Steak Your Claims

Beef org rewards Texans for visiting restaurants, including 16 in Austin

Beef Loving Texans correctly recommends The Little Darlin's excellent burger, but the restaurant also has a long-standing commitment to Tuesday Steak Night specials.

The Little Darlin'/Instagram

It's not hard to find beef in Texas, but great beef endorsed by local ranchers is a different story. Beef Loving Texans, the consumer-facing side of the Texas Beef Council (TBC), has organized a digital "passport" that will take travelers along the 2025 Ultimate Beef Trail, culminating in small and large prizes.

The passport is active now through December 31, 2025, and covers 163 restaurants across Texas, including Austin, San Antonio, Houston, DFW, Amarillo, McAllen, and more. There are also multiple sub-passes that set beef-lovers out on a quest for certain styles of cooking in certain regions. Those include:

Houston Burger Blitz
Surf & Turf Gulf Coast Adventure
South Texas Tex-Mex Trail
Dallas-Fort Worth Steak Trail
Panhandle Country Fried Steak Quest
Central Texas BBQ Trail

The passport is returning, but the themed passes are new this year. They're all free to download, and don't require users to download an app; instead, they work directly in web browsers.

After downloading their desired passes, Texans on-the-go need to check in at each restaurant to claim points, which they can then redeem for prizes. This does require enabling GPS data, at least while using the platform.

Each check in is 100 points. One visit earns enough points for a sticker; two visits are enough for canvas bags; five visits earn “Nice to Meat Y’all” T-shirts; and 10 visits can be exchanged for a brisket hat. Points will be deducted after they're spent on a reward, so users can choose what they want.

After 10 visits, things get more interesting. It takes 20 visits to earn enough points for a YETI tumbler and a grand prize entry. The grand prize sets the winner up for a smoking class by Beef Loving Texans — taught in Austin for $150 — plus a "weekend getaway" nearby.

Even if users don't get to their rewards goal, the list adds value with context and menu recommendations. For the Little Darlin' in Austin, Beef Loving Texans lets users know the Little Darlin' in Austin was CultureMap's Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 Tastemaker Awards, where the organization was a sponsor. It also recommends the burger. (We further endorse that choice!)

Badges represent other partnerships: one appears to be for restaurants involved in the Texas Restaurant Association, and "Rancher Recs," denote restaurants with "exceptional beef" as chosen by ranchers.

There are 16 participating Austin-area restaurants:

24 Diner
ALC Steaks
Billy's On Burnet
Briscuits
Canje
City Post
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
El Raval
Franklin Barbecue
Habesha Ethiopian restaurant and bar
Hays City Store & Ice House
InterStellar BBQ
Joe's Bakery & Coffee Shop
KG BBQ
La Cocina de Consuelo
Leroy and Lewis Barbecue
Lonesome Dove
Mama Betty's Tex-Mex y Cantina
Matt's El Rancho
Micklethwait Craft Meats BBQ & Catering
Steiner Ranch Steakhouse
Stiles Switch BBQ
Tamale House East
Taste on Main
The Dead Rabbit
The Little Darlin'

“The Ultimate Beef Trail is back, now with new regional passes that highlight the delicious and diverse flavors and beef culture across Texas,” said Rachel Chou, director of consumer marketing for Beef Loving Texans, in a press release. “From smoky brisket and sizzling fajitas to burgers and beyond, it’s a chance to discover standout dishes while supporting the people who make Texas beef unforgettable. It’s more than a meal; it’s a road trip worth taking."

farmers ranchers burgers road trip

Sowing More Wheat

Co-op grocery store Wheatsville announces 2 new North Austin locations

Wheatsville Food Co-op/Facebook

Wheatsville Food Co-op is moving on from its Guadalupe store.

One of Austin's favorite grocery stores, consumer-owned Wheatsville Food Co-op, has announced an expansion — which will mean more locals getting on board as owners. The store announced July 10 it would be opening two new locations in Hyde Park and Allandale, provided it raises enough funds.

The Hyde Park location will be at 408 E. 43rd St., and the Allandale location will be at 2917 W. Anderson Ln. These two locations currently occupied by Fresh Plus Grocery, a local chain. The post by Wheatsville thanks Fresh Plus for its coordination.

This news fulfills a promise from Wheatsville just over a year ago in 2024, when it announced it might have to close its then-43-year-old location at 3101 Guadalupe St. The problems largely came from challenges with Light Rail construction that would make the store difficult to access for both customers and suppliers, according to a company bulletin. Sales for the location had also halved over the last decade, and the building needed major repairs.

The Guadalupe store's lease expires in 2026, so it set out looking for solutions to replace it. At the end of the same month that the bulletin went out — although a new location hadn't been chosen yet — the store's Instagram account posted that it was time to "get serious," seeking investors in North Central Austin.

It set a goal of $6.5 million in investments. In a comment, a store representative explained owners can invest a minimum of $2,000, which gets them a 3.5 percent return, or $10,000 for a 4 percent return. Funds would go toward the logistical needs of moving and opening, plus staff training and expanding.

That goal means 3,250 investors will have to join as owners. They'll then have a democratic say in how the company runs, plus perks like daily extra savings, coupons, profit sharing during "sufficiently profitable years," and eligibility to join Austin's University Federal Credit Union (UFCU).

This June's call for investors encourages potential owners to email invest@wheatsville.com for more information on the process.

openings grocery stores co-op