Northwest Austin Restaurant Updates 11/5/26

🆕 Chick-fil-A's newest Central Texas location opened Thursday at Bar W Marketplace, bringing about 70 jobs to the Leander–Liberty Hill line.

🆕 A $4.5 million state filing puts a Fogo de Chão steakhouse on the books for Cedar Park's New Hope Drive corridor, the Brazilian chain's second Austin-area location.

🆕 Dog Haus Biergarten is back open on Whitestone Boulevard under new ownership after a brief closure last month.

🆕 Fogo de Chão (Cedar Park) — The Brazilian steakhouse chain just registered a $4.5 million ground-up build at 1005 E. New Hope Drive, a single-story, 10,178-square-foot restaurant on an existing pad site near H-E-B Center and the CedarView development. Construction is scheduled to run February through August 2027, which puts this firmly in late-2027 territory rather than anything sooner. It'll be the churrasco chain's second Austin-area location, with gaucho-carved meats and the Market Table buffet as the draw.

🆕 Zeytun Grill (Leander) — Pending TABC applications filed September 28, 2026 show the already-open Mediterranean spot at 11880 Hero Way W, Ste 201 is adding a food-and-beverage certificate along with beer and wine service. Community Impact previously confirmed Zeytun Mediterranean Grill opened at this address back on March 24, 2026, so this looks like an established neighborhood favorite rounding out its offerings rather than a new opening. Good news for anyone who's wanted a glass of wine with their kebabs.

On the radar: two state filings still sit at 208–210 N. Brushy St. in Old Town Leander — a two-story restaurant and bar and a café-speakeasy next door — with no operator named yet; Lemberg Roastery & Bakery's Ukrainian-inspired build-out at The Square at Crystal Falls is still targeting early 2027; and just down the road from Fogo de Chão, Haywire's own CedarView pad at 805 E. New Hope Drive is confirmed as a separate project from the steakhouse's 1005 address — same ownership group, two different buildings, no more conflict to sort out.

🆕 Chick-fil-A Bar W (Leander) — The chain's newest Central Texas location opened Thursday, Oct. 29 at 6 a.m. at Bar W Marketplace, with owner-operator David Snow — a former UT football player — at the helm. The dining room runs Monday–Saturday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the drive-thru open until 10 p.m., and the location is bringing about 70 jobs to the Leander–Liberty Hill line. Chick-fil-A kicked things off with a $25,000 donation to the Central Texas Food Bank and a cow-costume freebie on opening day.

🆕 MAJOR UPDATE: Dog Haus Biergarten (Cedar Park) — This Whitestone Boulevard beer garden is back open under new owner Robert Mason after a brief closure last month, serving its signature Haus Dogs alongside burgers, sandwiches and burritos. Mason says he plans to open more Austin-area locations and is starting a Sunday kids'-meal promotion at this one. The nearby FM 620 Dog Haus location, by contrast, is permanently closed — this is now the only one left in the area.

Noubar Ishak spent decades running restaurants in California before he and his daughter Kylie opened Crazy Falafels as a food trailer across from the QT at County Road 214 and Hwy. 29 this July, bringing the Lebanese-Armenian cooking he grew up on to Liberty Hill. Nothing here sits under a heat lamp — kebab plates, gluten-free falafel wraps and Mama's veggie plate are all made to order, with family platters and delivery rounding things out. Three generations now help run the stand, and the neighborhood has taken notice: regulars are already asking when it'll get a brick-and-mortar home. Pro tip: open Wednesday–Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. — call ahead for a catering platter if you're feeding a crowd.

📖 Want the full story on Crazy Falafels — the backstory, hours, and what to order? Read our complete write-up at LocalEats.News/austin-northwest

Nothing new on the trail this week. Pinthouse's New Hope Drive brewpub is still tracking toward the second half of 2027, and San Gabriel River Brewery's Oktoberfest has wrapped for the season.

This week: Brunch

🆕 Sweet Retreat TX Ice Cream (Liberty Hill) — This independent ice cream shop on Hwy. 29 is closing for good Oct. 31, just over a year after opening in 2025. Owner Rebecca Maxwell cited financial constraints, telling Community Impact rising costs and thin foot traffic left "no viable path forward." Gift cards should be redeemed before the doors close.

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