The Esperanza Community, a transitional shelter complex in East Austin operated by The Other Ones Foundation, celebrated its ongoing expansion this fall. The site, which began as a sanctioned encampment on state-owned land, has developed into a community with hundreds of permanent shelter units, shared spaces, job training and supportive services.

The impact: About 750 people have been rehoused after staying at the community, including about 200 in the past year.

What else: The latest shelter spaces were supported by a $1 million city allocation from 2024, and a future expansion with more than 300 additional units will be backed by nearly $50 million in state housing funds and more than $15 million from Austin.

Chef Philip Speer and Via 313 co-founder Brandon Hunt opened Nobody's Business, a walk-up kitchen inside Lavaca Street Bar at 407 Lavaca St. in downtown Austin, on Sept. 12.

The concept, which the eatery describes as "business casual bar fare," took over the former Turf N' Surf space. It is open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, and Lavaca Street Bar is a 21+ establishment.

On the menu: Starters include blue corn hush puppies and nachos, and sandwiches such as Nobody's Cheeseburger and a fish sandwich are priced at $15-$16. Larger plates include sticky baby back ribs and a chilled noodle bowl.

Meet the owners: Speer, a four-time James Beard Award nominee in the Outstanding Pastry Chef category, owns and operates Comedor, a modern Mexican restaurant downtown. In 2019, he also founded the Comedor Run Club, a running group for restaurant workers. Hunt and his brother, Zane Hunt, are Detroit natives who opened the first Via 313 trailer in Austin in 2011 and have since expanded the Detroit-style pizza chain into several states.

Frost Bank opened its newest Austin-area location Sept. 28 on South Lamar Boulevard in the former Half Price Books space.

The details: The South Lamar Financial Center serves both business and consumer customers, according to a Frost news release. Its lobby is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Customers can use a greeter station to make deposits and withdrawals, get help with account questions, open accounts or apply for loans.

Its Smart ATM, available during lobby hours, accepts cash and check deposits without envelopes or deposit slips.

Zooming out: The South Lamar location is part of a strategy Frost launched in 2018 to open branches in communities that weren't adequately served by other banks, said Bill Day, senior vice president of corporate communications at Frost. Rather than acquiring other banks, Frost has grown from about 130 locations in 2018 to 211 statewide, including 29 in its Austin region.

Founded in 1868, Frost is a subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc., which reported $53.9 billion in assets as of June 30.