P. Terry's Burger Stand / 404 S. Lamar Boulevard
The first P. Terry's is here, opened in 2005 in a former Short Stop location.
Going back in time, this was a Youngblood's Fried Chicken from 1949 to 1969 when it was became a location of the short-lived Mickey Mantle's Country Cookin' restaurant chain, which gave way to Catfish Creek by 1970, and by 1972 it became Rainbow Inn. (There's a Facebook post with the restaurant here, with the picture in question archived here in case the page disappears or you don't want to use Facebook. In 1986 the restaurant closed with Short Stop, a drive-through hamburger shop (part of a chain that still survives in the Austin area) opening in 1990.
7-Eleven / 1403 S. Lamar Boulevard
This was RaceTrac from 1999 to 2005, then became "On the Move" with Texaco. 7-Eleven took over the store in 2009, then switched to the Mobil brand in 2015. It looks like one of those Raceway stores 7-Eleven took over in the early 2020s, but it's not.
Public Storage / 1710 S. Lamar Blvd.
This used to be A-1 Self Storage, but in the late 2010s it was demolished and replaced with a modern Public Storage location.
Office Depot / 2101 S. Lamar Blvd.
This was Safeway from 1965 to 1989, then converted to AppleTree when it closed in early 1994. It was not converted to Randalls despite being purchased by them. In 1998, Office Depot moved in, and in 2010 the space was downsized and reconfigured for a CVS/pharmacy sub-lease, which also added a drive-through pharmacy.
Hattie B's / 2529 S. Lamar Blvd.
Also known as Hattie B's Chicken or Hattie B's Hot Chicken, this Austin regional restaurant replaced the ramshackle but quirky Maria's Taco Xpress (closed in 2020) with new construction. Going back in time, 2529 South Lamar was the home of Village Trailer Park in the late 1950s though on a larger lot, expanding through the back. I believe that the building for Maria's Taco Xpress once served as the office for the trailer park, with the first reference for commercial use in 1996 with Curiosity, "Iron Furniture at Mexican Prices", though references to the trailer park still continued until around 1998. An article when it Taco Xpress opened (the Maria's name came later) mentioned a small adjacent store, "Sugar-N-Spice", though references quickly disappeared.
Matt's El Rancho / 2613 S. Lamar Boulevard
This long-running Tex-Mex restaurant has been operational since 1952.
Sonic Drive-In / 2632 S. Lamar Blvd.
Austin's first Sonic has been here since 1975. Same building, too!
Grata's Pizzeria / 2700 S. Lamar Blvd.
Opened January 1967 as Burger Chef and continued to operate until 1978. In 1979 it became Appliance & TV Sales & Services Inc., but in 1981 it became Young's Texicalli Grill (sandwiches, baked potatoes, soup, etc.) before relocating out in 1985. In February 1986, Kerbey Lane Cafe moved here, opening a second location (not on Kerbey Lane) but in August 2011 Kerbey Lane Cafe "South Lamar" moved down the street and vacated this location. Gourdough's Public House, based on a food truck selling donuts, opened in October 2012 (cool sign, too), but after a decade-long run, closed in November 2022. Grata's Pizzeria opened 2023.
7-Eleven / 2820 S. Lamar Boulevard
7-Eleven gas station and convenience store, the vacant space next door was The Money Box. From what I can find, this opened in 1984 as a 7-Eleven, with the space next door originally hosting Chief Auto Parts, a retail store that Southland Corporation owned until 1988 (it looks like it may have closed before they sold it off to an investment group).
Advance Auto Parts / 3110 S. Lamar Boulevard
In the late 2000s this was the closed "Austin's World of Rentals", before becoming Main Auto Parts (an Auto Plus franchisee) and at some point between 2011 and 2016 changed hands to Advance Auto Parts.
The Broken Spoke / 3201 S. Lamar Blvd.
Long-running nightclub and restaurant since 1964. See the Wikipedia article.
Groves South Lamar / 3607 S. Lamar Blvd.
This used to be the site of a Golden Corral, which moved to 7300 Interstate 35 South in spring 2015. A few years later it was redeveloped into a new bughive apartment building, Groves South Lamar. In 2025, Grove Basket, a convenience store, opened on the lower level.
In-N-Out Burger / 3701 S. Lamar Blvd.
Wendy's was built here in 1995, but sometime around January 2015, Wendy's closed and was knocked down for In-N-Out, with a completely redeveloped lot. In-N-Out Burger opened in October 2016.
Red Lobster / 3815 S. Lamar Boulevard
Red Lobster originally opened here in 1981, the facade was modified around the late 2000s.
Olive Garden / 3940 S. Lamar Blvd.
Olive Garden opened in 1986 after it was built in 1985 as a very short-lived Chi-Chi's.
4001 S. Lamar Blvd.
This strip mall started out as Kmart #4365 operating from 1971 to 1996 (see Bluepages Wiki). Following this, it was eventually sub-divided into five smaller tenants. From left to right, there was Wells Fargo (see 3949), Hancock Fabrics, Savers (opened 1999), Harbor Freight Tools, and Lack's Furniture (opened 1997). Eventually these gave way to Wheatsville Food Co-Op (opened 2013) as Wells Fargo rebuilt, Twin Liquors (after Hancock Fabrics closed), Goodwill (opened 2019 to replace Savers, which closed shortly before; moved from 2800), and LA Fitness, which opened a few years after Lack's closed in December 2010. Harbor Freight Tools is still there.
Austin Emergency Center / 4015 S. Lamar Blvd.
Furr's opened in 1982 as a cafeteria but closed around 2009-2010 as a buffet. Around 2014 it was renovated and reopened as Austin Emergency Center.
4024 S. Lamar Blvd.
Until the mid-2020s this was an operational restaurant, The Park on South Lamar. It originally opened in 1983 as Austin's second Fuddruckers restaurant. Around the late 2000s it closed (with a very outdated logo) and reopened as The Park on South Lamar in 2014.
Hobby Lobby / 4040 S. Lamar Blvd.
Hobby Lobby takes up the main portion of 4040 S. Lamar Boulevard (the rest is ROK Golf and a few vacant spaces). This used to be Mervyn's from 1983 to 2006. The store was halfway between the two malls of Westgate and Barton Creek Square.
Pinthouse Pizza / 4236 S. Lamar Blvd.
From 1983 to February 2013 this was a Chili's restaurant, but I know it best as Pinthouse Pizza, easily one of the best pizza restaurants I've had in the last 10 years. Of course, good conversation and good company made it all better. We got the "Honey Pear" (yes, it had pear slices and honey) as well as something more traditional with pepperoni. (Definitely more unique and tastier than Chili's).
Arby's / 4411 S. Lamar Blvd.
This Arby's originally opened in 1972 and was the last "Big Hat" Arby's location in Austin. Sadly, in late 2020 the sign was dismantled & removed as part of the restaurant's closure. In 2021, the building was demolished and rebuilt as a new Arby's...but the sign did not reappear.
Cavender's Boot City / 4435 S. Lamar Blvd.
Cavender's Boot City opened in July 1994. This was H-E-B (#39) from 1970 to 1986 and briefly Federated, but it appears it was vacant in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
4477 S. Lamar Blvd.
This was once a Woolco that operated as part of the Westgate Mall from 1970 to 1983. In 1983 it reopened as a Wilson's catalog showroom and converted to Service Merchandise in 1985 before closing in 1996. The current tenants here include Central Market (opening originally in 1999 and briefly closing in 2006 for a renovation), Whole Earth Provision Co., Skandinavia Contemporary Interiors (formerly Bealls), and other tenants on the west side of the building (built after Westgate's demise). Genghis Grill was at suite 400 (the strip mall portion) but has since closed.
LongHorn Steakhouse / 4809 US-290
This was originally the home of Red Robin from 2005 to 2011. The building was demolished in early 2012 to make way for a new LongHorn Steakhouse site.
South Towne Square / 4970 US-290
This is another shopping center where all the stores, even the big ones, have the same address, which is annoying as far as research purposes go. The big stores here, from east to west, are Spec's, Sam's Club, and Best Buy. The Spec's was an Academy sporting goods store from 1999 to 2006 (moving to 5400 Brodie Lane, which used to be a Home Depot store before they moved to a larger location) and in December 2006, became a Spec's Liquor store. It is part of the chain's entry into Austin and the largest Austin store at around 50,000 square feet. The Sam's Club opened in 2001 and originally opened in 1992 as Builders Square, a home improvement chain owned by Kmart. Under new management it was rebranded as Home Quarters before it closed for good in fall 1999. The Best Buy is original, having opened in 1991 and still here to this day. The PDF of the center is here (mirrored from here). The Applebee's closed May 2024.
Walmart / 5017 Highway 290 West
This Walmart Supercenter (at Mopac Expressway and Highway 290) opened in April 1994 as store 2133. Around 2008 it was converted to a Supercenter by expanding it on both the east and west sides.
Cabo Bob's Burritos / 5033 US-290
Although it faces Loop 1, Cabo Bob's has a US-290 address. This was originally a Burger King, which opened in 1995 but closed around late 2016. Later, it became Taco Ranch (a spin-off of P. Terry's, a UT-area location failed and was later converted to a normal P. Terry's) and remained the only restaurant of its type before closing in October 2023. Cabo Bob's opened a year later.
5128 US-290
Historic address for Safe Way Rental Equipment. Sometime around the early 2010s (or late 2000s) this closed and was replaced with a large Extra Space Storage building (opened 2019?) at 4518 Boston Lane.
At Home / 5151 U.S. Hwy. 290 West
This store originally opened as Garden Ridge (#32) in 1999 and was renamed as At Home sometime around 2014-2015.
Public Storage / 5220 US-290
This Public Storage facility has been here since at least 2003 (but not for many years before that).
Heart of Texas Motel / 5303 US-290
This motel has been under this name for years. In 1965 it opened and in 1985 there was an article about it as a small business. Some of the buildings were demolished by 2002 due to highway construction and the pool appears to have gone defunct in the early 2020s.
Plaza 290 West / 5316 US-290
This office building includes, as of 2025, FirstService Residential, Artenika, State Farm, ISP, and United Fitness Partners.
South Austin Marine / 5340 US-290
Long-running boat dealership since at least the 1980s.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car / 5350 W. US-290
The old place here, QSI Truck Sales, went defunct around 2015 and was replaced with another truck dealer with a temporary building before being redeveloped as an Enterprise around 2017.
Exxon / 5445 W. US-290
This Exxon features 7-Eleven (formerly home to Tigermarket, which it purchased. From what I can find this was built around 2000 as an Exxon.
The Y Program Center / 6036 W. US Hwy. 290
This acts as an auxiliary facility to Southwest Family YMCA at 6219 Oakclaire Drive next door. From old tax records, from approx. 1979 to 1982 this was Oak Hill TV Sales & Service, then G&M Television Sales & Service (until around 1985), then Goldrush Video (briefly), then Murly Square Liquor (1989-1991), then The Hair After (1991), then Oak Hill Liquor from 1991 to 2012 (it had a real neon sign from the road). For a few years in the mid-2010s it was The Biscuit Brothers Fine Arts Farm (then it became its current tenant by the late 2010s).
Shield Wall Range and Training Facility / 6210 US-290
Indoor gun range and firearms store. The current tenant, Shield Wall, has been here since the early 2020s. Until the late 2010s it was Red's 100 Yard Indoor Range, then Bentley's Firearms & Indoor Range.
Hampton Inn & Suites / 6401 US-290
Hampton Inn Austin/Oak Hill opened in 2013. It was originally built behind a blanket of trees with a 300-feet driveway in anticipation of the highway widening.
Circle K / 6412 US-290
This dates back to the late 1980s and was Signature Austin for most of its life until Circle K took over most of Signature's stores in 2012. In mid-2022 the Shell branding it had was dropped and it became a Circle K entirely.
6240 W. Highway 290
Former home to Don's Grass & Landscaping (2005-2014)
6330 W. US-290
In 2025 this had LL Massage & Spa, Pizza Hut, vacancy, and Leslie's Pool Supplies but in April 2026 Google is reporting both Pizza Hut and Leslie's have closed. The vacancy to the right of Pizza Hut hasn't been used in years (since at least 2008).
6340 W. US 290
As of 2025 this includes Nu Interiors (taking up two spaces) and Austin Art of Fitness. In 2011 the tenants were (from left to right) Nail Pro, Felicia's Scrapbooks, and Persistent Threads.
Coleman Express Lube / W. 6410 US-290
In the early 2010s this was a Pennzoil. It may have gone under other names over the years.
6517-6519 W. Highway 290
This was the Big Wheel Truck Stop dating back to the 1950s (at 6517 W. US 290). While it was a Philips 66 in the early 1980s and ulitmately ceased doing gasoline by the mid-1990s, the restaurant continued operations as Vic's Restaurant from the mid-1980s to around 2003 when the property was demolished by TxDOT. (See this blog post by Mixerr Reviews).
6539 W. US-290
Site of a former Taco Bell (#4463) that operated from 1991 to 2003. It was closed and torn down for the widening project, though it wouldn't begin for another 20 years or so. A large tree called the Taco Bell Tree was here and later relocated.
6788 U.S. 290 West
In the mid-1970s this was developed as InterFirst Bank Oak Hill, though within 10 years it had moved. By 1991 it was used as the Crossroads Community Church, though I can't find anything on the address after 1997. It looks like it had moved by that point.
Prosperity Bank / 7001 W. US 290
This bank was built around 2012 and connects to the adjacent Starbucks parking lot.
Starbucks / 7015 US-290
The Starbucks at this location opened in December 2008 according to StarbucksEverywhere.
Oak Hill Plaza / 7100 US-290
This shopping center opened as a grocery store, Tom Thumb-Page to be exact, back in 1980. In 1989 it was sold to Albertsons and quickly reopened as such (Albertsons #4006), but in 2007 the store closed permanently when the chain exited Austin and sold the remaining stores to H-E-B. This one didn't reopen as H-E-B because of their store across the street.
By 2011, the building was divided between Planet Fitness, a vacancy, and Goodwill. Goodwill expanded into the middle section of the former store, and by the late 2010s, Planet Fitness was gone. The store was then sub-divided further between Emler Swim School, Won's White Tiger Taekwondo, and NAPA Auto & Truck Parts.
I originally wrote about this in Safeway and Albertsons in Texas Blog. It is not just completely outdated, it's also wrong in several areas. There is a somewhat blurry picture of it on this post of Numbered Exits.
H-E-B / 7901 W. Highway 290
H-E-B opened this 90,000 square feet store in Oak Hill in October 2021 to replace the one two miles away (which they had planned to replace since the 1990s).
QuikTrip / 7930 US-290
The east entrance to this QuikTrip (opened 2025) is on the site of 7912, an Exxon with Speedy Stop (until the mid-2010s, then SnaxMax before it closed around 2020 for construction).
Oak Hill United Methodist Church / 7815 US-290
Oak Hill United Methodist Church has been here since 1983.
8556 U.S. Highway 290
The short-lived home of PGH Engineers, completed in 2017 but condemned in 2021 for ROW demolition.
Oak Hill Social Coffee & Cocktails / 8600 U.S. Hwy. 290
This former gas station was originally Buddy's Corner Store for years (with a small Texaco gas station) and in the early 2010s, transformed into Señor Buddy's, a hybrid Mexican restaurant/corner store that served not only tacos but drinks and wines. Their motto was "Mi Casa Es Su Casa," which of course translates to "My House is Your House". In summer 2015, the era of Señor Buddy's came to an end. It was renamed as Graceland Grocery and served up coffee (in addition to Metcalf's BBQ) while the "grocery" part took a further backseat. The gas canopy disappeared around 2020, before it closing in 2023. In 2024 it reopened as its current tenant. It no longer has access to 290.
H-E-B / 12021 US Highway 290
Nutty Brown H-E-B opened in July 2023. It didn't replace an existing store, but it did replace the Nutty Brown Cafe, a restaurant and amphitheater at 12225 W. US Highway 290.
7-Eleven / 12212 US-290
This 7-Eleven (with self-branded gas canopies and Laredo Taco Company) opened in 2021. Austin is no stranger to 7-Eleven, of course!
Ariza 290 West Apartments / 14110 US-290
This apartment complex was under construction in spring 2025 but complete as of May 2026.
