The Arboretum Is Growing Along Great Hills Trail, and Almost All of It Is Food

The Arboretum's mailing address is 10000 Research Blvd., but this year's growth has been on the opposite side. Ugly Dumpling opened in June, and Tumble 22 is scheduled to open Saturday, Nov. 7, at a Great Hills Trail address. The building the center's new owner wants to add would front Great Hills Trail, on what is now the north parking lot. Taken together, they turn a long-established shopping center toward Great Hills Trail, and toward dinner.

The proposed building already has its own address

In February 2026, North Carolina-based Asana Partners bought The Arboretum, and its first plan was a general one. Community Impact reported in March that the firm planned work across the 197,105-square-foot open-air property, with site work slated to start in summer 2026 and finish by early 2027.

By late summer the plan had a location. The Austin Business Journal reported on Aug. 28 that Asana is preparing to build a new 13,600-square-foot building for restaurants and retail, with room for two restaurants and the rest in retail. According to the site plan application, it would go up on the north parking lot with frontage on Great Hills Trail, just west of Juliet Italian Kitchen and Ugly Dumpling. No square footage breakdown between the uses has been made public.

The city filing is case SP-2026-0168C, "Asana - Arboretum," at 9811 Great Hills Trail. It describes "restaurant and retail development along with associated improvements." The application started June 3, 2026, and the City of Austin's site plan dataset lists the case as in review. This is a proposal under city review. Construction has not started and no opening date has been announced. For now the north lot is still a parking lot.

The location matters most to locals. A 9811 Great Hills Trail address puts the new building on Great Hills Trail, away from the Research Boulevard side that faces US-183.

The restaurants that got there first

The new building would join a row that's already filling in.

Ugly Dumpling opened June 10 in Building A at 10000 Research Blvd. It's the chain's first Texas location. Its other locations are in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia. Community Impact's opening coverage lists soup dumplings in pork, chicken, crab, shrimp and spinach, plus dim sum, noodles, bao buns and bubble tea. The spicy chicken wontons and the fortune cookie cheesecake are among the most popular dishes. The opening slipped about four months, from an original projection of late January or early February.

Juliet Italian Kitchen anchors the other side of that stretch, and it uses its patio as an event space. On Sunday, Nov. 15, from 2 to 5 p.m., it hosts its Fall Wine Fest at Juliet Arboretum, with wine tastings and Italian food on the patio.

The biggest opening of the season is also on Great Hills Trail. Tumble 22 is set to open Saturday, Nov. 7, at 9761 Great Hills Trail, Ste. B. Hissy Fit occupied that suite until it closed in early January. Tumble 22 began as an Austin food trailer in 2016 and now has nine locations across Texas, including Pflugerville, Round Rock and Cedar Park. The menu centers on hot chicken, from crispy and grilled sandwiches to Korean-style bone-in, with heat levels running from "painless" to "stupid hot." There are house-made pies and a full bar. Community Impact reported that the first 75 guests on opening day get a free O.G. sandwich once a month for a year. The date comes from a September news release. Check the restaurant's own channels before you line up early.

Tumble 22's president, Avid Noble, told Community Impact through that release that "this is a dynamic community that we've had our eye on for some time."

The owner's plan points the same way

Asana's renovation plan for the whole property reads like a plan for a place where people stay a while. As Community Impact summarized the release, the initial plans include:

• Reconfiguring common areas for live music, pop-up retail and community programming
• Adding patios for outdoor dining
• Improving connectivity and wayfinding across the property
• New storefront signage and other enhancements

Brad Kantrowitz, Asana's managing director of investments, explained the reasoning in the same Community Impact report: "Great neighborhood centers have evolved into community gathering spaces. The Arboretum exemplifies this model, and our focus will be on bringing that to life through physical improvements and a thoughtful, long-term merchandising approach to the shopping and dining experiences offered here."

The site plan follows that thinking. Patios and programmable common areas give people a reason to linger. A new building for two restaurants on Great Hills Trail adds more places to eat. Long-time tenants like The Cheesecake Factory, Estancia Brazilian Steakhouse, Cafe du Bliss, Barnes & Noble and Pottery Barn stay in place, and the growth happens around them.

The new retail tenants run on repeat visits

The storefronts that have changed hands inside the center this year fit the same idea, since both are studios people book on a schedule.

JETSET Pilates opened for preview classes Sept. 11 in Ste. 124, with a grand opening Oct. 3. Owner Becky Chidester's studio has 16 custom reformers and runs 50-minute classes to a DJ-curated playlist. Community Impact reported founding memberships at $179 a month for unlimited classes or $199 for a 10-class package, and Chidester plans three JETSET locations around Austin. According to its state accessibility filing, the studio's 2,571-square-foot build-out replaced an orthodontic office.

Next in line is Peachy, a Botox studio that focuses on wrinkle prevention and treatment. Its only Austin studio right now is at 1401 E. 5th Street in East Austin. A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing for Space 129 at The Arboretum describes a 1,523-square-foot alteration for a new tenant. The estimated cost is $450,000, and the filing names ARCVISION as the design firm and AP Arboretum, LP as the owner. Construction was scheduled for Sept. 1 to Oct. 30, 2026. Those are construction dates, and Peachy hasn't announced an opening date for The Arboretum.

A Pilates membership and a standing appointment both bring the same people back every week or every few months. That steady foot traffic is what patios, live music and two more restaurants depend on.

November around the Arboretum

The renovation runs into 2027, but there's plenty on the calendar in November.

If you're driving home late, check the 183 North travel alerts before you count on the express lanes, because the schedule can change. For the Saturday market, the organizer's page lists 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and labels those summer hours, while the Austin Chronicle calendar lists 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Plan for the overlap, or confirm with the organizer before you go.

We've been following how the new owner is reshaping this corner of The Domain and Great Hills, and it's a different playbook from the restaurant group behind Domain NORTHSIDE's latest openings. The next marker to watch is the city's decision on SP-2026-0168C.

If you'd like updates as the Great Hills Trail building moves through review, or you want to talk through what a busier Arboretum means for your street, Ellevé Property Group covers it in our weekly newsletter, and we're always happy to talk. Start Your Elevated Experience.