• AI data center in our backyard
• Get a free big ol’ trash can 
• Dad bod car wash?

 

Here's your weekly Keller recap.

📌 THE BIG STORY

Westlake just approved the site plan for a giant data center next to Marshall Ridge

Westlake's Planning & Zoning Commission approved the site plan for the Circle T data center on August 4 in front of a capacity crowd, after nearly two hours of public comment and more than two hours behind closed doors. Many of the 40-plus speakers were Keller residents, because this thing lands right against the Marshall Ridge neighborhood, with the nearest Keller homes about 506 feet from the building line. The commission attached conditions, including sound barrier walls at least 8 feet high along the entire southern boundary, and the final call now goes to the Westlake Town Council on August 18. No construction can start until a development agreement passes. Keller Mayor Ross McMullin says the city is in full support of Marshall Ridge residents and expects Westlake to treat Keller families with courtesy and respect. Keller doesn't get a vote here, so August 18 is the night that decides it. We'll cover the outcome next week.

🏗️ WHAT'S GETTING BUILT

The city will give you a free 95-gallon rolling trash cart, but you have to ask by August 28

Registration is open for a free 95-gallon rolling trash cart as part of the city's new CWD contract that starts September 1. Sign up at cityofkeller.com/cart by Friday, August 28, and carts start arriving as early as mid-August. One heads-up: CWD won't automatically haul off your old can. If you want it gone, label it clearly as trash and set it out on a regular pickup day.

Eagle Tavern, EV chargers, and a Willis Lane replat all hit P&Z next Tuesday

Four public hearings are set for the August 11 P&Z meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Eagle Tavern wants a permit to run an indoor entertainment facility at 721 Keller Parkway near Bourland, and the city is considering new citywide rules for electric vehicle charging stations. Also on the agenda: a replat of five lots on Calais Drive and Willis Lane, and a sign request tied to Chalk & Steel, the billiards and darts spot building out at 761 Keller Parkway. If you live near any of these, Tuesday night is your chance to speak.

🎒 SCHOOLS & KISD

School starts Wednesday, August 12

KISD's 2026-27 school year kicks off Wednesday, August 12, with a short three-day first week to ease everybody back in. Lock in your drop-off routines and bus plans now, because that first Wednesday morning comes fast. One more date for the fridge: the school board holds a special meeting Thursday, August 13, where the November bond call is expected. Full story next issue.

Last-chance shot clinics Monday and Tuesday

KISD is running immunization clinics Monday, August 10, from 3 to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, August 11, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Education Center Board Room, 350 Keller Parkway. If your kid still needs shots to meet state requirements, this is the last district-run chance before day one. Bring their printed vaccine record and a parent or guardian.

Free and reduced meal applications are open, and reduced-price kids eat free this year

KISD is taking Free and Reduced Meal Applications for 2026-27 online now, and thanks to a state grant, students approved for reduced-price meals get breakfast and lunch at no charge this year. That's real grocery money back in your pocket. You need a fresh application each school year, so don't assume last year's carries over.

🚧 ROADS

Keller Hicks Road traffic shifts the week of August 10, right as school starts

Traffic on Keller Hicks Road is expected to shift onto two newly completed lanes during the week of August 10, with the goal of restoring two-way traffic by December. The overall project is on track to finish in May 2027. If Keller Hicks is part of your school run toward Park Vista or North Tarrant Parkway, expect a new traffic pattern the same week kids go back. Build in a few extra minutes those first mornings.

🍔 FOOD & EATS

HOPS Kitchen + Bar broke ground in Old Town on Tuesday

The Hush Sushi team held their groundbreaking Tuesday at 200 Keller Parkway for HOPS, their "East China meets steakhouse" concept with premium steaks, Chinese food, and a full bar. It's a $3.5 million, 7,200-square-foot build with an opening targeted for summer or fall of 2027. Dirt is finally turning on one of Old Town's most anticipated projects, so a real date-night spot is officially on the way.

Pickleman's is now aiming for late summer or early fall

Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe, the sandwich, soup, and pizza spot building out at 1521 Keller Parkway, is now reportedly targeting a late summer or early fall opening. No firm date has been announced, so don't plan lunch there just yet. It's designed for quick dine-in and takeout, which makes it a natural school-night option once the doors open.

And a quick watch-list update: Red Pepper Wok at 1411 Keller Parkway still hasn't opened. The sign still says coming soon and there's no confirmed date, so we'll keep an eye on it.

🎉 THIS WEEKEND

THIS WEEKEND (Aug 8-9)

Keller Farmers Market — Saturday, August 8, 8 a.m. to noon at Bear Creek Park, 400 Bear Creek Parkway. Free admission. Fresh Texas produce, baked goods, and an easy morning out with the kids before school eats your Saturdays.

Back-to-School Blessing and Breakfast — Sunday, August 9, 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Keller United Methodist Church, 1025 Johnson Road. The organizer hasn't listed a cost. A community breakfast and send-off the morning before school week begins.

NEXT WEEKEND (Aug 14-16)

Kidpreneur Day at the Keller Farmers Market — Saturday, August 15, 8 a.m. to noon at Bear Creek Park. Free to browse. Young entrepreneurs ages 5 to 18 run their own booths alongside the regular market, and it's the most kid-forward market date of the month.

Dad Bod Car and Bike Wash at Three Wide Brewing — Saturday, August 15, afternoon into evening at Three Wide Brewing Co. in Keller. We can't help but picture middle-aged men out there scrubbing tailgates in daisy dukes. We certainly hope that is not the case. Either way, we FULLY support this one: it's a charity car and bike wash benefiting Guardians of the Children, a nonprofit that supports kids who've survived abuse. Pull up, get the truck washed & grab a beer. The money goes to protecting kids.

Full disclosure: I live in Keller (off of 377), and this is a newsletter I do every week for us.

The Keller Weekly: 8/3-8/8

The Keller Weekly

• The biggest tax decision we have faced in years
• One less detour to worry about
• Cute squishy cows.

 

Here's your weekly Keller recap.

📌 THE BIG STORY

KISD's board just moved the $837 million bond a step closer to your ballot

On Thursday, July 23, trustees voted 5-1 to approve the Citizens Bond Advisory Committee's $837 million project list, everything from roofing and HVAC at 34 campuses to a full rebuild of Keller Middle School and new turf on middle and high school fields. Trustee Chris Coker cast the lone no vote, saying he'd rather see a smaller package focused on core repairs. Here's the part worth knowing before you get too far ahead of it: this isn't a done deal. The district's own timeline has administration recommending the board formally call the election on August 13, with early voting Oct. 19-30 and Election Day Nov. 3. If it lands on the ballot as planned, this becomes the property tax question every Keller family votes on this fall.

🏗️ WHAT'S GETTING BUILT

P&Z heard two cases Tuesday night, but results aren't posted yet

The Planning & Zoning Commission held hearings July 28 on a roughly 1,800-square-foot detached garage out on Ottinger Road and a rule change for what kinds of businesses can operate in the Town Center Medical Overlay, the district around Town Center's clinics and offices. Keller only posts minutes once they're approved at the next meeting, so no outcome yet. We'll follow up the second it's official.

🎒 SCHOOLS & KISD

KISD brings back a familiar face to run HR

Sandy Garza is returning to Keller ISD as Executive Director of Human Resources, starting in August. She previously spent nine years in KISD's HR department before leaving in 2021, most recently working for the Town of Westlake and Westlake Academy.

🚧 ROADS

Shady Grove Road is back open in front of the elementary school

The stretch between Rapp Road and Keller Smithfield, closed since July 7 for soil and subgrade repairs, reopened to traffic July 15. Crews found tree roots and expansive clay had undermined the pavement from the 2024 rebuild. Good timing, since Shady Grove Elementary kids are back in the building in a couple weeks.

🍔 FOOD & EATS

Red Pepper Wok's "late July" opening didn't happen

The quick-service Chinese spot moving into the old Buffalo Wild Wings Go on Keller Parkway still has its "coming soon" sign up, and a company rep says no opening date has been set. We'll let you know the second that changes.

HOPS Kitchen + Bar just set a groundbreaking date

The upscale steakhouse and Chinese fusion concept from the Hush Sushi team breaks ground Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 200 Keller Parkway. Don't plan dinner there anytime soon though, they're still targeting summer 2027 to actually open.

🎉 THIS WEEKEND

Keller Farmers Market — Saturday, Aug. 1, 8 a.m. to noon at Bear Creek Park, 400 Bear Creek Parkway. Free. Produce, baked goods, and a playground right there for the kids.

Family Fun: Squishy Animals - Cow — Saturday, Aug. 1, morning session at Painting with a Twist in Town Center. $33 per seat, good for a parent-and-kid morning.

School of Rock Summer Mid-Season Show — Sunday, Aug. 2, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at The Pour Shack, 250 S. Main St. Free, all ages. Student bands running through everything from classic rock to metal.

Full disclosure: I live in Keller (off of 377), and this is a newsletter I do every week for us.
https://news.thekellerweekly.com/p/the-keller-weekly-7-27-8-1

Your trash bill is going up $2.83 a month this fall, the school board met Thursday night to decide what happens to the three schools it's closing, and the city just said no for the third time to a big housing development on 377. Here's your weekly Keller recap.

📌 THE BIG STORY

The school board's biggest night of the summer

Keller ISD's board met Thursday night with a loaded agenda: voting on the citizen committee's list of recommended bond projects, creating a committee to decide the future of district properties (including Bear Creek, Parkwood Hill, and Trinity Meadows, the three intermediate schools closing after this coming school year), and raising student meal prices for 2026-27.

This is the follow-through on May's consolidation vote, the one that moves 4,000+ kids and shifts the whole district to a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 setup in 2027. The district hadn't posted vote results by press time, so keep an eye on the KISD recap page this week. If a bond makes the November ballot, this meeting is where it started.

🏗️ WHAT'S GETTING BUILT

Your trash bill is going up $2.83 a month

The city signed a new five-year deal with Community Waste Disposal, the same company that's picked up Keller's trash since 2010, and starting September 1 the residential rate jumps from $20.14 to $22.97 a month. Your pickup schedule and service stay exactly the same, and there's a new option to get a city-provided 95-gallon cart if you want one.

Council says no to 55 homes on 377, again

The Preserve at Keller Oaks, a plan for 55 houses and two commercial lots on 39 acres at US 377 and Park Avenue, was denied 6-1 on July 7. That's the third rejection for this land since 2024, and opposition letters outnumbered support letters 134 to 70. For now, that stretch of 377 stays exactly as it is.

Two zoning hearings coming Monday night

The Planning & Zoning Commission meets Monday, July 28, on two items: a big detached garage on Ottinger Road, and a change to what kinds of businesses are allowed in the Town Center Medical Overlay. That second one is worth watching since it could reshape what opens in the Town Center area your family already shops in.

🎒 SCHOOLS & KISD

First day of school is August 12, three weeks out

Mark it: classes start Wednesday, August 12, and the last day is May 26, 2027. Fair warning for the supply runs and bedtime resets. District offices are also still closed on Fridays through the end of summer, so plan your calls accordingly.

School board elections are officially in motion

Thursday's agenda included ordering elections for board Places 4 and 5 plus a special election for Place 6, all headed for the November 3 ballot, with a filing deadline of August 17. If you've got opinions about how the district is run, this fall is when they count.

🚧 ROADS

Shady Grove Road detour should wrap up soon

Crews have been fixing a cracked section of Shady Grove between Rapp Road and Keller Smithfield since July 7, with traffic detoured to North Tarrant Parkway and Bear Creek Parkway. The city estimated about three weeks of work, so it should be finishing right about now, just in time for school-year traffic.

Eight Keller streets getting fresh pavement by August

The city's repaving partnership with Tarrant County is in its final stretch, redoing eight local streets including Willis Lane and North Pearson Drive. Expect single-lane closures here and there through late July, then smoother rides after.

Mt. Gilead is still one-way southbound

Water line work has Mt. Gilead running southbound-only between Robin Drive and Bancroft Road, with northbound traffic detoured to Bourland. It's part of a bigger improvement project that will eventually add a roundabout and sidewalks, so this one's a long game.

🍔 FOOD & EATS

A Chinese steakhouse is coming to Old Town

The team behind Hush Sushi is building HOPS Kitchen + Bar at 200 Keller Parkway: a $3.5 million, 7,200-square-foot spot pairing aged steaks with elevated Chinese food, plus a speakeasy lounge. Groundbreaking is expected in early August, with an opening targeted for 2027. A real date-night option that doesn't require driving to Southlake.

Quick Chinese takeout coming to Keller Parkway

Red Pepper Wok is building out the old Buffalo Wild Wings Go space at 1411 Keller Parkway, and Community Impact reports it's targeting a late July opening. If it hits that date, you've got a new weeknight pickup option right as school starts.

First Watch is actually under construction now

The popular breakfast chain broke ground at Keller Marketplace in early July, with construction reported to finish in November. Not open yet, but it's real concrete now, not just a rumor.

🎉 THIS WEEKEND

Keller Farmers Market — Saturday, July 25, 8 a.m. to noon at Bear Creek Park, 400 Bear Creek Parkway. Free. Produce, tamales, baked goods, and the playground and trails right there for the kids.

Chess Challenge at the library — Saturday, July 25, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Keller Public Library, 640 Johnson Road. Free. All skill levels, and a nice screen-free hour in the AC.

Dino Dan's Discount Death murder mystery — Saturday, July 25, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the library. Free. A dinosaur-themed whodunit the whole family can solve together. Yes, that's really the name.

Full disclosure: I live in Keller (off of 377), and this is a newsletter I do every week for us.

https://thekellerweekly.beehiiv.com/p/the-keller-weekly-7-19-7-25