ATX-LLH: Impact 10/1/2025

Steakhouse restaurant Texas Roadhouse is getting ready to open in Leander this fall, a development that will bring upward of 200 jobs to the market.

The details: The 7,900-square-foot restaurant is looking to hire 210 full- and part-time staff members at the location, according to a Sept. 30 news release. The store is targeting a late-November opening date.

What they offer: The nationwide chain, founded in 1993, has more than 700 locations worldwide, and is best known for their steaks, ribs, burgers, fried chicken and made-from-scratch sides.

• 1416 Sparkle Lane, Leander

Liberty Hill ISD is preparing to open Lariat Trails Elementary in 2026 and Saddleback Elementary in 2027.

What happened: The LHISD board of trustees approved official names for the district’s eighth and ninth elementary schools at a Sept. 15 board meeting. Additionally, the board approved design services to expand Bill Burden, Rancho Sienna and Santa Rita elementaries to accommodate up to 1,000 students each.

The gist: Lariat Trails Elementary will open for the 2026-27 school year in the Lariat master-planned community. In 2024, the board approved building the 108,416-square-foot school with a capacity for 1,000 students, which is 200 more students than its current elementary campuses.

Saddleback Elementary will open in the Saddleback at Santa Rita Ranch community in the 2027-28 school year. PBK Architects will design the 113,383-square-foot school similarly to Tierra Rosa Elementary, which opened in August 2024, with an increased capacity to accommodate 1,000 students.

What's new: LHISD will increase the capacity of Bill Burden, Rancho Sienna and Santa Rita to save money amid fast enrollment growth, district officials said.


 

The Round Rock Express, the Round Rock-based Minor League Baseball team, marked the completion of its 25th season on Sept. 21. 

What you need to know: The team was founded in 2000 by Ryan-Sanders Baseball, a partnership between Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and Don Sanders, a former minority owner of the Houston Astros, according to the league.

According to a Sept. 26 press release, Target has launched a first-of-its-kind accessible self-checkout experience designed for guests with disabilities, including those who are blind or have low vision.

The self-checkouts will roll out nationwide beginning this holiday season and in early 2026 as part of Target's ongoing checkout improvements, according to the release.

What to expect: Per the release, the innovation is a guest-first design that primarily supports people who are visually impaired while supporting those with motor disabilities.

The technology works with Target’s existing self-checkout system and includes:

• Braille and high-contrast button icons
• A headphone jack with adjustable volume controls
• Physical navigation buttons and a dedicated information key