Southwest Austin Impacts — February 2010

By Community Impact Newspaper Staff Friday, 26 February 2010

Now Open

SOUTHWEST AUSTIN — 1. In November, Jeremy and Nicole Portwood and Kelly Kerbow Hudson opened Spartan Pizza housed inside a Spartan travel trailer at 8504 S. Congress Ave., Unit 3 next to Red Shed Tavern. Each pizza, panini and garlic cheese stick is made fresh with homemade dough and sauce and baked on-site in an industrial oven. Call 484-0798 or visit www.spartanpizzaaustin.com.

2. It came to owner Jennifer Chionsini-Cortez in a dream: “I wanted to dress the [James] Bond girl: a woman who is brilliant, can wear khakis in the desert or dress up in the casino.” Thus began Bond Boutique at 5700 W. Slaughter Lane, Ste. 250. The store is scheduled to open in late February and will offer casual and dressy clothing, plus denim, handbags and accessories. Call 782-8740 or visit www.bondboutique.com.

3. Owner Laray Clarence opened Nu Edge Realty at 3801 S. Congress Ave., Ste. 115 in December. The business specializes in apartment and condo rentals. Call 441-2100.

4. LifePoint Church celebrates its grand opening on March 7 at its new location at 11300 Old San Antonio Road in Manchaca. The 90-member congregation had been meeting at a hotel for more than two years, waiting for the completion of the new building. Call 762-1396 or visit www.lifepointaustin.org.

5. Mixed martial arts training comes to south Austin with Rubicon Fightsport, which opened December at 8708 S. Congress, Ste. B 220. Classes are available for all ages and skill levels. Call 914-9461 or visit www.rubiconfightsport.com.

6. Attorneys Kervyn Altaffer, Jr. and Sophia Palat opened Altaffer & Palat, PLLC, Attorneys at Law in January. Altaffer and Palat previously worked for a nonprofit law firm in Dallas before opening their own office at 8700 Manchaca Road, Ste. 704. The practice includes business law, litigation, probate, real estate, administrative and public law, among other areas of law. Call 280-7600 or visit www.altafferpalat.com.

7. Plumeria Counseling Center offers counseling and assessment services for individuals, children, teens, couples, families and groups. The center, located inside the Stonegate I shopping center at 2501 W. William Cannon Drive, Bldg. 6, Ste. A, opened in October. Call 344-9181 or visit www.plumeriacc.com.

Melissa Jane is a new online store and catalog company based in Austin that launched in February. The online shop features more than 2,000 home and garden accessories, collectibles and gift items, and will feature works by jewelry makers, sewers and painters who operate on a small business level. Call 888-892-3898 or visit www.melissajane.net.

Relocating

8. WellMed Senior Clinic moved to a larger facility at 706 W. Ben White Blvd. in January. The clinic, formerly located at 1221 W. Ben White Blvd., Ste. B-100, specializes in senior care and offers longer doctor visits, complimentary transportation and an on-site lab. Free exercise classes are also available. The San Antonio–based company has three locations in Austin and 24 in Texas. Call 888-781-9355 or visit www.wellmedmedicalgroup.com.

9. Corporate promotional products company EmbroidMe moved to a larger location inside Brodie Park Shopping Center at 9001 Brodie Lane, Ste. C8. The store had been located at 5400 Brodie Lane, Ste. 235. Call 892-1300 or visit www.embroidme-austinsw.com.

10. The south Austin location of Austin Shaolin-Do Kung Fu and T’ai Chi moved to a new space at 5214 Burleson Road, Ste. 211. The school, which had formerly been located at 3005 S. Lamar Blvd., offers classes for adults and children beginning at age 4, from beginner to advanced. The school also has a north Austin location. Call 445-7543 or visit www.austinkungfu.com.

New at Arbor Trails

11. Several new stores and restaurants are slated for phase two of the Shops at Arbor Trails, which will be anchored by Mandola’s Italian Market, scheduled to open in March. Construction of phase two began in fall 2009 and consists of three separate buildings, a playscape and picnic tables.

11a. My Fit Foods at 4301 W. William Cannon Drive, Building G, Ste. 300 provides healthy, prepackaged meals and snacks. All items are cooked fresh daily. Customers can dine in or purchase meals to take home. This second Austin location opened in February. Two other area locations are planned. Call 358-0110 or visit www.myfitfoods.com.

11b. Buy or trade new and used video games at Play N Trade at 4301 W. William Cannon Drive, Bldg. E, Ste. 210. The store also sells and repairs video game consoles and accessories, and hosts video game tournaments. The store is expected to open in April. Call 888.768.4263 or visit www.playntrade.com.

11c. The third Austin location of Five Guys Burgers and Fries is scheduled to open mid-April. The East Coast–based franchise offers hamburgers with more than a dozen free toppings, kosher-style hot dogs and fresh-cut fries. Visit www.fiveguys.com.

11d. Cindy Baschnagel, owner of The Little Gym of Austin South, is moving from 4404 W. William Cannon Drive, Ste. N to a new location across the street inside the Arbor Trails shopping center at 4301 W. William Cannon Drive, Ste. E150. The new space will feature a springy gymnastics floor and floor-length windows so parents can get a better view of their little gymnasts. Call 899-3456 or visit www.tlgaustin.com.

Under Construction

12. The Southpark Meadows Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 9801 S. First St. is scheduled to open December 2010. The full-service nursing center will have 120 beds and provide all therapies, as well as transportation. Parent company Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers Inc. has 24 locations in Texas; this will be its fourth location in Central Texas. Call 800-850-2620 or visit www.rnct.com.

13. Construction began this winter for a new campus for Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin at 4701 West Gate Blvd. AOMA’s new 19,000 sq. ft. campus, which is expected to complete in spring 2011, will include classrooms, a student intern clinic, a library, bookstore and retail, herbal medicine center and other amenities. The existing professional clinic, bookstore and retail space at AOMA’s current location at 2700 W. Anderson Lane will remain after the new campus opens. Call 492-3051 or visit www.aoma.edu.

In the News

14. In January, SolarWinds Inc., located at 3711 S. MoPac, acquired Dallas-based Tek-Tools Inc. for $42 million in cash and stock. SolarWinds produces web-based software that manages technology networks. Tek-Tools produces storage management tools, which are also web-based. SolarWinds will maintain many of Tek-Tools’ existing partner relationships and retain senior management and about 60 employees in Texas and India. Call 682-9300 or visit www.solarwinds.com.

15. P. Terry’s Burger Stand is going mobile with a new catering truck. Started in January, the truck serves burgers, fries, soft drinks, tea and oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies; burgers and fries are cooked fresh on-site. The truck will rotate among P. Terry’s three locations, including the store at 4228 W. William Cannon Drive. Call 451-9393 or visit www.pterrys.com.

The U.S. Census Bureau is looking for job applicants to work for the 2010 Census. Workers are paid weekly. Hours are flexible, and training is paid. Call 866-861-2010 or visit www.2010censusjobs.gov.

School Notes

Nonprofit National Center for Educational Achievement recognized 20 Austin schools as “Higher Performing” schools in January. Anderson and Austin high schools; Bailey, Fulmore, Kealing and Paredes middle schools; and Baranoff, Casis, Clayton, Doss, Gullett, Highland Park, Hill, Kiker, Mathews, Metz, Mills, Patton, Sims and Zilker elementary schools made the list. Scores were based on factors including state test scores, demographics, academic improvement and whether the school met federal standards for achievement and progress.

Closing the Doors

16. Image Sun, located at 9300 S. IH 35, Ste. C600 in the Southpark Meadows shopping center, closed in December.

17. San Antonio-based Bill Miller Bar-B-Q closed the location at 1930 W. William Cannon Drive in December. There are five remaining Bill Miller restaurants in Austin.

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