Hampton Inn / 4141 Governors Row
The 1999 film Office Space was filmed around this area. The actual "Initch" building is still alive and well at 4120 Friedrich Lane nearby, and this Hampton Inn (Hampton Inn Austin/Airport Area South) looks very much on the outside as it did in the film, where it can be seen in a few exterior shots.
Pinthouse Brewing / 2201 East Ben White Blvd.
Owners of the Pinthouse Pizza restaurants (mentioned on this page), this location doesn't serve pizza (only sandwiches and bar snacks) but is their main production center.
Public Storage / 2301 E. Ben White Blvd.
This was built in the mid-2000s on the site of traditional self-storage units and has been a Public Storage since at least 2007.
Public Storage / 2401 E. Ben White Blvd.
Two spaces down is another Public Storage location, built around 2016-2017. It was originally a CubeSmart but became Public Storage by July 2019 it was another Public Storage.
Motel 71 / 2500 E. Ben White Blvd.
Motel 71 appears to be out of a different era, though it was only built in 1983. It has, however, kept its name since then (though appears to have actually opened in 1984).
McDonald's / 4501 East Ben White Blvd.
In addition to access to access from Ben White, this restaurant is also accessed from a wide right of way that used to be Burleson Road before it was bisected and rerouted by the freeway construction. The restaurant itself was rebuilt in 2010.
Catfish Parlour / 4705 E. Ben White Blvd.
Catfish Parlour (aka Catfish Parlour South according to Google, not to be confused with other locations in Austin) originally was in a separate building fronting Ben White Boulevard since the mid-1970s. After it was torn down for highway construction, the restaurant converted part of 4606 Burleson Road (a warehouse behind it) into their new space (keeping their old address). Just south of this is a post office at 4516 Burleson Road which is not accessible via Ben White.
Casa Moreno's / 5001 East Ben White Blvd.
Furnished with cowgirl portraits and custom-painted tabletops, Patsy's Cowgirl Cafe operated here from 2007 to 2020. The owners indicated that it would reopen as a new concept but ultimately that would be foiled by something that started around March 2020 (no guesses). By 2021, Casa Moreno's moved into the spot from a different location.
Public Storage / 5016 E. Ben White Blvd.
Yes, there is a THIRD "Public Storage" on Ben White Boulevard less than a mile from the other two. This one is just a traditional "rows of garage doors" self-storage facility. It has been here since at least 1995 and gone under the Public Storage name since at least 2008.
Howdy Honda / 5519 E. Ben White Blvd.
Howdy Honda has been here since around 2007 (relocated from 4110 Santiago Street to the west, west of I-35). On the other side of the freeway is a sprawling office park that used to be the home of AMD and its associated buildings.
GhostLine Kitchens / 3400 Comsouth Drive
At its core, GhostLine Kitchens (opened around 2021) is basically a shared-use commercial kitchen for entepreneurs and start-ups. There is a food pick-up area on the consumer end.
Valero / 6009 East Ben White Blvd.
A very small Circle K (formerly a Corner Store) is tucked under the canopy of this gas station.
Jack in the Box / 6133 E. Ben White Blvd.
This Jack in the Box restaurant since around 2000.
Wendy's / 6210 East Ben White Blvd.
Wendy's opened in 1998, and because of a longer driveway avoided any problems when Highway 71 became a full freeway.
7401 E Ben White Blvd.
This building houses Austin-based Data Foundry's "Austin 1" data center. It occupies suite 1000 but it isn't clear if it occupies other parts.
La Quinta Inn & Suites / 7625 E. Ben White Blvd.
La Quinta Inn Austin Airport opened in early 1999, an early adopter of Austin-Bergstrom Airport.
Exxon / 7715 E. Ben White Blvd.
It appears this Exxon was an "On the Run" station before being sold to Tigermarket, which in turn became 7-Eleven by the early 2010s.
Waffle House / 7809 E. Ben White Blvd.
This Waffle House opened in 2015 and has since restored its 24 hour service.
Royal Palms / 7901 East Ben White Blvd.
At the southwest corner of Ben White and US-183 sits this mobile home park, a relic from the days when Highway 71 and US-183 was a cloverleaf junction on the east side of town with not much going on beyond it besides the Bergstrom Air Force Base near Del Valle.
P. Terry's Burger Stand / 1551 E. Hwy. 71
Joining a long-standing Mr. Gatti's (well, at least it was at the time, see next entry) was Austin-based P. Terry's, in summer 2018.
Le Rouge Lingerie / 1555 E. Hwy. 71
Mr. Gatti's (briefly "Gatti's Pizza") was at this site since the 1970s.
In 2020, Mr. Gatti's Pizza closed...but not because of COVID! The then-franchisee, Three Dough Boys, filed for bankruptcy. In late 2021, Le Rouge opened. Even though it says Le Rouge on the roadside sign and is listed as "Le Rouge Boutique", the sign on the actual building is "Dreamers".
The airport parking lot at 1600 E. Hwy. 71 across the street (formerly Parking Express prior to around 2009, now The Parking Spot West). Sometime around late 2012/early 2013, the connection between the parking lot and Brandt Drive (where the then-Mr. Gatti's was) was sealed off, making it impossible to go across the highway or turn left into either point or out of either point.
Valero / 2001 E. Hwy. 71
In 2008 this was still a Diamond Shamrock with an outdated store with just a few uncovered pumps--it's very rare to see gas pumps that are not under a canopy like most gas stations are. Surprisingly, it was converted into a Valero with Corner Store, and although Circle K did not convert it (selling it to "Fast Market") it remains one of the few gas stations without any sort of canopy over the pumps.
2401-2403 Highway 71 East
Currently, 2401 is occupied by "Montop Studios", but is the home of smoke shop of Montop Pop 'N Stop (smoke/novelty shop) and Montop Cutz Barber Shop. From 1989 to around 2018 it was a Subway (Subway did not update their signage for a long time, not until 2012) and from 1979 to the late 1980s it was Del Valle Florist. 2403 was originally (since the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s) was Ballard's Drive-In Grocery, then Loves Flowers (late 1980s to mid-1990s), Airport Liquor (1996-2002), Round-Up Liquors (2002-2007), then by 2014 "SuperShuttle.com" opened in the former liquor store (it was vacant for a while), though pickup was at the airport. Around 2018 it left (with Subway) and has been Henry's Barbecue since 2021. That's the best I could piece together this building, at least.
Starbucks / 2401 Cardinal Loop
StarbucksEverywhere reports this as opened in January 2019. It replaced an Exxon gas station (later converted to Mobil) that operated from 1995 to 2003.
Exxon / 2777 E. Highway 21
A gas station with "AirPort Xpress Mart", opened around late 2017. The gas station replaced a much older gas station (dating back decades with a limestone brick building) with "Hwy 71 Food & Fuel", a de-branded Exxon itself.
Like most modern gas stations, it has a lease space; as of 2022 this is occupied by "Cer-Bella Studio", a beauty salon.
3119 Hwy. 71 E.
This Sonic closed in late 2016 or early 2017, and there's not much left of it anymore except a small cinderblock building here. It originally opened in 1986.
CVS/pharmacy / 4500 Ross Road
This CVS opened in 2022 (sprawl continues beyond SH-130!) is and branded as "♥CVSpharmacy".
Ewald Kubota / 4715 E. Hwy. 71
This tractor dealership was built in 2014.
4836 East Highway 71
Just east of Navarro Creek Road is a gated-off abandoned driveway that looks like it may have been an active facility at one time. This was NLand Surf Park (later Surf Ranch Austin) which only operated from 2016 to 2018.
Austin Wrench-A-Part / 5055 E. Hwy. 71
This scrapyard has been under this name since 2010, prior to that (since 1994) it was East End Auto Salvage.
American Fireworks Superstore / 5150 E. Hwy. 71
This large fireworks warehouse and store (open seasonally) has been here since the mid-2000s but the sun has almost entirely washed out its once red-on-yellow signage. It is only open from December 20 through January 1st, and June 24th through July 4th.
Chevron / 5300 State Hwy. 71 E
This convenience store and gas station has been here since the 1970s and has been a Chevron since at least 2008 (the bigger sign up went up around the late 2000s/early 2010s, despite the newer, more modern Chevron down the road attached to a McDonald's--see the Bastrop page). It appears it may have had a Subway operate out of it in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Circle K / 2854 State Hwy. 71
By this time Highway 71 isn't a freeway anymore, with a signalized intersection at FM 214. This Shell gained a Circle K in the early 2010s before Circle K made its full-fledged return across most of Texas, and had the slightly older Circle K logo (before their mid-2010s revamp), this has since been updated. In early 2022, the Shell branding was dropped and it became simply a Circle K. The reason why the address is different here is because it's in Bastrop County and the numbering has changed to go west, not east.
Beyond FM 314, is the Bastrop area. Continue to Continue onto Highway 71 here.
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