Good morning, Justin and neighbors!

The kids are back in school, backpacks are packed, alarms are set—and Texas summer is still showing off. With temperatures ranging from the upper 70s to a sizzling 108° this week and barely a drop of rain in sight, we’re definitely not ready to put away the sunscreen just yet. The last measurable rain was July 19, so if you hear someone celebrating a cloud, mind your business. 🤣

But there’s a little change in the air. School is back, football season is gearing up, and fall events are starting to sneak onto the calendar. The seasons may be changing, even if the thermometer hasn’t gotten the memo.

So grab your coffee, your water bottle, and maybe a hat—and let’s see what’s happening around Justin this week!

If it feels like Justin suddenly went from summer mode to fall is coming whether we're ready or not… you're not imagining it.

The school year is underway, football is kicking off, and there are a few things happening around town worth knowing about.

Grab your chairs, find your favorite Texans shirt and get ready — Northwest football season starts this Friday.

The Northwest Texans open the 2026 season on the road against Flower Mound Marcus on Friday, August 28, at 7 p.m.

Then it's time to bring the action home. The Texans' first home game is Friday, September 4, against Frisco Wakeland at Northwest ISD Stadium, also at 7 p.m.

And if you're already planning your fall Fridays, there are plenty more home games on the schedule, including district matchups against Saginaw Boswell, Keller Timber Creek, Keller and Keller Central.

Basically, it's time for football, Friday night traffic and the annual neighborhood soundtrack of people yelling at the TV.

Something pretty cool is happening at Justin's new Fire Station 2 next week.

The City will hold a Time Capsule Dedication on Thursday, September 3, at 10 a.m. at the new station at 11042 FM 407, and the community is invited.

According to the City, the time capsule will preserve a snapshot of Justin today for future generations to discover — a little piece of Justin in 2026 for the Justin of tomorrow.

It's a simple idea, but we love this kind of thing. Fifty years from now, the people who open that capsule won't just be looking at artifacts from 2026. They'll be getting a glimpse of the people who called Justin home, what mattered to them and what they hoped this community would become.

If you've been following Justin's Truth in Taxation process, here's the latest number to tuck away:

The City's proposed FY 2026–27 total tax rate is $0.658176 per $100 of assessed valuation.

That's a proposed rate — not the final adopted rate. The City's proposed budget is still subject to public hearing, City Council review and final adoption.

A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for September 17 at 4:30 p.m. at Justin City Hall.

We'll keep following this one and bring you the important updates without making you read through a 100-page budget document over your morning coffee.

You know that pile of stuff you've been meaning to get rid of? The old couch in the garage, that broken appliance, the yard debris, or the “we'll deal with it someday” pile in the attic?

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Overhaul Ops also offers discounts for military members, first responders, nurses, teachers and seniors. Discounts cannot be combined or stacked with any other offer.

If you've driven through the FM 407 and I-35W corridor lately, you've probably noticed that Harvest Town Center is starting to look a lot less like a construction zone and a lot more like a shopping and dining destination.

With Tom Thumb now open and restaurants, services and other businesses filling in around it, the center is quickly becoming an everyday stop for residents of Harvest, Pecan Square, Argyle, Northlake and the surrounding communities.

Chuy's Opens August 24

The big one everyone's been watching is Chuy's, which is expected to open Monday, August 24, at 1061 Market Way.

That makes this one of the newest additions to the growing Harvest Town Center lineup — and we're guessing there will be plenty of people ready to put the new Tex-Mex spot to the test.

Nothing Bundt Cakes — Coming This Fall

Nothing Bundt Cakes is also on the way. Construction is underway at Harvest Town Center, with the current state project filing showing a projected completion date of September 28, 2026.

So, barring construction delays, expect to see the bakery arrive this fall.

Wingstop — Coming Soon

Wingstop is also joining Harvest Town Center at 1050 Market Way, Suite 140.

Construction was originally expected to wrap up in August, but we haven't found a confirmed grand-opening date yet. So for now, we're sticking with "coming soon" rather than putting a date on the calendar that may not hold.

Chipotle — Coming Later in 2026

A new Chipotle is also planned for the center, adding another quick-service restaurant to the corridor. Construction is underway, but there isn't a confirmed public grand-opening date yet, so we're calling this one a late-2026 arrival rather than promising a specific day.

Bank of America — Expected in 2027

And it's not all restaurants.

A new Bank of America is under construction at the northeast corner of FM 407 and Harvest Way. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation lists construction from July 1, 2026, through February 28, 2027, so early 2027 is the best estimate for now. An official opening date has not been announced.

And yes...there is finally some traffic relief happening

Of course, more businesses mean more people — and that brings us to the question everyone driving FM 407 is asking:

What are they going to do about the traffic?

There is actually some movement on that front.

Denton County approved a roughly $2.06 million FM 407/I-35W "Micro Breakout" project designed to provide some immediate relief at the notoriously congested intersection. The project includes new right-turn lanes, drainage improvements, vehicle deflection walls and pavement-marking changes.

And there has already been a noticeable change. According to Northlake's August update, lane striping beneath I-35W was completed in late July, allowing two lanes of traffic to travel eastbound through the underpass and, for a short distance, westbound as well. Drivers should watch the new pavement markings because the additional lane merges fairly quickly after the bridge.

The longer-term plan is bigger. Denton County and transportation officials have been working toward expanding FM 407 from Gateway Drive to Cleveland-Gibbs Road, eventually taking the existing two-lane roadway toward a six-lane configuration.

So while the traffic situation certainly isn't magically fixed — especially as all these new businesses and neighborhoods continue to grow — there is finally some infrastructure work catching up with the development.

And honestly, that's probably going to be just as important to the future of this corridor as all those new restaurants and shops.

Well, Justin, we've officially reached that sweet spot where summer is winding down, football is firing up, and there’s still plenty of time to get out of the house before somebody asks, “What are we doing tonight?”

And this week, you don't even have to leave the backyard for one of the coolest events on the calendar.

Look up Thursday night! A nearly total partial lunar eclipse will be visible across Texas, with the eclipse beginning around 9:33 p.m. on August 27. At its peak, about 96% of the Moon will be inside Earth's shadow, giving it that eerie reddish-orange “blood moon” look. The partial eclipse continues into the early morning hours of Friday.

So grab a lawn chair, step outside, and look up. No tickets required, no parking lot required, and thankfully, no one has to ask you to bring a covered dish.

Now, let's see what else is happening around the neighborhood this week...

Monday~ Aug 24

Wednesday~ Aug 26

Thursday~ Aug 27

Friday~ Aug 28

Saturday~ Aug 29

Have an upcoming event you’d like to see featured in The Justin Journal? We’d love to hear about it! Send it our way and let us help spread the word around the community.

Submit Your Event Here

When we’re digging into the history of our great area, we come across some pretty interesting things. Sometimes it’s an old photograph, sometimes a newspaper clipping—and every once in a while, it’s a map.

Today, we’re looking at a 1918 soil map of Denton County that gives us a fascinating glimpse of what Justin looked like more than 100 years ago.

The map was created as part of a soil survey of Denton County, but it ended up documenting much more than just dirt. It shows roads, railroads, communities and structures, giving us a snapshot of the area as it existed in 1918.

And Justin is especially interesting.

Look closely and you can see that much of the town's basic layout is still recognizable today. The map appears to show about seven streets running north and south and eight running east and west through the town.

Of course, a lot has changed since 1918. Many of the buildings shown on the map are long gone, but those little dots and symbols give us clues about where homes, schools, churches and other structures once stood.

And one spot really caught our attention.

Southwest of town, there appears to be a structure that may be the Gaston House, the historic home the Justin Heritage Foundation is working to preserve. While we can't say with absolute certainty that the structure on the map is the Gaston House without further documentation, it's certainly an interesting possibility—and another reason old maps are so much fun to explore.

The map is actually much bigger than Justin. Since it was created for the entire county, the larger map also shows other communities, including Ponder, Roanoke and Krum.

Think about that for a minute: when this map was created in 1918, these were small communities connected by dirt roads, rail lines and the people who called them home.

Today, we drive through these same areas and see growing towns, neighborhoods and businesses. But underneath all that growth, some of the original layout is still there.

A map made to document the soil ended up preserving a little piece of our history, too.

And that's one of the things we love about looking back at Justin—you never know what you'll find hiding in an old document.