Hot Headlines

Austin taco chain receives 'damn good' $400 million investment, plus more stories

Started as a food truck and now they're embarking on a multimillion-dollar expansion.

Editor's note: It's that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. Austin-born taco chain receives 'damn good' $400 million investment for major expansion. Fourteen years after launching as a South Austin food trailer, Torchy’s Tacos has received a damn good investment: $400 million. For the record, that's enough cash to purchase roughly 75 million orders of chips and queso.

2.New report ranks Austin among least affordable cities for average buyer. Affordability continues to be a huge issue for those looking to buy a house. This new report shows just how out of reach a new home can be for many locals.

3. Austin’s first major league sports team bags big-name sponsor. Austin’s first major league franchise has scored big with its latest sponsorship. H-E-B has inked a multiyear dear with the Major League Soccer's Austin FC, which kicks off its inaugural season in 2021.

4. Alamo Drafthouse founder auctions personal collection to pay debts due to pandemic. Tim League, the co-founder and executive chairman of Alamo Drafthouse, is auctioning off his personal collection of movie posters to help pay Alamo Drafthouse staff and reduce debt incurred during the pandemic.

5. Incredible Hill Country horse ranch near Austin lassoes $9 million price tag. If you’re shopping for holiday gifts and have a few million bucks in the bank, you may want to add this massive Dripping Springs horse ranch to your list.

hot-headlines

Hot Headlines

Salt Lick's new concept heats up Austin's most popular stories this week

Photo by Alie Jackson

Roxie's will open in the spring.

Editor's note: The top Austin news of the week includes a new concept from barbecue favorite Salt Lick and three luxury fashion brands making their Austin debut. Plus, we've rounded up all the ways to meet new people this winter. Read the five hottest Austin headlines of the week below, and find fun things to do this weekend here.

1. Salt Lick BBQ branches out with new restaurant concept in Austin suburb. Storied barbecue restaurant Salt Lick will extend its legacy with a new concept coming to Buda. Roxie's, a homey Southern restaurant fit for families, will debut in the growing Austin suburb sometime this spring.

2. 3 major luxury fashion brands move into famous North Austin mall. Austin's hottest shopping district will add the first three standalone stores in the city for Christian Dior, Balenciaga, and Zimmerman.

3. Way more than 15 ways to meet new people in Austin this winter. The new year is here, and maybe that means you want to meet new people. We've rounded up great ways — from classes to volunteering and, yes, apps — to do just that.

Students in a wheel throwing class. Meet fellow creatives in a wheel throwing class at the Doherty Arts Center. Photo from Doherty Arts Center Facebook page

4. Austin faces highest rent prices in Texas for 2025, new report says. A new cost-of-living index underscores what many Austin renters are painfully aware of: Local rents rank among the costliest in the U.S.

5. 14 Austin coffee shops band together for day honoring Daniel Johnston. Hi, How Are You Day is back on January 22, encouraging Austinites to meet up in community spaces and check in on each other's mental health.