Happy Wednesday, Round Rock! 👋 Saturday is the day Main Street throws its oldest party — Fiesta Amistad turns 56 — and the Williamson Museum churns butter across town the same morning.
Plus: brunch finally lands at the chef-driven room in the old Denny's on I-35, $10 ballpark tickets for the season's final homestand, a move-in-ready four-bedroom under $400K — and the 1839 fort that gave Kenney Fort Boulevard its name. Let's dig in.
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🎉 Round Rock's Oldest Party Turns 56
The Round Rock El Amistad Club has been raising scholarship money since 1968 — more than $2 million handed to local graduates so far — and Saturday is the one day a year the whole town shows up on Main Street to help. Here's how to build the day around it:
56th Annual Fiesta Amistad · Saturday, Sep 12, noon–11:30pm · Prete Main Street Plaza, 221 E Main St · Free
Eleven and a half hours of live music, food vendors, arts-and-crafts booths, and family activities downtown, all of it feeding the club's scholarship fund. It lands three days before Hispanic Heritage Month starts on Tuesday, which feels about right. Free to get in; the music lineup wasn't posted as of press time, so check the event page before you head down.
Harvest Festival at the Williamson Museum · Saturday, Sep 12, 10am–3pm · Old Settlers Association, 3300 E Palm Valley Blvd · Free
The morning half of the day: hands-on butter churning, seasonal crafts, and living-history demonstrations on the old fairgrounds across from Dell Diamond. It wraps at 3pm, which leaves plenty of runway to get downtown for the fiesta.
Josh Turner at the Round Rock Amp · Friday, Sep 11, 6pm · 3701 N I-35 · $44–$110
The warm-up act for the weekend is the baritone behind "Your Man" and "Why Don't We Just Dance," with Kendale Walker and Spencer Hatcher opening. All ages, and the Amp doesn't allow chairs or outside food and drink, so travel light.
🔥 Food Spotlight: Grey Orchard
We first told you on our instagram about Grey Orchard in July, when the old Denny's at 2700 N I-35 reopened as a chef-driven Modern American room from owner James Sun and chef partner Cole Fitzgerald. Two months in, it has earned a second look — and this Saturday it adds the meal it was missing: brunch launches Sep 12.
The pedigree is real. Sun co-opened Fig Italian Kitchen & Bar in Austin and worked at Eleven Madison Park in New York before that; Fitzgerald ran the kitchen at Atlanta's White Bull, which earned a Michelin Guide recommendation, and was a 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker nominee for Fig. The menu reads as seasonal American with a subtle Asian accent: a wild mushroom salad, tempura bang bang shrimp, fried chicken with Alabama white barbecue sauce, a duck bánh mì, basil fried rice, and a double smash burger for anyone who came for the room more than the plating. Handmade pastas, steaks, fresh seafood, a thoughtful cocktail list, and a genuinely deep non-alcoholic menu round it out.
The room is built for lingering — warm neutrals, partitions that carve the old diner footprint into intimate sections, a long bar, and a semi-private dining room for groups. The practical move: happy hour runs Monday through Friday, 3–6pm, which is the low-stakes way to try the cocktails and small plates before you commit to a date-night reservation. Book through OpenTable on their site.
Open Sun–Thu 11am–9pm, Fri–Sat 11am–10pm. Happy hour Mon–Fri, 3–6pm. Brunch starts Saturday, Sep 12.
📍 2700 N I-35 · (737) 243-9998
See the menu →
💸 Round Rock on a Budget: Final-Homestand Edition
The Express play their last six home games of the year starting Tuesday, and the cheap nights are the good nights:
Round Rock Express
$10 tickets Tuesday, $1 hot dogs Wednesday — Sep 15–16 — Triple Play Tuesday means $10 seats in the Lawn, Home Run Porch, and Reserved 3 sections, $2 crispy beef tacos, $4 nachos, and $4 Estrella drafts; bring two canned goods and get a free outfield lawn ticket. Wednesday it's $1 hot dogs all game. First pitch 6:45pm both nights.
📍 Dell Diamond, 3400 E Palm Valley Blvd · See the deals →
Salt Traders Coastal Cooking
$10 drink + bar snack for its 10th birthday — through Sep 17 — a select drink plus fried oysters, hush puppies, or kettle chips for $10 while the Round Rock location marks a decade
📍 2850 N I-35 · Read more →
Round Rock Public Library
10–15% off at five local shops, all September — show a current card at Blue Diamond Boutique, Paiges Bakehouse, Un.Earthed, Hometown Gift & Decor, or Mi Mundo Coffeehouse & Roastery. Sign-up pop-ups run citywide all month, and non-residents can get a card too.
📍 Round Rock Public Library · Get a card →
Tony C's Pizza & Beer Garden
Half-off pitchers of beer all day Thursday — plus happy hour Mon–Fri 3–6pm: $2 off 22oz drafts, frosé, bellinis, and wine by the glass, and $3 off appetizers
📍 3800 E Palm Valley Blvd, Ste 140 · See the specials →
🗓 Events This Week & Just Ahead
A memorial worth a quiet walk, a campout, a whodunit, and the last Tuesday-night baseball of the year.
9/11 Flag Tribute — final days
🗓 Through Saturday, Sep 12, 8am–5pm daily
📍 Yonders Point, Old Settlers Park, 3103 Aten Loop
5,000 flags at Flag Plaza: 2,979 for the lives lost on 9/11 and 2,021 for the veterans and first responders who have died in service since. Free, and it comes down Saturday evening.
14th Annual Family Campout
🗓 Friday, Sep 11, 4pm – Saturday, Sep 12, noon
📍 Old Settlers Park, 3300 E Palm Valley Blvd
Parks and Rec's overnight in the park: registration covers Friday dinner, a Saturday pancake-and-sausage breakfast, s'mores, a t-shirt, games, and an outdoor movie. Bring your own tent and chairs; no pets and no personal campfires. Advance registration through the Parks portal is required, and the fee isn't listed on the event page.
Clue at Penfold Theatre — opening weekend
🗓 Friday & Saturday, Sep 11–12, 7pm; Sunday, Sep 13, 1:30pm
📍 Penfold Theatre, 2120 N Mays St, Ste 290
Sandy Rustin's 90-minute stage comedy from the board game: six aliased guests, a stormy night, one dead host. Runs through Oct 11. $29–$39, rated PG-13.
Trailside Market
🗓 Saturday, Sep 12, 9am–12pm
📍 Memorial Park, 600 N Lee St
The Saturday-morning standby: handmade crafts, baked goods, home décor, and specialty foods along the trail. Free.
Express vs. Tacoma Rainiers — the final homestand begins
🗓 Tuesday & Wednesday, Sep 15–16, 6:45pm
📍 Dell Diamond, 3400 E Palm Valley Blvd
The last six home games of 2026 open with Triple Play Tuesday and $1 hot dogs Wednesday (deals above). The series runs through Sunday.
Just ahead: next weekend belongs to the Amp and the ballpark. Billy Currington plays Friday, Sep 18, at 6pm with Caroline Grace opening (tickets on the event page), and the Express throw Friday fireworks at 7:05pm the same night. Saturday, Sep 19, starts with National Dance Day at Prete Main Street Plaza, 9am–noon, free learn-along sessions in everything from Zumba to Bharatanatyam to line dancing, then Gavin Adcock at the Amp at 6pm ($60–$260) and a cowboy-hat giveaway for the first 2,000 fans at the 7:05pm Express game. Sunday, Sep 20, the Round Rock Car Show fills Centennial Plaza, 301 W Bagdad Ave, 9am–noon, free, and the Express close out the season at 1:05pm on Kids Day. And the following Saturday, Sep 26, Mainly Art returns to Main Street, 10am–3pm, free.
📰 Community News & Headlines
Good things happening around town this week:
Rush Bowls is now open at La Frontera — Round Rock residents Marco and Angel Thompson cut the ribbon on their first location Saturday, Sep 5, at 115 Sundance Pkwy, Ste 340, at the northwest corner of I-35 and Louis Henna. Made-to-order acai and smoothie bowls with up to five servings of fruit and vegetables each, plus smoothies, cold brew, and a Bow Wow Bowl for the dog, 8:30am–8:30pm daily. Read more…
The city buys 8 acres for the Kenney Fort Boulevard extension — on Aug 27 Round Rock closed on just over eight acres of right-of-way for $2.8 million and set aside another $15.5 million for future parcels: $10 million for Kenney Fort and $5.5 million toward extending Wyoming Springs Drive from where it ends in Behrens Ranch up to FM 1431. Kenney Fort is in design and needs a few more parcels before it goes out to bid. (Ever wondered who Kenney was? See this week's trivia.) Read more…
Your last week to weigh in on the Hwy 79 widening — TxDOT's virtual public meeting on the $82 million project is open now, and comments are due by Wednesday, Sep 16. The plan adds a third lane in each direction on the 2.5 miles between I-35 and A.W. Grimes, a raised median with select breaks, overpasses at Mays Street and A.W. Grimes, a reworked I-35 interchange, and shared-use paths on both sides. See the plans and comment…
Round Rock ISD is growing its own teachers — the district's RROCK Teach Academy pays the full $4,000 iTeach tuition plus the first-year permit for full-time employees with a bachelor's degree who want to move into the classroom, covering up to 95% of certification costs in exchange for two years teaching in RRISD. This year's priority hire is EC–12 special education. Read more…
Texas' first ETS Performance opens on Lamar Drive in November — the youth athletic-training brand founded in 2010 by Ryan and Heidi Englebert, now at more than 50 facilities nationwide, picked Round Rock for its first Texas location at 2009 Lamar Dr, Ste B. Free athlete evaluations for ages 8 and up run Oct 19–31, training starts Nov 2, and the space includes a 20-plus-yard indoor turf field and VALD performance-testing equipment. Read more…
🏡 Real Estate Corner
Thinking about buying, selling, or simply curious what homes are selling for around town? Our Real Estate Corner highlights notable local listings, market insights, and trends shaping the Round Rock housing market.
2322 Loquat Ln, Round Rock 78664
$399,000 · 4 bed · 2 bath · 1,794 sqft
Listed Tuesday in South Creek, the no-HOA neighborhood tucked between I-35 and Old Settlers Boulevard, and the pitch is simple: the work is already done. The 1997 one-story was significantly remodeled in 2024 — quartz counters, new cabinetry, pendant lighting, and stainless appliances in the kitchen; both bathrooms rebuilt, with a walk-in tiled shower and dual vanity in the primary; new flooring throughout; and a custom fireplace in the living room. The water heater is a 2025 Rheem, the AC ductwork was replaced in 2024, and the two-car garage has epoxy floors, which makes it a fair home-gym candidate. Four bedrooms all on one level, no interior steps, and quick access to Gattis School Road, SH 45, and 130.
See the listing →
🪨 Poll of the Week
Kenney Fort Boulevard is named after Williamson County's very first settlement, a stockaded fort built on Brushy Creek in 1839. Which piece of Texas history happened there?
That's a wrap for this week. If you make it to Fiesta Amistad on Saturday, hit reply and tell us which food booth was worth the line — we're building next year's plan early. See you next Wednesday! 👋
-Doing Round Rock Team
🪨 Trivia answer: The Texan Santa Fe Expedition! Dr. Thomas Kenney and Joseph Barnhart built Kenney's Fort on Brushy Creek in 1839 — a blockhouse and a few log cabins inside an eight-foot stockade, the first settlement in what became Williamson County. In 1841 the Santa Fe Expedition assembled beside it before marching west, and in 1842 the Archives War ended nearby when the Republic's records were surrendered and hauled back to Austin. The fort was abandoned by 1852; a 1936 marker stands on Palm Valley Boulevard, and a newer one sits near the original site in Concord at Brushy Creek. That's the Kenney the boulevard is named for. Read more →
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