Japanese fast-casual restaurant Pepper Lunch is coming to Leander, with an anticipated opening by the end of 2026, according to a spokesperson for the company.

What's on the menu: Pepper Lunch is centered around a unique dining experience in which meals arrive on a 500-degree cast-iron plate so that diners can then mix, season and finish cooking their meals themselves, a news release from the company states. The location's menu will include the restaurant chain's signature beef pepper rice dish, as well as steaks, teriyaki dishes and other Japanese and Asian comfort food.

What's next: Franchisee Sizzling Hospitality also has locations under development in Kyle and Hutto and plans to open 20 restaurant locations over the next five years across the Austin, San Antonio and Houston areas, according to the release.
In total, there are more than 570 Pepper Lunch locations across 17 countries around the world.

Amid increasing health care costs, Liberty Hill ISD board of trustees voted to approve a $267,840 increased cost to the district's budget to cover the majority of employee health insurance June 15.

For the first time, Liberty Hill ISD employees enrolled in the state-sponsored Teacher Retirement System health insurance plan will pay a portion of their monthly premiums. Under the new structure, the district will contribute an additional $20 per month per employee, while employees will pay $17 per month.

The breakdown: LHISD currently pays a little under $5.9 million annually to cover employee health care coverage for its 1,008 employees. On a monthly basis, this cost amounts to $484 per employee.

However, the new monthly rate of TRS coverage has increased by $37 to $521, which would amount to an annual increase of $492,720 in the district’s health care spending.

Some context: The cost of health care has increased by $4 million in the last five years, according to LHISD documents.

A Travis County-funded pilot program connecting violence victims and their families to social services is expiring this year with no confirmed funding source to continue it, according to a presentation by Ascension Seton staff during a Travis County Commissioners meeting June 9.

What you need to know: The $500,000 contract with Ascension Seton for the Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program, or HVIP, will be fully expended by Aug. 31 with no other funding sources identified, according to county documents. Travis County Health and Human Services submitted a budget request for $250,000 annually in fiscal year 2026-27 to continue the program, a Travis County spokesperson confirmed.

The HVIP first launched in October 2024 at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin—the only Level 1 adult trauma center in Central Texas—and Dell Children's Medical Center, according to county documents.

A Crunch Fitness in Austin, an AutoZone in Lago Vista and the Plaza Saltillo Station Double Track and Trail Project are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Plaza Saltillo Station Double Track and Trail Project ($40.6 million): This project involves a change from single track to double track, building platforms and canopies for passenger waiting areas, and associated utility relocations and right-of-way flatwork.

2. Emergency Animal Hospital of Buda ($1.7 million): A new emergency animal hospital is coming to Buda, with construction set to begin in August.

3. Snack Time C-Store & Gas Station Building ($1.6 million): This project involves the construction of a single-story gas station building with a proposed deli.

4. Crunch Fitness ($1.5 million): A new Crunch Fitness location is coming to Austin. 

5. AutoZone ($1.2 million): A 6,800-square-foot AutoZone is coming to Lago Vista, with construction set to begin in December.