The Head and the Heart will headline Austin\u2019s New Year\u2019s party at Auditorium Shores on Dec. 31 from 7pm to midnight. Local stars Chaparelle, Tam\u00e9ca Jones, and the Point will also perform at the free, family-friendly event hosted by the city and Visit Austin, alongside a drone show and, of course, a fireworks finale to welcome 2026. Head to the lakefront early to get a seat for the spectacle and a bite to eat from local food truck vendors along the shore, or you can tune in to CNN to watch the live broadcast from wherever you\u2019re ringing in the new year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Balance Dance Studios and the Hideout Theatre are the latest recipients of the Place-Based Enhancement Program, a city of Austin initiative that invests in local, creative, and legacy businesses to support their expansion and long-term stability. Balance Dance Studios will use its $10.5 million investment over 10 years to expand its South Austin building to include a new performance theatre, green rooms, and multi-use spaces supporting their youth-oriented mission. The Hideout, a 25-year-old coffee-slinging hub for improv theatre that announced plans to move<\/a> from Congress to South Austin complex Art Hub ATX earlier this year, will receive a $700,000 investment to aid in tenant improvements and equipment associated with its relocation. \u201cAustin is home to incredible talent, creativity, and entrepreneurship,\u201d Anthony Segura, interim director of Austin Economic Development, wrote in the press release. \u201cThese are cherished local businesses with strong roots in Austin, and we are proud to encourage community-oriented policies that combine economic growth and tourism with prosperity for our legacy businesses and creative spaces.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Prototype Vintage announced a second outpost at 123 North Loop. The sister location to the South Congress shop will sit just a few doors down from its now-cousin, Room Service, recently purchased<\/a> by Prototype co-founder and co-owner Audrie San Miguel. San Miguel and Emily Larson, the other half of Prototype\u2019s leadership, met at a North Loop block party when San Miguel first worked at Room Service, so the new spot has a sentimental pull for the pair. \u201cWith the new 2nd location, we\u2019re excited to expand our brand of sustainable fashion to locals & will fight to keep the independent spirit of the North Loop neighborhood alive,\u201d they wrote on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s truly an honor to be among other legacy Austin businesses on the block.\u201d Prototype Vintage on North Loop will celebrate its grand opening on Dec. 6 from 6pm-8pm.\u00a0<\/p>\n Birdie\u2019s, Uchi, and Franklin Barbecue were named three of luxury lifestyle magazine Robb Report\u2018s first-ever 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century. The cuisine-crossing trio were the only Texan restaurants to make the list, which was created by an independent jury of 250 chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, ingredient purveyors, and well-traveled diners ranking the 10 greatest restaurants in America by considering the dining experience, staying power, and other nebulous forces that make a restaurant \u201ctruly great.\u201d<\/p>\n JewBoy Sliders welcomed a fifth location inside campus haunt Cain & Abel\u2019s, the very West 24th bar where JewBoy founder Mo Pittle got his start as a bouncer. \u201cAs a proud Texas Alum, this was an exciting opportunity for Jewboy Sliders,\u201d Pittle wrote in a press release. \u201cAs a former employee of the old bar, I knew the heritage and tradition that comes with it. We\u2019re honored to bring our late-night fare back to West Campus.\u201d The new outpost will serve location-exclusive menu items including loaded fries, flautas, and a breakfast-inspired slider.<\/p>\n