Three new businesses are engaged in the permitting process with the city of Round Rock, city staff confirmed in November. 

What you need to know: A new coffee shop, bank and fast food restaurant are planning new locations at the southwest corner of A.W. Grimes Boulevard and E. Palm Valley Boulevard. It's not yet clear when these locations will begin site work or open.

The backstory: Gabe and Matt Ellis have spent the nearly the last 20 years learning about winemaking and tasting. Using their knowledge and connections to winemakers in California, they launched Swallow Wines in February 2024, a tasting room in Round Rock. 

Zooming in: The menu features a curated selection of wines that changes monthly, showcasing exclusively unfiltered and dry wines, with an emphasis on fruit-forward flavors.

More details: The tasting room has a free membership available for customers to receive four shipments of wine per year that they can curate themselves, discounts on event tickets and bulk wine purchases, first access to events, tastings and more. 

• 407 Round Rock Ave., Round Rock

Texas’ power grid will likely remain stable in December and January, recent reports from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas show. However, grid conditions could become tight if a winter storm hits large swaths of Texas, driving up demand for electricity.

The overview: ERCOT, which operates the electric grid for 90% of Texas, found in a Nov. 7 report that there should be “sufficient generating capacity available” to serve customers throughout January.

ERCOT forecasts that the tightest period this winter will be from 7-8 a.m. daily, when little to no solar power is being produced. During that time, ERCOT found the chances of a grid emergency are 1.81% in December and 1.4% in January.

More details: If a severe winter storm causes demand on the Texas grid to near record levels, there is a roughly 35% chance of a grid emergency in December and a less than 10% chance in January, ERCOT reported. Texans last experienced a grid emergency in September 2023, and the grid withstood three cold snaps in early 2025.