By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

Black Walnut Cafe opened this morning in Four Points, its first restaurant outside of the Houston market.

Black Walnut Cafe’s Joe Brassard, vice president of operations, and Cisco Marquez, district manager, put the final touches on their newest eatery in River Place.

“Four Points fits our model – churches, schools, residents, businesses. We target a community-type environment,” said Joe Brassard, vice president of operations.

The upscale, fast casual restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and has close to 100 items on the menu, all made from scratch.

Located in River Place at 10817 RM 2222, Black Walnut is decorated with wood paneling, high back chairs and belt driven fans. It has a dog-friendly patio too, the chain’s first.

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By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

A committee acting for Leander ISD has proposed a change to the elementary school attendance boundaries which could affect up to 436 current Four Points students if approved by the school board in December.

The committee, made up of 25 residents selected through a blind process from over 200 who applied, has been crafting the district’s options over the last several months.

District-wide, 2,326 students are affected under the committee’s proposal. The district is dealing with extreme asymmetric growth, with the far north and northeast greatly outpacing the south including Four Points. This reality forces the district to push attendance zones ever-southward because there is a lag in how many elementary schools exist or are planned to be built in the far north.

In Four Points – coincidentally – the exact same scenario is playing out. The northern area of the Steiner Ranch peninsula is expected to add considerably more students. This makes the district examine how best to accommodate it using the three schools available.

Thus all the students affected attend elementary schools in Steiner Ranch. The committee recommended the following changes in Steiner Ranch which will affect 436 students:

• Summer Vista students who attend Laura W. Bush Elementary today will move to River Ridge Elementary.

• Hancock Hill students who attend Bush today will move to Steiner Ranch Elementary.

• Students living in the University of Texas Golf Club and who attend River Ridge Elementary today will move to Bush.

• Students in the Savannah neighborhood are not affected.

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By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

The Austin Diagnostic Clinic in Quinlan Crossing is about a month away from opening and has announced its onsite primary and specialty care physicians.

“The project should see landscaping next week and the clinic will be accepting patients on Dec. 2,” said project manager James McMains of DCA Construction.

The exterior of stone, stucco and anodized tin sheets is nearly complete but the interior lags behind.

“The biggest delays are caused by last-minute changes to the project,” McMains said. “Sometimes doctors come in and notice things they want to change, and that causes a ripple effect.”

Final touches are being put on the 12,000-square-foot Austin Diagnostic Clinic being built in Steiner Ranch at Quinlan Crossing. ADC expects to open in the first week of December.
Photo by Rich Keith

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By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

Two Four Points businesses are among the 50 fastest growing companies in Austin: QualTech Automotive and Square Cow Movers, LLC.

Ranked at No. 9 and No. 15 respectively, Square Cow Movers, LLC and QualTech Automotive have both grown over 60 percent since 2010. And they have done so during an unprecedented global economic slowdown.

Both businesses are owned by Steiner Ranch residents with multiple ties to the community including supporting local charities and organizations. Both feel a deep appreciation for the customers who have made their growth and success possible.

Local business owners Billy Leavings with Qualtech Automotive and Wade Lombard with Square Cow Movers, LLC have each grown their companies over 60 percent since 2010. They recently were named two of Austin Business Journal’s fastest growing 50 companies in Austin.

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By RICH KEITH, Four Points News

A pharmacy chain store and a 4-story hotel are proposed to be built at the main Four Points intersection of RM 620 and RM 2222. CVS Pharmacy has a purchase contract to buy one of two lots on the property where the abandoned convenience store sits, according to Jim George of GDF Realty Investment, Ltd. in Austin.

“We are trying to get approval from the City of Austin Planning and Development office to merge two properties into one and site two buildings there,” George said.

The 24-hour pharmacy would be built first, followed by the proposed hotel.

Photo by Rich Keith
CVS Pharmacy has a purchase contract to buy one of two lots on this property where the abandoned convenience store sits at the main Four Points intersection of RM 620 and RM 2222. A 4-story hotel is also in the site plan, sources say.

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