Russel Taylor said he lived “many different lives” before calling Austin home in 2013 and opening Chicknic, a restaurant serving family-style roast chicken and more, in 2023.

A family affair: After working in restaurants around the world and a marketing career at IBM, a family dinner request helped Taylor find his way back to the kitchen and into what would become Chicknic. Over the next year, Taylor and his in-laws developed Chicknic’s concept, partly inspired by Taylor’s memories of Sunday roasts in London pubs.

On the menu: Chicknic is known for its roast chicken meals, either served whole or as tenders or wings. Classic sides include roasted sweet potatoes, roasted carrots and freshly baked popover rolls. The menu also has South American- and Asian-inspired flavors. 

What’s special about it?: Chicknic strives to serve families the highest quality chicken around, Taylor said.

“We call ourselves fast-fine because the ingredients we use are the absolute top quality,” Taylor said.

Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa announced a new partnership in October with Texas Exes, the University of Texas’ alumni association.

The specifics: With the new partnership, visitors can look forward to game day programming, pre-game tailgate parties, pick up flag football games and curated drink menus for Texas fans.

The background: The resort is owned by alumni Robert B. “Bob” Rowling, a former UT System regent whose family contributions to the university include the establishment of Robert B. Rowling Hall at McCombs School of Business, as stated in a news release.

What they're saying: “We’re honored to be the exclusive partner of Texas Exes,” said Carissa Smith, Director of Sales & Marketing at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa. “Our resort has deep UT roots—through our ownership, alumni connections and loyal Longhorn guests. This partnership builds on our Longhorn spirit—offering exclusive rates, programming and experiences to make every Texas Ex feel right at home in Austin.”

• 8212 Barton Club Drive, Austin

A three-week city initiative to clear public encampments and connect homeless residents with resources ended with hundreds of locations around Austin addressed and nearly 200 people moved into shelter.

What happened: The temporary surge of resources led by Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations ran Oct. 20-Nov. 8 to restore public spaces and relocate people in hard-to-reach or dangerous areas given severe weather risks and ahead of the winter season. The city-led encampment clearings took place under local and state laws that ban camping in public.

As the encampment initiative was drawing to a close this fall, City Council also approved measures to expand street outreach programs, launch a public encampment dashboard and improve resident reporting systems. Those updates will take place in the coming months.

Also of note: The recent city program was unrelated to state-led encampment cleanups around Austin announced by Gov. Greg Abbott on Oct. 21, an operation that was criticized by local officials due to a lack of coordination and shared objectives.

Every day for the past 25 years, at least one person has died in crashes on Texas roads. Texas officials and the families of some fatal crash victims commemorated the grim anniversary with a candlelight ceremony at the Texas Capitol on Nov. 7.

The impact: Jamie White said her 2-year-old daughter, Allie, was hit and killed by a distracted driver at Round Rock’s Old Settlers Park in September 2019.

“It only takes [a few] seconds… to kill somebody,” White said Nov. 7. “Can you imagine doing this, taking somebody's child from them, and living the rest of your life knowing that you caused that?”

Following Allie’s death, her parents launched Allie’s Way, a nonprofit aimed at ending distracted driving.

More details: TxDOT data shows that speed and impaired driving are involved in the majority of deadly crashes on Texas roads.

“These are not random events,” Texas Highway Patrol Chief Bryan Rippee said Nov. 7. “These are the results of making the wrong choices on our Texas highways."