breaking ground in North Austin neighborhood. They're calling it "Austin's second downtown." This week, the developers release a timeline for the Broadmoor development, a gigantic project located on Burnet Road across from the Domain. Construction begins in mid-2020 and should wrap up in, you know, 2036.

2. Troubled Lamar Union loses yet another restaurant and more Austin food news. It's been a revolving door of restaurant and bar concepts at this South Lamar development, which is anchored by the Alamo Drafthouse Lamar. The latest is Juice Society, a locally own shop specializing in pressed juices and Instagrammable plant walls. Fans of the tinctures will be happy to know the company is still working on retail partnerships, meaning the juice will still be found around town.

3. Pioneering Mexican restaurant shutters flagship downtown Austin location. El Naranjo, a hidden treasure in a city where everyone is always looking for the next big thing, has decided to close its flagship Rainey Street location. Instead, the celebrated team will focus on its new location on South Lamar Boulevard.

4. Car2Go is backing out of Austin as crippling mobility issues continue. The days of being able to rent a Mercedes-Benz for $6 are numbered. Last week, Car2Go announced it was driving out of Austin along with a handful of other North American cities.

5. Trendy Dallas taco chain rolls into historic downtown Austin high-rise.Dallas export Velvet Taco is growing its Austin presence. Recently the chain announced it was opening its second Austin location in the 119-year-old Scarborough Building in downtown.

hot-headlines

Reexamining Don Draper

Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, and more headed to Austin for TV festival

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Jon Hamm is coming to Austin to talk about Don Draper.

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the ATX TV Festival will take over downtown Austin, and this year Jon Hamm will be joining the festival for the first time.

Hamm will be here for an event called A Mad Men Retrospective, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's finale. In this panel (the moderator of which is not yet announced), Hamm will reflect on his Emmy-winning performance as Mad Men's Don Draper, the uniqueness of the character in the TV canon, and the show's influence 10 years after it ended.

Jon Hamm may be best known as Draper, but he's also given celebrated performances in several movies and other shows like Fargo, Black Mirror, and — fun fact! — Gilmore Girls.

Celebrating TV is what the ATX TV Festival is all about. This annual summer event is put on by ATX TV and consists of screenings, Q&As, and panel conversations; plus all sorts of parties, live music, happy hours, and other events. It's known for reunions of classic series and cult hits, and according to the website, it's like "TV camp for grownups."

Jon Hamm isn't the only heavy-hitter in this year's lineup.

Programming also includes an acting class and Q&A with Henry Winkler himself, a live script reading of classic episodes from The Golden Girls and Designing Women (guest actors to be announced), a reunion of the creatives and cast of the HBO hit series The Leftovers, a live recording of the podcast Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast with Suits stars and co-hosts Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J. Adams, and much more.

Additionally, the festival's annual Pitch Competition is still accepting open pitch submissions through January 17. This gives creatives in Austin a chance to pitch their show idea in front of some of the industry's biggest showrunners and executives. Those in the top 10 will receive a year of support to make the next steps in their TV careers.

Festival badges and passes ($150-535) are on sale now.

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