Good morning, Justin and neighbors!

We’ve had a little taste of cooler mornings this week, with temperatures ranging from 73° to 100°, so naturally we’re all ready to declare it fall. We know better than that in Texas.

But the fall events are starting to roll in, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and there’s plenty happening around town. Here’s what’s coming up this week in and around our community! Homecoming games, dances, parades and of course mums are taking over the area too. Check out the remaining dates for our area and what about Texas sized mums?

Did you know Justin has an official naming day?

October 4, 1887 is the date our little town was formally and correctly named Justin.

Before that, on January 25, 1887, a clerical error resulted in the town being recorded as “Justine.” For about nine and a half months, Justine it was.

Thankfully, the mistake was corrected—and Justin has been Justin ever since.

Last year, the City of Justin celebrated Justin Day on October 18 alongside the annual Layne Wilkerson Fish Fry, giving the community a chance to celebrate both Justin's history and the traditions that make this town special.

So here's our question:

What should Justin Day look like every year?

A festival? A parade? A Justin history tour? A scavenger hunt? A special breakfast? A community celebration? Maybe even a little friendly competition involving the name “Justine”?

And we want to hear from you, too.

If you could plan Justin Day, what would you do?

Drop your ideas in the comments. Maybe one of them becomes next year's celebration!

P.S. We know the first store opened here in 1883 and that was an important step in Justin's story. We're not forgetting that history. This particular day is simply about celebrating the date our town was officially and correctly named Justin.

And we're pretty glad that clerical error didn't stick.

Fall doesn't officially arrive until September 22, but the coffee shops, restaurants and bars around us are already serving it up.

Pumpkin is here. Apple is showing up. Maple, chai, caramel and cinnamon are making their annual appearance — and we're wondering if maybe, just maybe, drinking enough fall flavors will convince the temperatures to start falling, too.

We can dream, right?

So we took a little tour around Justin and nearby to see what's showing up on the seasonal menus. (Should we do a Fall Challenge similar to the Justin Spending Challenge?)

Justin Coffee & Trading Co. — 804 W. 1st St., Justin

The fall menu includes Pumpkin Roll Latte, Banana Bread Chai, Campfire Cocoa, Apple Cider Jolt and a Pie Latte Flight with pumpkin, cherry and pecan. There are fall food favorites, too, including a Pumpkin Muffin and Apple Cinnamon Turnover.

Basically, you could stop in for a fall drink and accidentally stay for lunch. We support this.

Higher Grounds — 201 FM 156, Justin

The seasonal lineup includes pumpkin, maple, caramel apple and, most intriguingly, a Kettle Corn Latte. That one has us curious.

Mule Barn Sports Bar & Grill — 218 FM 156, Justin

And fall has officially made its way to happy hour, with seasonal cocktails including the Pumpkin Patch, Caramel Apple Crush, Barnfire, Red Hot Mule and Pumpkin Spice Espresso Martini.

Because apparently even cocktails get to wear a sweater in September.

Hilltop Coffee Shop — 8356 Thompson Rd., Northlake

The fall menu includes Pumpkin Bread Latte, Creamy Pumpkin Cold Brew, Campfire Latte, Caramelized Marshmallow Shaken Espresso, Pumpkin Bread Matcha, Pumpkin Chai Tea and even a Green Apple Shaken Lemonade.

Because apparently fall has officially expanded into every beverage category. We're here for it.

Seven Mile Cafe — 2123 Sadau Ct., Denton

The Flavors of Fall specials include a Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Spice Muffin, Pumpkin Spice Pancake with cream cheese glaze and candied pecans, and Pumpkin Spice French Toast.

We're pretty sure pumpkin spice pancakes count as a perfectly reasonable breakfast.

Plenty of pumpkin, apple, caramel and chai. Cooler temperatures? Still pending.

And we know we've only scratched the surface. If you've found a fall drink, treat or seasonal menu item around Justin or the surrounding area that we missed, send it our way. We'll add your favorites to our list!

If you’ve been craving some new barbecue options around Justin and Northlake, there’s plenty on the way. And while H-E-B may be coming to Denton for the groceries, its barbecue counter is another reason we’ll be watching that opening closely.

First up is BARK’D BBQ, which is planning to bring its pork-free barbecue food trailer to 1911 Beef at 417 N. Sealy Road in Justin this fall. The family-owned business will focus heavily on beef, including brisket and all-beef sausage, with 1911 Beef Ranch to Market serving as its exclusive beef source. The plan also includes outdoor seating, games and space to hang out. BARK’D is hoping for an early October opening, pending its final health inspection. We’ll have a much longer look at the story behind BARK’D and what they’re bringing to Justin as opening gets closer.

Just down the road, Hurtado Barbecue is also moving forward with a new location in Argyle Marketplace near U.S. 377 and FM 407. The restaurant is expected to open in spring 2027, bringing Hurtado’s Central Texas-style barbecue with its Tex-Mex influence to the area.

And then there’s H-E-B. The first Denton store is moving forward at Landmark near I-35W and Robson Ranch Road, with the approximately 133,975-square-foot store expected to include a fuel station and car wash. H-E-B is targeting an early 2027 opening. And yes, we're already thinking about that H-E-B barbecue, too.

So between BARK’D in Justin, Hurtado in Argyle and H-E-B in Denton, barbecue lovers around here have a few things to look forward to. Looks like the brisket forecast for the next year is pretty good.

Fall is starting to show up around town, and there’s plenty happening this week! We’ve rounded up local events, family fun and community happenings to help you plan your week.

Have an event to add? Send it our way! Our calendar is always growing, and we’d love to share what’s happening in our community.

And if Santa’s North Pole Express is on your family’s list this year, don’t sleep on it! Tickets go on sale October 1 at 10 AM and have sold out within minutes in the past. Set that alarm!

Tuesday~ Sep 15

Wednesday~ Sep 16

Thursday~ Sep 17

Friday~ Sep 18

Saturday~ Sep 19

Submit Your Event Here

With Justin Day coming up on October 4, we're digging a little deeper into the story behind the name of our town.

Most people know that Justin was named for Walter Justin Sherman. Some may also know that the town was originally recorded as Justine, apparently because of a clerical error.

But there's another part of the story that isn't nearly as well known: the citizens originally asked for a different name — Helm.

According to a 1946 account in the Denton Record-Chronicle, the State of Texas declined a request to name the town Helm. The records from Justin's earliest years, particularly 1886–1887, are scarce, so it's difficult to know exactly how this part of the story unfolded. We haven't found another early Texas town named Helm, although there was an Elm, Texas, which raises the possibility that a similar name may have already existed or caused confusion.

Whatever the reason for the state's decision, the account says the community's second choice was Justin, and that name was available.

And there's an interesting connection behind the name Helm itself.

Helm was the last name of the father-and-son team who platted the city. Their name is actually preserved on the original plat of Justin — something you may have seen without realizing the connection to the town's early history.

So, while the story we usually hear is simply that Justin was named for Walter Justin Sherman, the path to that name may have been a little more complicated: Helm was proposed, Justin was chosen, and somewhere along the way, “Justine” appeared in the records.

Is the Helm story a piece of history that has been lost over time? Was it passed down and misunderstood? Or will more records eventually help us fill in the blanks?

That's the fun — and sometimes frustrating — part of digging into local history. The further back we go, the more questions we sometimes find along with the answers.

We'll keep digging.

Want to see more about the Helm family and their connection to Justin? You can read more about them in our earlier story here.

As we continue researching Justin's early history, we're treating the Helm account as a historical claim documented in the 1946 newspaper rather than a fact that has been independently confirmed by surviving records.