Hot Headlines

Gruene's music and wine fest leads Austin's 5 most-read stories this week

Gruene Hall and The Grapevine are splitting hosting duties for the 38th Annual Gruene Music & Wine Festival.

Gruene Hall Facebook

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. Oldest dance hall in Texas tunes up for 4-day music and wine festival. The 38th Annual Gruene Music & Wine Festival will send visitors traipsing around the town for four days from October 10-13, for wine, beer, live music, and more.

2. 2 small Austin businesses make H-E-B shortlist in quest for new products. Texas' favorite grocery chain H-E-B is nearing the end of its search for the next crop of Texas-made products to hit the shelves, with 10 newly revealed finalists.

3. Austin farmers market hosts August celebration with music and chef demos. The Texas Farmers' Market (TFM) is hosting a weekend of festivities August 10 and 11 that are fit for the whole family, with live music, food samples, and more.

4. Top Austin cocktail bar's sister space expands service after renovations. The Roosevelt Room's adjoining event space, The Eleanor, is now open every Friday and Saturday with a full menu of 30 original and classic cocktails, beer, wine, and snacks.

5. Here's how much money the one percent are making in Texas. Austinites may be surprised to learn that the pre-tax income required to be considered one of Texas' one-percenters amounts to $762,090 in 2024.

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.