Target / 8601 Research Blvd.
This was one of the first Target stores in Austin, opening way back in in October 1980. Since then, it's been expanded and remodeled several times. (See the South Austin page for its South Austin counterpart opened at the same time, T-96).
Jim's Restaurant / 9091 Research Blvd.
This Jim's was built in 1974. "The Arch-ive" has several views of the exterior.
Randalls / 10900 Research Boulevard
Officially at suite D, Randalls 2490 opened in 1996 to functionally replace the Simon David at Arboretum Market. It was one of the largest and most upscale Randalls stores in the Austin area when it opened.
Schlotzsky's / 5105 Balcones Woods Drive
Schlotzsky's Deli moved here in 1993, though it was a McDonald's from 1985 to 1991 (McDonald's moved to 10732 Research Boulevard, and presumably gave up this site because of so much parking lost when Research Boulevard was converted to a freeway). In 2018, this was one of the earliest Schlotzsky's locations to be transformed into the new "Schlotzsky's Austin Eatery" prototype, which the chain was to be renamed to (this plan was later scrapped). This is listed with the Research Blvd. entries as it still faces that direction and is easily accessible from it.
Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q / 11570 Research Boulevard
This Rudy's BBQ location opened in 1994. It has a gas station in front (currently a Shell, though it might've been Texaco originally). I do not know what the structure on the south side of the property is or used for.
Academy Sports + Outdoors / 12250 Research Boulevard
Academy moved here in 2001 from 11570 Research Boulevard. This was originally a Wal-Mart (Austin's first, actually) from 1988 to 1997. It moved to 13201 FM 620 Road North with a new Supercenter.
12636 Research Blvd.
This three-building property (building C has two levels) but I wanted to focus on suite A-110. This was Mongolian Grille (link goes to YouTube commercial) from 2001 to 2012. Since then, it was replaced with the similar restaurant Mongo Fire (until around 2018) and has been an Indian restaurant since. Chicha's Fire And Grill opened by the end of 2018 but reused Mongo Fire's awnings (including their website and phone number). Around 2020, this closed and was replaced by India Gate. Prior to Mongolian Grille, it was "Cafe Chino" (Chinese restaurant, 1989-2001, mentioned in this article).
H-E-B / 12860 Research Boulevard
This opened as a Tom Thumb in 1981 and was sold to Albertsons (as store #4018) in 1989. In 2007, the store was sold again to H-E-B. Under Albertsons, there was a minor expansion to the north side. A Jim's in the parking lot (12832 Research Blvd.) has been there since 1982.
Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers / 415 West Martin Luther King Blvd.
Raising Cane's website doesn't have store openings anymore (though it opened approx. September 2013). The store's webpage makes no mention of its most notable feature...a rotating sign! This was carried over from the previous restaurant on the site, Wendy's (here since the mid-1970s), though the sign was physically reduced in size to a simple rectangle instead of the Wendy's-shaped sign.
It appears that the restaurant was extensively renovated from Wendy's (same footprint, even the back) but to what extent is unknown.
P. Terry's Burger Stand / 517 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. After operating in the spot since 1993 when it was built, Taco Cabana closed in 2017, while Taco Ranch opened its second location in the spot in October 2018. In December 2019, Taco Ranch closed as its parent company decided to convert it to a P. Terry's, which opened 2020 as P. Terry's Burger Stand #22.
Galaxy Theatres Austin / 6700 Middle Fiskville Road
On the other side of the Burlington/former Wal-Mart is this movie theater, has been open since 1988 (except for a short period in 2000-2001). The 2005 picture of the theater at Cinematreasures is out of date; it's simply branded as "Galaxy Theatres" these days. (It's 2005 based on the movies showing.) If you visit the "Photos" page on Cinematreasures you can also see a picture of it at night in 2006 (sadly, it looks far less colorful today), where it was one of the relatively few theaters that showed Idiocracy.
Burlington / 6600 Middle Fiskville Road
Part of the retail surrounding the now-defunct Highland Mall, Burlington (Burlington Coat Factory, formerly, but still had/has the name as of 2019) has been here since 1995. From 1988 to 1994 it was Wal-Mart #1185, but was numbered as 6700 Middle Fiskville.
El Rancho Supermercado / 6800 Berkman Drive
This was a Randalls from 1994 to 2012, taking over an AppleTree (which converted from a Safeway, originally opened in 1986). El Rancho opened soon after, with a Jack in the Box being built in the parking lot in 2017 (same address).
Notably, it was the last East Austin store Randalls operated.
H-E-B / 2652 Lake Austin Blvd.
Back in the day, this was a lot owned by University of Texas with a 200-year old pecan tree on the grounds. When Safeway leased the land and announced it was to build a store at what was addressed as 715 Exposition Boulevard, what began as a fight over zoning eventually resulted in a compromise to keep the tree inside, surrounded by the store on all four sides when it opened in 1977. The store was rebranded as AppleTree (must have been confusing since it was a pecan tree inside) in 1989 and reopened in 1994 as Randalls after a brief closure. In 1997, the tree was removed (the roots had rotted). By 2001 the store was renovated to have a floor and a roof where the tree was, but the store closed for good in 2019 when the lease ran out. UT leased the space instead to H-E-B, which rebuilt the store from the ground up. This opened as a 97,000 square foot flagship H-E-B in February 2023.
4400 Shoal Creek Drive
Marked as "Records Management Division" on Google Maps, this mysterious building houses state records, as well as the warehouse for the Talking Book Program. The latter can be partially seen in the opening scene of Idiocracy.
Hana World Market / 1700 W. Parmer Lane
Hana World Market anchors this shopping center (Scofield Crossing, see PDF as of July 2023 archived here.) Hana World Market opened in 2011 and takes up, along with Goodwill, a space originally occupied by Randalls. Randalls had opened in fall 2001, but just over four years later was announced to be closed in a round of closures that took out 26 Randalls and Tom Thumb stores between Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin. This was the only Randalls in the Austin area to close during this closing round. (Similar closures were announced across Safeway's other divisions).
Original Pancake House is at suite 650 and has been here since at least 2004. It is very popular, especially on the weekends.
Bill Miller Bar-B-Q / 8700 US-290
This Bill Miller Bar-B-Q restaurant has been here since 2003. Unusually, the sign and marquee rotate...though this is a little hard to see from Manor Expressway, which was built later.