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Austin, TX

H-E-B opens reimagined store at historic South Congress location in Austin

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H-E-B opens reimagined store at historic South Congress location in Austin


The day has finally come. After more than two years of construction, H-E-B’s reimagined South Congress store in Austin has opened its doors to customers.

Crowds lined up in the rain before daybreak Wednesday to be among the first shoppers to get a glimpse of the 145,000-square-foot multi-level store when it opened at 6 a.m. CT. The completely new store, located at 2400 S. Congress Ave., more than doubles the size of the store it replaced, which was the grocery chain’s longest-standing Austin location.

Hook ‘Em entertains shoppers lined up to see the new South Congress H-E-B in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 4, 2024.Courtesy H-E-B

“After more than six decades of serving the South Congress and Oltorf communities, we are proud to offer our loyal customers a brand-new store filled with H-E-B favorites along with new amenities and features tailored to the area,” said Cathy Harm, H-E-B senior vice president of the Central Texas region. “This is an iconic location, and this project reflects our commitment to preserving the heart of our long-time store while creating a meaningful space that will better serve the community for years to come.”

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The new store, which is open daily from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. CT, includes a ground level with indoor and outdoor dining areas, a second level for shopping, three levels of above-ground parking with more than 500 spaces, and a True Texas BBQ restaurant.

Additional amenities include Curbside and Home Delivery services, a full-service pharmacy with drive-thru, a bakery with store-made tortillas, an expanded beer and wine selection, a Flower Bar with seasonal bouquets and arrangements, a Sushiya department with store-made sushi and poke bowls, and a Meal Simple section with fresh chef-inspired meals prepared in store.

Sculpture of cowboy riding barbecue smoker outside new H-E-B South Congress store

H-E-B commissioned several art installations throughout its new South Congress store in Austin, Texas.Courtesy H-E-B

The store also combines smart lighting with abundant natural lighting. H-E-B commissioned several art installations throughout the store, ranging from murals to sculptures.

The South Congress H-E-B first opened in 1957 with 25,000 square feet and later expanded to 69,000 square feet. It was demolished in 2022 to make way for the new store. During construction, customers in the area were served by a temporary location at the nearby Twin Oaks Shopping Center.

To commemorate the opening of the new store, H-E-B donated $10,000 each to the Barton Springs Conservancy, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, St. Edward’s University Food Pantry, Texas School for the Deaf, and St. Ignatius Martyr Church Food Pantry.

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The new South Congress store employs about 600 partners — the term the company uses for its employees.

With more than 160,000 partners across the company, H-E-B is the largest privately held employer in the Lone Star State. The San Antonio-based chain operates more than 435 stores across Texas and Mexico.



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Austin, TX

Austin, TX venue Emo’s on the move again, AEG to take over the building

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Austin, TX venue Emo’s on the move again, AEG to take over the building


Emo’s in Austin is on the move again. 

After more than a decade at 2015 E. Riverside Drive (following the original Red River-era venue closing in 2011), Emo’s current Riverside space will be taken over by AEG Presents when the lease ends later this year. The Los Angeles, CA-based company will assume operations in January 2027 and plans to reopen the building under a new name in early 2027 following upgrades, renovations and a full rebrand.

AEG are also opening a new 4,000-cap venue nearby next spring as part of the River Park mixed-use development in southeast Austin.

C3 Presents, who reopened Emo’s at the Riverside location, say this isn’t the end of Emo’s — they’re working on a new home and plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin, with more updates to come.

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AEG Presents Vice President Robin Phillips shared the following:

There’s like no weirdness or any bad blood or anything. It just, you know, new lease and they’ll [Emo’s] go do something great. They have been important to the Austin music scene, so I have a lot of respect for them.

But I don’t think the Austin music scene or legacy is limited to one name. I know people will remember the original Emo’s and this Emo’s as, you know, both great venues… And I don’t think Austin’s music scene is just a name, it’s the artists, in my opinion.

 

A C3 spokesperson added:

Emo’s has a long history in Austin and we’ve been working behind the scenes for some time on a new home for this venue. After we wrap up at this venue in December, we will focus our efforts on our new location.

 

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Emo’s gave the following statement to Austin local news KXAN:

We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music. We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.





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Austin, TX

Highly pathogenic virus found in herd of Texas dairy cows

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Highly pathogenic virus found in herd of Texas dairy cows


State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.

What we know:

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Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.

This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.

What they’re saying:

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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.

A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026.

A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

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Dig deeper:

H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.

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The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.

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New Texas law tightens rules for autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo

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New Texas law tightens rules for autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo


Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.

Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.

The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.

Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.

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“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.

ALSO| Waymo files voluntary software recall over flooded-lane risks on high-speed roads

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One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.

“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.

The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.

Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.

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“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”

Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”

The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.

The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.

Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.

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