From Korean snacks to Cajun cuisine, there are food options to choose from locally. Here are several restaurants featured in the Tomball-Magnolia edition of Community Impact in 2025 to visit.

Mochi Mochi Chillin
At Mochi Mochi Chillin, started by husband and wife duo Quay Le and Emma Zheng, customers can enjoy a variety of Korean snacks such as mochi doughnuts, boba drinks, ice cream and Korean corn dogs that can be customized. 

• 28910 Hardin Store Road, Ste. 102, Magnolia

• 9533 FM 1488, Ste. 1700, Magnolia

Exclusive Furniture opened a new location in Tomball this fall.

The details: The retailer offers a selection of furniture and decor for every room. This is the 10th store in the Houston area.

• 27816 Hwy. 249, Tomball

Truckloads of food, toys, beds, blankets and other essential items were delivered to Harris County’s animal shelter Dec. 15 as part of ‘"Santa Paws," a collaborative holiday project with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s office. 

Quote of note: “What makes Santa Paws so special is seeing the generosity of our community and their commitment to helping animals,” Ramsey said in a news release. 

The setup: More than 1,000 items were collected at various Precinct 3 locations, and Ramsey said community members from the following organizations were part of the initiative:

• Harris County Pets
• Friends of Harris Pets
• Mystic Mutts Groomers
• Sheffield Liquidators of Crosby
• Local rescue groups, fosters and volunteers

A historic 20-story downtown Houston building has officially been renamed and dedicated after the late U.S. Rep and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Dec. 17.

The gist: ​​​​​The Harris County Sylvester Turner Administration building is located at 1010 Lamar St., Houston, and houses Harris County’s Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity and will be the future site for members of the Harris County Attorney’s Office, according to county officials.

Quote of note: Members of Sylvester Turner’s family attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside both the city of Houston and Harris County officials. His daughter Ashley Turner Captain said her father took a lot of pride working with the county.

“Thank you all so much for voting unanimously to honor my dad in this way by naming a building after him,” Captain said. “You know, he took a lot of pride in working closely with the county. That wasn't by accident. He really did feel like we needed to work together as the city of Houston and Harris County.”

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from this week? Check out five trending stories in the Greater Houston area from Dec. 15-19.

Did you know? Grand Parkway, or State Hwy. 99, is now moving into the southeastern region, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. 

The project will extend the highway 14 miles from FM 646 in League City to south of FM 2403 in Alvin, TxDOT documents show. The expansion project is slated to start construction in 2027.

In case you missed it: Two Spring ISD schools, Link Elementary School and Dueitt Middle School, will close next school year as the district faces falling enrollment and a $13 million fiscal year 2025-26 budget shortfall, according to a Dec. 10 SISD news release. 

Check this out: From a new burger spot to a new taco truck, read six dining updates across the Greater Houston area, including restaurants that recently opened or are celebrating anniversaries, as reported by Community Impact.

Community Impact compiled important holiday travel-related information, including what to know about traffic and airport activity, gas price data, and driver safety tips ahead of the year-end travel season, which runs Dec. 20-Jan. 1.

The overview: Texans should give themselves extra time to reach their destinations the weekend before Christmas, with many travelers expected to hit the road Dec. 21-22. Congestion is also expected as some Texans return home Dec. 26, according to INRIX, a transportation data company.

Minimal traffic is expected Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1, although AAA warned in a Dec. 10 news release that unexpected delays could arise from severe weather or crashes.

For the first time, more than 8 million people nationwide are expected to take domestic flights during the year-end holidays.

More information: Texas drivers will likely pay less for gas this holiday season than in recent years, AAA fuel data shows. On average, one gallon of unleaded gas costs about $2.51 in Texas as of Dec. 18, down from $2.65 one year prior.