Round1 officials announced the new arcade located at the Willowbrook Mall plans to hold its grand opening event on Dec. 20 with a ribbon cutting held at 10 a.m.

The details: Located at the former Sears, per previous Community Impact reporting, Round1 is an arcade with over 100 crane machines, arcade games, professional-grade billiards, karaoke and bowling. In addition the arcade features a food bar with snacks such as pizza, wings and ice cream and holds events such as birthday parties.

What else? According to the website, as of 2021 Round 1 established its national brand with 100 stores in Japan and expanded to the U.S. in 2008; to date the arcade has 50 locations open or coming soon in the U.S.

Haraz Coffee House will soon serve Yemini coffee in the Cypress area, according to a Dec. 9 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The details: Construction of the new coffee house, located at 7028 Elyson Exchange Way Ste. K-100, Cypress, will begin Jan. 5 and is set to wrap up by early May, according to TDLR. The coffee shop's exact opening date is unknown as of press time. 

Menu items include Turkish and Saudi coffee and traditional drinks like Mufawar, a beverage that combines coffee, cardamom and cream. Haraz Coffee also serves frappes, lattes and fruit refreshers, according to its website.

Zooming out: The Yemini coffee franchise has expanded quickly since its 2021 founding with more than 31 locations across the U.S. and 185 locations in development, per its website. Other Houston-area locations include Sugar Land and Pearland.  

With a unanimous vote on Dec. 11, Harris County commissioners reauthorized 100% property tax exemptions for qualified child care providers for 2026 onward in a move that is expected to save thousands of dollars for providers, county officials said.

The full story: Commissioners first approved the 100% property tax exemption for qualified child care centers in March 2024, with the stipulation that the exemption would expire every two years unless commissioners voted for an extension. With the December vote, commissioners also approved removing the expiration clause, which allows the exemption to continue without requiring the two year reapproval from Commissioners Court.

Latest update: Eligible child care providers can apply for the exemption Jan. 1 through March 1.

Quote of note: “Today’s unanimous vote shows that every single one of us on commissioners court, regardless of political party, understands the importance of protecting access to high-quality, early childhood education and supporting the providers who make those opportunities possible,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a news release.

Allayah Beamon, founder of A1 Academics K-12 Tutoring Service, said the mobile tutoring center has plans to expand to Atascocita, Cypress, Humble, Katy, Kingwood and New Caney on Jan. 10.

The details: A1 Academics K-12 Tutoring Service offers services for children in kindergarten through 12th grade with individual in-person and virtual sessions, according to the company's website.
Tutoring subjects offered include:

• Spanish ESL
• Hebrew
• Math
• STEM
• Science
• Reading and writing
• Critical thinking skills
• Test prep/study habits
• Language arts/ELA
• History

• Expanding Jan. 10