Here's your weekly Keller recap.

Kroger is moving across the intersection, and the old store closes

The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to approve a permit for a roughly 100,000 square foot Kroger Marketplace with a gas station at 1025 Keller Parkway, the northeast corner of Keller Parkway and Rufe Snow behind the CVS. This answers the question the city's notice left open two weeks ago: it's a move, not a second store. Kroger's presentation says the 34-year-old store at 976 Keller Parkway on the southwest corner would close. "It's cheaper to build a brand new store," said John Votava, Kroger's director of corporate affairs, on why they aren't just renovating. Commissioners Erin Pfarner and Michelle Sandoval Cabanas voted no, and both the public comment and the commission discussion ran long on traffic, since the site sits across from Keller High School and the KISD Athletic Complex. The other thing people asked about is what happens to the building Kroger leaves behind. Resident Nathaniel Dunning pointed at the Big Lots space that's been empty since early 2025 as the cautionary tale. Kroger senior construction manager Craig Winkler said the company owns the property and "it's not in our interests to have an empty building sitting there." City Council takes it up October 6. Nothing is final until then.

31 brownstones on North Main cleared unanimously

The same night, the commission unanimously recommended the Samantha Springs Commerce rezoning at 800 N. Main Street, turning 15.63 acres into a mixed-use planned development with 31 brownstone homes plus commercial space. Three existing buildings stay and get reused: the Shannon Brewing Company building, closed since 2023 and slated for a new brewery tenant, the Harvest Christian Center Church, and the old Samantha Springs water bottling plant. That's a rarer outcome than it sounds, since the easy version of this project would have scraped all three. It goes to Council October 6 alongside Kroger.

Still no ruling on the data center

Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick held the injunction hearing Tuesday morning in the 342nd District Court. As of today, no ruling has been posted to the court record, reported by any newsroom, or acknowledged by Keller or Westlake. That means we still don't know whether the block on Westlake's development agreement continues or lifts. Do not read anything into the September 8 date passing. Westlake's council next meets September 15, which is the first realistic moment the agreement could come back if the restraint is gone.

Five campuses moved up a letter grade, two of them dramatically

The district's board recap confirms five KISD schools advanced at least one letter grade in the state accountability ratings. Caprock Elementary went from a C to an A. North Riverside Elementary went from a D to an A, which the district called an unprecedented jump. The district's preliminary FIRST financial rating also moved from a C to a B. If you're zoned to Caprock or North Riverside, that's a real change in the number that shows up on every real estate listing in your neighborhood.

$2.69 million of your school taxes is going to Austin

Trustees approved an agreement to buy attendance credits totaling $2,690,591, which is Keller ISD's recapture payment back to the state under the school finance formula people call Robin Hood. That money is collected from Keller property owners and sent elsewhere. It's worth knowing that number is sitting there while the district asks for $828 million in November.

The district wants to hear from you about online school

Keller ISD says it's launching a virtual and in-person hybrid program for the 2027-28 school year and is collecting family feedback and interest now, with a deadline reported as Friday, September 18. Filling out the survey doesn't commit your kid to anything. Worth noting the district says families would handle transportation for the in-person days, which is the detail that decides whether this works for most households.

Red Pepper Wok is finally open

After a summer of permitting delays that pushed it about six weeks past its original late-July target, Red Pepper Wok Chinese Kitchen opened September 6 at 1411 Keller Parkway, Suite 300, in the old Buffalo Wild Wings "Go" space at Keller Marketplace. The menu runs to Red Panda wings, Hawaiian honey chicken, bulgogi and family meals sized for two to six people, with gluten-free and vegan options listed. We've been holding this one for four weeks waiting on a source that wasn't the restaurant's own Instagram. It's open.

WORTH EATING: the chicken Parmesan pasta at DeVivo Bros.

New section, no news hook required. DeVivo Bros. Eatery at 750 S. Main Street, Suite 165 lists chicken Parmesan pasta at $16.50 for dinner, crispy chicken over spaghetti in house marinara with mozzarella, Parmesan and basil. It's the kind of thing that survives the drive home, they do pickup ordering, and there's a kids menu for the child who will only eat buttered noodles.

Doggie Dunk at The Keller Pointe
Saturday, September 12 at 405 Rufe Snow Drive. $12 per dog in advance, $15 the day of if there's room. Sessions run by dog weight: under 35 pounds at 9 a.m., 36 to 59 pounds at 10:15 and 11:30, 60 pounds and up at 12:45 and 2. Each session has a best-dressed contest. It's the last swim of the season before the outdoor pool closes.

Keller Farmers Market
Saturday, September 12, 8 a.m. to noon at Bear Creek Park, 400 Bear Creek Parkway. Free to walk in. Produce, meat, bread and crafts, and the playground is right there.

A WWII veteran is speaking at the library
Saturday, September 12, 10 a.m. to noon at Keller Public Library, 640 Johnson Road. Don Graves, who fought at Iwo Jima, is talking about his experience. No registration required. The library's calendar tags this one as adult 19 and up while the description says general audiences, so call ahead at 817-743-4800 if you want to bring a teenager who'd get something out of it.

That's your Keller week. See you next Friday.