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Good morning, The Woodlands.
We chatted with Todd Polonski for a Business Spotlight this week, and one thing he said stuck with both of us: we do business on a handshake, and we keep our word. That is the whole issue today, really. A restaurant group betting its name on Waterway Avenue, a Township telling you the mounted patrol is not going anywhere, and a man in Spring who fixes your air conditioner because it is right, not because the paperwork says so. Around here, your word is still the product.
Glad you’re here,
—Erika & Mike
🗞 In this issue…
🍽️ Bludorn's First Restaurant Outside Houston Lands on Waterway Avenue
🐴 Mounted Patrol Stays, but It May Ride Under the Sheriff's Badge
🤝 Entergy's Stuart Barrett Takes the Chamber Gavel, Seven Join the Board
🔧 The HVAC Company That Still Does Business on a Handshake
Friday, September 4, 2026
🌦️ Cloudy, showers possible · 91°F / 77°F
Rain chance: 55%.
Keep an umbrella in the car and save the pool for Saturday.
Source: Apple Weather
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Bludorn's First Restaurant Outside Houston Lands on Waterway Avenue
Bludorn Hospitality Group's Cherif Mbodji, Victoria Bludorn, and Aaron Bludorn. Photo: Bar Bludorn via Hello Woodlands
On September 26, Bludorn Hospitality Group opens Bar Bludorn The Woodlands at 25 Waterway Avenue. It is the group's first restaurant outside Central Houston and the first expansion of Bar Bludorn, the neighborhood tavern concept that started in Memorial in 2024.
The Woodlands location keeps the spirit of the original and adds new pieces to the experience: a private dining room and outdoor patio seating. The menu pairs Bar Bludorn signatures with new dishes from chef Aaron Bludorn, built on American bistro cooking with Texas touches. Gensler designed the space, carrying over the warm character of the first location while giving this one its own identity here.
Aaron Bludorn, chef and partner, called the move beyond Central Houston a big step and named Howard Hughes Communities as the partner the group took it with. His promise is a menu and experience that reflect The Woodlands while keeping the Houston-style hospitality guests know from Memorial. The group, founded in 2020 by Bludorn with partners Cherif Mbodji and Victoria Pappas Bludorn, runs the flagship Bludorn, Navy Blue, Bar Bludorn, Perseid in Hotel Saint Augustine, and a San Antonio project still in the works.
Why it matters: a Houston restaurant group with five concepts and a sixth coming picked the Waterway for its first step out of the city.
Source/Credits: Hello Woodlands
Mounted Patrol Stays, but It May Ride Under the Sheriff's Badge
Alpha & Omega mounted patrol in The Woodlands. Photo: Community Impact
The Township posted a fifteen-question Q&A on Thursday that opens with the answer: the mounted patrol is not being eliminated. What the Board is weighing is whether to move the program from Alpha & Omega, the private security firm whose contract ends December 31, to a commissioned law enforcement model through the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. The proposed 2027 budget funds mounted patrol either way.
The Township's case: MCSO deputies carry full peace officer authority and direct access to dispatch, and privately owned horses patrolling Town Center property the Township does not own is a liability it wants gone. A complete MCSO proposal goes to a public Board meeting first, and no agreement has been reached. Board Chairman Brad Bailey's line is that the aim is to make the program stronger, not to end it.
Why it matters: the riders in Town Center are part of how this place feels, and the answer is that they stay, with the badge still to be decided.
Source/Credits: The Woodlands Township
Entergy's Stuart Barrett Takes the Chamber Gavel, Seven Join the Board
Stuart Barrett, 2026-2027 Chairman of the Board. Photo courtesy of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce via Hello Woodlands
The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce has a new Chairman. Stuart Barrett, Vice President of Customer Service for Entergy Texas, took the gavel for 2026-2027 with the Chamber year that began September 1. Christin Allphin, Executive Vice President at Woodforest National Bank's Town Center office, is Chairman-elect and steps up in 2027-2028.
Seven new directors start three-year terms running through August 31, 2029: David Bernard of Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, Stacie Coleman of Project Beacon Texas, Angela Schimmels of Keller Williams Realty, Monique Sharp of The Woodlands Township, William Warner, retired, Jordan Watson of Howard Hughes, and Chris Wehe of Ellard Insurance & Risk Management. President and CEO Aaron Cox welcomed the group, and the Chamber closes out the 2025-2026 year at its Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon on Friday, September 25.
Why it matters: the names on this list are the people deciding what the business community pushes for over the next year.
Source/Credits: Hello Woodlands
Curated local listings for quick browsing and easy connections.
The HVAC Company That Still Does Business on a Handshake
Spring Woodlands Air Technicians, better known as S.W.A.T.
Todd Polonski named his company Spring Woodlands Air Technicians. The initials were a happy accident, and now everybody just calls them S.W.A.T. The name gets a laugh at the door. What keeps customers is something older and quieter than a good acronym.
Operating out of Spring, S.W.A.T. handles residential and commercial heating and air, with the heart of the business in repairing and replacing home systems. Todd built it to run on his own standards rather than the industry playbook, and he is building it for one of his sons to take over someday, not for an exit. If a part goes bad a few days past warranty, he will often honor the warranty anyway.
Ask him what people get wrong before they finally pick up the phone, and the answer comes fast. There is also a $79 question he answers without flinching, and a reason behind it that most companies in the business would rather you not hear.
Why it matters: in a trade where most people do not know who to trust, a company that still settles things on a handshake is worth knowing before your system quits on the hottest day of the year.
Friday, September 4
🗓️ Fare Free Friday on Woodlands Transit | Free | More info
🗓️ Starlight Swan Rides | Riva Row Boat House, 2101 Riva Row | 7:30 p.m. | $50 per boat | More info
🗓️ Jimmy Buffett Day | Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake Conroe | Poolside DJ 3 p.m., welcome party 5 p.m., Garly Kyle Band 7 to 10 p.m. | More info
Saturday, September 5
🗓️ 35th Annual Kiwanis Kids Fish Fest | Creekwood Park, 3883 S. Panther Creek Dr. | Check-in 7:30 a.m., fishing 8 a.m. to noon | Free, ages 2 to 16 | More info
🗓️ Township Pools, Labor Day Weekend | Nine post-season pools | Noon to 6 p.m. | Season pass | More info
🗓️ Live Music with Ryan Pinnick | Hyatt Centric The Woodlands, Market Street | 6 to 10 p.m. | More info
Sunday, September 6
🗓️ The Woodlands Cars & Coffee for a Cause | Market Street | 6 to 10 a.m. | Free | More info
🗓️ Township Pools | Nine post-season pools | 1 to 6 p.m. | Season pass | More info
🗓️ Labor Day Celebration with Fireworks | Waterway Square, 31 Waterway Square Place | 5 to 9 p.m. | Free | More info
Monday, September 7
🗓️ Township Pools, Final Day of the 2026 Season | Nine post-season pools | Noon to 6 p.m. | Season pass | More info
Wednesday, September 9
🗓️ When Instruments Roamed the Earth, Houston Symphony | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | 7 p.m. | Free, no ticket required | More info
Got an event coming up? Reply to this email with the details (what, when, where) and we'll get it in front of thousands of your neighbors, 100% free.
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🌳 Woodlands Trivia
The Lake Conroe dam was finished in January 1973, and the West Fork of the San Jacinto did the rest on its own. The lake was completely full by October 31, 1973, about nine months later. Twenty-one thousand acres of water, topped off on Halloween.
🤠 Talkin' Texan
"If he was melted down, he couldn't be poured into a fight." Translation: he will not stand up for himself, or for much of anything else. One of the more elaborate ways Texans have found to call somebody a coward.
🚿 Shower Thought
The word "later" has ended far more projects than the word "no" ever has.
😂 Dad Joke
What do you call a can opener that does not work? A cannot opener.
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