🛒 Trader Joe's Is (Almost) Coming to Frisco

Okay, I need everyone to stay calm, but also not calm at all. Frisco's Planning and Zoning Commission votes July 28 on a nearly 10-acre mixed-use development at Majestic Gardens and Main Street that would finally bring us our first Trader Joe's.

This has been a "will they, won't they" since Trader Joe's first confirmed they were eyeing Frisco back in October. The project has apparently gone through two years of revisions, traffic studies and neighborhood feedback, and the planning commission (which originally recommended denial) is now recommending approval. That's usually a good sign.

I drive past that corner more than I'd like to admit, mentally rehearsing my Trader Joe's shopping list like it's already open. Emily has strong opinions about the frozen mandarin chicken. I have strong opinions about the cookie butter. Our toddlers have strong opinions about the free stickers at checkout. We are all aligned on this one.

The vote happens 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Purefoy Municipal Center, or you can stream it from your couch like a normal person.

A California chain called Ono Hawaiian BBQ opened its very first Texas location on July 24 at 8724 Preston Road in Plano, and yes, that's basically our backyard.

Think Hawaiian plate lunches: BBQ chicken, Kalbi short ribs, chicken katsu, Spam musubi, all served with the classic two scoops of rice and mac salad. There's also a drive-thru, which is the real headline for anyone who has ever tried to unbuckle a newborn and a toddler in a restaurant parking lot in July.

They ran a buy-one-get-one-free deal on opening day, so I missed that window (thanks, nap schedules), but this is officially on the list for a weekend dinner run. My 4-year-old is very team "rice with sauce on it," so I like our odds.

On July 24, hundreds of volunteers gathered right here in Frisco to assemble roughly 3,000 HOPE Kits for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, through the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which is headquartered right here in our city.

Every kit (fuzzy socks, tea, a journal, an encouragement card, the works) was already funded and shipped out the same day. The part that stuck with me: more than 6,000 women are still on the waiting list for future kits. This organization runs these packing events about five times a year, so if you're looking for a way to get plugged into something that matters, this is a genuinely easy way to do it as a family or on your own.

I'm not much of a crafts guy, but I could absolutely see this being a Saturday morning volunteer activity once the kids are a little older. Filing that one away.

⚡ New EV chargers in Frisco. Ionna opened a 10-bay charging station at 7946 SH 121 in front of Ferguson Home, with both NACS and CCS connectors. As a fellow Chevy Bolt owner navigating the joys of Texas summer range anxiety, I'll take it.

🏈 The Star just changed hands (sort of). Jerry Jones' real estate arm sold the 17 Cowboys Way office tower at The Star to a Massachusetts firm making its first Texas move. The building's 98% leased to tenants like Fifth Third Bank and Wells Fargo, so don't expect anything to look different next time you're grabbing coffee down there.