HTX-WDL: Impact 11/3/2025

Businesses in The Woodlands area that have opened recently or announced an upcoming anniversary include a seafood restaurant, fitness and physical therapy locations as well as a long-standing health clinic. This listing is not comprehensive.

El Refu Seafood
Officials confirmed the eatery expanded with a new location in Spring in October.

The eatery has two additional locations in Humble and Cy-Fair and serves Tex-Mex cuisine. Per the business' Facebook page, the new location specializes in seafood and offers shrimp platters, oysters, ceviche and crab legs.

• Opened Oct. 20
• 25186 I-45, Spring

The Core Lab has opened a new location in The Woodlands Sept. 4, the company confirmed.

The details: The lab offers high-intensity workouts that involve elements of Pilates with cardiovascular elements, according to the company’s website.
The workout lab focuses on strength and muscular endurance training. The company has five other locations in Houston.

• 4775 W. Panther Creek Drive, Ste. 480, The Woodlands

Montgomery County Food Bank celebrated the completion of an 18,000-square-foot expansion to its facility in Conroe on Oct. 28, marking a milestone in its mission to fight hunger across the county, according to an Oct. 28 news release

Marking the milestone: Through the “Build Today, Feed Tomorrow” capital campaign, the food bank added new areas to boost efficiency, storage and volunteer capacity. 

The expansion includes the Howard Hughes Produce Rescue Center—expected to recover about 110,000 more pounds of produce each month—as well as a new Woodforest National Bank Volunteer Center and expanded cold storage, increasing refrigerated space by 43%.

The additional space will allow the organization to distribute 1 million more meals each year, building on the nearly 9 million meals provided to Montgomery County residents in 2024, per the release.

Harris County commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 30 to push back the proposed Dec. 11 public hearing for the Harris Health and the Ben Taub Hospital expansion in Houston’s Texas Medical Center. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was absent.

The bottom line: Several amendments, internal deadlines and meetings are now being coordinated by county and city of Houston stakeholders as part of a potential expansion plan that will include community input and a formal presentation in January. Commissioners set the new date for the public hearing in March.

The context: Harris Health officials are in the process of a major expansion of Ben Taub Hospital, which would incorporate 8.9 acres of Hermann Park. Esmaeil Porsa, Harris Health president and CEO, said at the Oct. 30 meeting that the expansion must occur at this location for several reasons that would support more than 1 million uninsured individuals.

“It would allow this facility to be part of Ben Taub and won’t need additional licensing,” Porsa said.

Approximately 460,000 Texans have Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Advocates are encouraging Texas voters to approve State Proposition 14, a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state to spend $3 billion to launch the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

The overview: Proposition 14 would allocate $3 billion in state dollars to fund the institute for the next 10 years. The institute would work with researchers and doctors to study the prevention and treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

All funding for the institute would come from existing state revenue, donations and potential federal grants, meaning no new state taxes or fees would be created.

What they're saying: "If Proposition 14 passes, it really will establish Texas as an incredible leader in our country," neurological researcher Joshua Shulman said. 

At the polls: Early voting runs through Oct. 31, and Election Day is Nov. 4. For more information about the propositions and candidates on your local ballot, visit www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide.