Dirty soda shop Swig brought its first Austin-area location to Anderson Mill in February.

The details: The shop is known for its customizable menu of soda flavors including Dr. Pepper, Coca Cola, Mountain Dew, Ginger Ale, Big Red, Pepsi, Sprite and Root Beer with fruits and creams to add in, such as passion fruit, mango, cherry, blackberry, vanilla cream and coconut cream.

The menu also includes lemonades, Fresca and hot chocolate plus snacks like pretzel bites and cookies.

• 13492 US 183, Ste. 210, Austin

Café Java, a longtime fixture in northwest Austin with locations in Round Rock and now Cedar Park, celebrated 30 years of operation in January.

About the business: The community diner-style restaurant first opened in 1996 near Metric Boulevard in Austin. About a decade later, the Round Rock location opened on Gattis School Road.

The restaurant and coffee shop offers a wide variety of breakfast items served all day, including tacos, pancakes and omelets. In addition to breakfast, the menu includes salads, burgers and specialty coffee beverages.

In January, Williamson County broke ground on a $132 million project to transform Hero Way and RM 2243 into a divided, controlled-access highway from 183A Toll in Leander to Southwest Bypass in Georgetown.

The current situation: The current rural two-lane road will expand to two main lanes in each direction, flanked by three-lane frontage roads, easing congestion on a corridor where traffic has doubled over the past 20 years.

Phase 1A will construct the first frontage road from 183A Toll to Garey Park Road, with completion expected by early 2028. County and city officials say the project will improve safety, reduce commute times and foster economic growth.

Of note: The roadway’s realignment is already attracting commercial and residential development, including a Home Depot, a hotel and new housing subdivisions. Utility relocations begin this year, with most roadwork starting in 2027.

What they're saying​​: “It is going to revolutionize the way traffic moves through Leander, and it’s critical that it starts and opens,” said Bridget Brandt, president of the Leander Chamber of Commerce.

From a commercial retail center to a gas station and more, here are five of the most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Courtside in Austin: Quantum 71 will build a 26,331-square-foot restaurant and a 4,128-square-foot pickleball building.

2. Base Power in Austin: The Austin-based energy supplier will finish out a shell building for manufacturing and warehouse uses.

3. Winding Oak Commercial Development in Leander: Zoomers Investment Group will construct a commercial retail center, which will feature a 4,000-square-foot quick-serve restaurant, 19,543 square feet of retail space and a two-story 16,400-square-foot office and retail building.

4. AAA Storage and Business Park in Austin: The self-storage business will construct an 85,000-square-foot facility and business park.

5. Smart Stop in Georgetown: Central Texas-based Smart Stop will open a convenience store and fuel station that spans 6,000 square feet.

Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations unveiled its first-ever strategic plan in February, detailing how the city plans to invest and coordinate across the local homelessness response system in the coming year-plus.

The details: The full plan, available to view online, was developed last year and is meant to serve as a blueprint for AHSO from Austin's current fiscal year 2025-26 through FY 2026-27. The city's homelessness office spent months engaging with more than 30 local groups and polling its own team to build out the plan that addresses five high-level objectives, with dozens of specific benchmarks that will be further outlined or completed over the year ahead.

Those include improving how the city tracks its spending and contracts, outcomes for homeless clients, resident and stakeholder engagement, and internal training. New shelter beds and other homelessness facilities are also called for.