Howdy, Hutto. This week, we’re looking at a big moment for Hippo Nation: Hutto’s move from one high school to two, and the chance for students to help shape Creekside High School’s early identity. Also inside: Rice Stop is now open, BrewLAB celebrated its grand opening, we’re adding city hall notes to the newsletter, and Fourth of July plans are right around the corner. All of that and more below.

Quick local updates from around Hutto.

Road Rebuild | Exchange Boulevard is being rebuilt from the ground up with new base layers, asphalt, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and a planned roundabout at Live Oak Street.

School Upgrades | Hutto ISD crews are making summer improvements across the district, including new Memorial Stadium turf, a nearly finished 2,000-seat competition gym, campus repairs, and LED lighting upgrades before students return.

New Restaurant | Rice Stop opened June 18 at 210 Ed Schmidt Blvd. in Hutto, serving Chinese and Vietnamese favorites like orange chicken, lo mein, banh mi, vermicelli bowls, and boba tea.

Coffee Shop Grand Opening | BrewLAB celebrated its grand opening and ribbon cutting June 20 at 3333 CR 119 in Hutto, marking its official welcome to the community after a soft opening period.

Student Design Call | Hutto ISD students can submit Creekside High School spirit mark ideas by July 1 to help shape future pride items, apparel, and school-spirit materials while keeping the campus part of Hippo Nation.

Chamber Cruise | The Hutto Chamber is inviting local business leaders and community professionals to join its 2027 networking cruise Feb. 11-15, with prices starting at $457.76 per person.

Chamber After Hours | The Hutto Chamber will host its next After Hours networking event June 30 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Flora Community Clubhouse for local business and community connections.

Fourth Of July | Hutto’s free Independence Day Celebration, American Rhapsody, will bring food trucks, live music, vendors, kids’ activities, and fireworks to Adam Orgain Park on July 4 from 6–9:30 p.m.

Things to do around town from Wednesday through Sunday.

Summer Art Camps | Bonura Studios • 10 AM

Summer Storytime & Craft (ages 3-12) | The Story Emporium & Bookshop • 10:45–11:45 AM

Hutto Farmers Market | 350 Ed Schmidt Blvd • 3–7 PM

Aspiring Authors Workshop | Hutto Public Library • 5:30–6:30 PM

Free Bingo | Hutto Wine Bar • 6:30–7:30 PM

Bookbinding Workshop | The Story Emporium & Bookshop • 5–6:30 PM

Free Soccer Clinic | Riverwalk Soccer Fields • 6:30 PM

Mixology Class (Prohibition Era Cocktails) | Grapes & Rye • 7 PM

Grand Opening | Swig Hutto • 8 AM–10 PM

Mixology Class (Prohibition Era Cocktails) | Grapes & Rye • 7 PM

Silent Disco | Cottonwood Creek Brewery • 8:30–11 PM

Teen Field Trip to Typhoon Texas | Hutto Elementary School • 10 AM–4 PM

Clothing Swap | Cottonwood Creek Brewery • 12–3 PM

Stained Glass Workshop | Cumberland Road Art Studio • 3–7 PM

Dungeons & Dragons One-Shot Adventure | The Story Emporium & Bookshop • 3–7:30 PM

Evening Vendor Market: Sip and Shop | Grapes & Rye • 5–9 PM

11th Annual Chris Kelley Memorial 5K | Adam Orgain Park • 7–10:30 PM

Williamson County Amateur Radio Club Field Day 2026 Event | Bliss Ranch • Until 1 PM

Stuffed Animal Tea Party | The Story Emporium & Bookshop • 1–2 PM

For most of Hutto’s modern story, being a Hippo has meant one thing.

One high school. One team. One set of Friday night lights. One shared color in the stands. One place where generations of students, parents, teachers, coaches, and neighbors could point and say, “That’s us.”

But Hutto is growing, and with that growth comes one of the biggest shifts a school district can make: moving from a one-high-school town to a two-high-school town.

Creekside High School, Hutto ISD’s second comprehensive high school, is scheduled to open for the 2027–28 school year as the district expands the current Ninth Grade Center into a full high school campus. That may sound like a facilities update on paper, but for a community, it is much bigger than a building.

Second high schools change towns.

They create new traditions, new student sections, new rivalries, new band performances, new senior nights, and new memories for families who may have always pictured their kids walking the same halls or playing under the same lights as everyone else in town.

In plenty of Texas communities, that kind of change can feel like a split. Suddenly, there is “our side” and “their side.” Different campuses. Different schedules. Different Friday nights. Different colors in the stands.

Hutto’s story looks a little different.

Instead of creating a brand-new identity from scratch, Hutto ISD is taking a unified approach: Creekside will still be Hippos, still part of Hippo Nation, and still tied to the orange and navy that already represent the district. It gives the new school room to build its own traditions without cutting it off from the identity that makes Hutto feel like Hutto.

That balance matters.

Because yes, Creekside will need its own personality. Students deserve that. Every school needs its own chants, inside jokes, senior traditions, hallway pride, and game-day energy. But it is also meaningful that Hutto is not asking students to choose between being Creekside and being Hippo Nation.

They get to be both.

That is what makes this moment feel so special. Hutto is not just opening another campus. It is trying to grow without losing the thing that has always made this town recognizable: the shared Hippo identity that shows up on school signs, local businesses, painted statues, T-shirts, stadium seats, and front-yard decorations all over town.

And now, students have a chance to help shape what comes next.

Hutto ISD is inviting students to submit Creekside spirit mark ideas by July 1, with designs potentially inspiring future pride items, apparel, student section graphics, and other school-spirit materials. For a student, that is a pretty rare opportunity. Most people inherit school traditions. This first generation of Creekside students gets to help create them.

Years from now, when Creekside has its own history, its own alumni, its own big wins, and its own “remember when” moments, some of the earliest pieces of that identity may trace back to ideas submitted by Hutto students this summer.

That is the fun part about watching a growing town in real time. What feels like a planning update today eventually becomes part of the story people tell later.

Hutto is still a one-high-school town for a little while longer. But the next chapter is already taking shape, and if the district’s approach holds, the move to two high schools does not have to mean two separate communities.

It can mean more opportunities, more traditions and more students getting to build something that lasts.

Still one town. Still one mascot. Still one Hippo Nation.

A quick recap of what Hutto City Council covered last week.

At its June 18 meeting, Hutto City Council approved several road and sidewalk maintenance items, including nearly $1 million in Old Town street repairs for Live Oak, Hutto, West Metcalf, Liberty, and Church streets, while also discussing construction notices for residents and longer-term questions around fire station planning and funding.

Updates from Hutto ISD sports and Hippo Nation.

Hutto ISD is using the summer break to refresh several athletic facilities, including replacing and redesigning the turf at Hutto Memorial Stadium and finishing the new 2,000-seat competition gym that will give Hippo athletes and fans upgraded spaces heading into the 2026-27 school year.

A running list of businesses, restaurants, and developments headed our way.

Swig | 1101 Muirfield Bend Drive • Now open; grand opening June 26

Buffalo Wild Wings | 2270 Muirfield Drive • Expected September 2026

Dollar Tree | 150 Alliance Blvd. • Expected Fall 2026

Petco | 150 Alliance Blvd. • Expected Fall 2026

Antioch Pizza | 199 Co-op Blvd. • Opening 2026

El Pollo Rico | 901 Ed Schmidt Blvd. • Expected 2026

HTeaO | Across from the KFC on Chris Kelley Blvd. • Date TBD

Munch Munch Waffles & More | 170 Alliance Blvd., Suite 100 • Buildout expected July 2026–January 2027

Sprouts Farmers Market | Hwy. 79 and SH 130 development • Construction expected September 2026–February 2028, with opening expected in 2028

Longhorn Steakhouse | Sprouts development at Hwy 79 and SH 130 • Date TBD

Residence Inn by Marriott | 328 Ed Schmidt Blvd. • Date TBD

Toyota Hutto | 2160 Innovation Blvd. • Date TBD

Cottonwood Retail Development | Cottonwood Properties • 58-acre retail development planned; tenants and timeline TBD

A look at what weather to expect around Hutto.

Hutto stays mostly sunny and hot all week, with highs climbing from the mid-90s toward the upper 90s by the weekend. Rain chances stay low, and nights remain warm in the mid-to-upper 70s.

☀️ Tue–Wed: Sunny, mid-90s
☀️ Thu–Fri: Hotter, mid-90s
🌤️ Weekend: Steamy, upper 90s
🌔 Nights: Waxing gibbous moon

👉 TL;DR: Hot and sunny

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