Here's what's up in SETX,
Chuck's downtown counter shuts at 2 p.m. sharp, hot air balloons light up Bridge City on Saturday, and TAN Healthcare hits ten years. Three things worth planning around this week.
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Tailored Financial Solutions.
Let's get into it. 👇
[ THE FOOD CORNER ]
Chuck's Stacks Four Meats On One Downtown Po'Boy
Cold Cut Above — The house po'boy piles ham, bologna, salami and American cheese onto a fresh-baked white sub roll with mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles.
Slice Of Life — Finish with their chocolate cake. This is a weekday lunch counter and nothing more, so plan the afternoon around it.
📍 493 Pearl St., Beaumont, TX · (409) 832-7072 ⏰ Mon–Fri 6 AM–6 PM · Sat 9 AM–4 PM · closed Sunday. Breakfast till 10:30, hot plates 10:45–1:30.
🤤 Had a great meal somewhere in SETX lately? Reply and tell us — we feature reader picks.
[ EVENTS ]
The Visionary Awards Take The Jefferson Stage Saturday
Curtain Raiser — The show honors the people, businesses and organizations leaving a mark on Southeast Texas, across leadership, innovation, community service and plain excellence.
Tickets — Only the Beaumont Civic Center box office and Ticketmaster are authorized sellers.
📍 Jefferson Theatre, 345 Fannin St., Beaumont · 🕐 Sat Aug 8 · doors 4 PM, show 5 PM · 🎟️ $25–$50
[ EVENTS ]
Bridge City Lights Up Its Balloons After Dark
Rising Action — Year three for the Bridge City Chamber's Glo Fest: balloon rides, food, live music and arts and crafts spread across the school grounds.
Crowd Control — Nearly 7,000 turned out for the first one in 2024, and it has run every year since. Come early if you want to park close.
📍 Bridge City Intermediate & Elementary grounds, Bridge City · 🕐 Sat Aug 8 · 4–10 PM · 🎟️ Free admission
[ BUSINESS ]
Happy Bobby Buildings Opens A Shed Lot In Orange
Shed Load — An authorized Derksen dealer stocking sheds, barns, cabins, garages and cottage sheds — the backyard building you have been measuring for since spring.
Credit Where Due — Rent-to-own with no credit check, from a Highway 87 storefront that cut its ribbon on July 8.
📍 4158 TX-87, Orange, TX 77630 · (409) 268-4722 👉 Read more → happybobbybuilding.com
This section is sponsored by Tailored Financial Solutions. Want your business featured here? Email us at [email protected].
[ COMMUNITY ]
TAN Healthcare Turns Ten And Spends The Week Saying Thanks
Growth Chart — It opened in 2015 as one Orange health center with 15 employees. It is now 60 full-time staff serving about 4,000 patients across six counties.
Party Favors — National Health Center Week runs through Friday: Tuesday brings Patient Appreciation Day and gift bags, Wednesday health workshops, Friday a thank-you to partners.
👉 Read more → Port Arthur News
✅ THE SETX TO-DO LIST
✅ Give blood before Aug. 13 — That is when LifeShare's Type O gift-card window closes. Book at lifeshare.org/give or 800-256-5433; walk-ins welcome.
✅ Get the back-to-school shots done — Port Arthur's clinic runs late, to 6 p.m., on Aug. 12 and 13 if weekday afternoons don't work.
✅ Get your books straight before Q3 closes — This week's sponsor, Tailored Financial Solutions, handles bookkeeping, CFO-level guidance, and small-business strategy at tailoredfinsolutions.com 💰
✅ Shop the tax-free weekend — Aug. 7–9, no sales tax on clothing, shoes, backpacks and school supplies priced under $100 an item.
✅ Buy your Visionary Awards tickets — Saturday's show at the Jefferson runs $25–$50, and only the Civic Center box office and Ticketmaster are authorized sellers.
[ WHAT'S ON ]
📅 THIS WEEK IN SETX
📅 SETX Events Website
Everything further out lives at events.whatsupsetx.com — browse the full calendar and submit your own. 🎉
THIS WEEK
Aug 4: Beginner Crochet Class | Groves Public Library, Groves. 6–7:30 PM in the Texas Section, every Tuesday. Walk in.
Aug 6: 90s Craft Night ArtSocial | Art Museum of Southeast Texas, 500 Main St, Beaumont. 5:30–7:30 PM of nostalgia and glue guns.
Aug 6: Cajun & Creole Acoustic Jam | American Legion Hall, 922 Nederland Ave, Nederland. 6:30–8:30 PM, free. Bring an instrument or just listen.
Aug 7: Café Arts Reception — Brandon Gouthier | AMSET, 500 Main St, Beaumont. 5–7 PM. Meet the artist behind "Lipstick and Grease."
Aug 7–9: Texas Tax-Free Weekend | Statewide. No sales tax on clothing, shoes, backpacks and school supplies priced under $100 an item.
THIS WEEKEND
Aug 8: Southeast Texas Visionary Awards | Jefferson Theatre, 345 Fannin St, Beaumont. Doors 4 PM, show 5 PM. $25–$50.
Aug 8: Hot Air Balloon Glo Festival | Bridge City Intermediate & Elementary grounds, Bridge City. 4–10 PM, free admission.
Aug 8: Harbor Foundation Butterfly Release | Great Lawn at Event Centre, 900 Crockett St, Beaumont. 11 AM–1 PM, free. Release at 12:45.
Aug 8: Beaumont Farmers Market | 6525 College St, Beaumont. 8–11 AM. Local produce and goods, every Saturday, year-round.
Aug 8: Open Studio | Stark Museum of Art, 712 Green Ave, Orange. 10 AM–2 PM. Drop in and make something.
Aug 8: Worship in the Park | Conn Park, Vidor. 4–10 PM, free admission.
MOVIE NIGHTS @ JEFFERSON THEATRE
345 Fannin St, Beaumont. Doors 6 PM, film 7 PM, general admission. Tickets at the Beaumont Civic Center box office or online; leftovers sell at the door from 5 PM.
Aug 7: The Parent Trap
Aug 14: Clueless
Aug 21: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Which one are you hitting up? Reply and tell us. Missed something? Submit it at events.whatsupsetx.com 🎉
[ COMMUNITY NOTICES ]
📌 GOOD TO KNOW
🚧 Back-to-school vaccines, no appointment — Port Arthur's health department takes walk-ins weekdays through Aug. 30, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (409) 983-8874.
🚧 Beaumont is selling off its surplus — Vehicles, equipment and furniture go to online bidding Aug. 12–26 through Rene' Bates Auctioneers.
🩸 Free screenings in Port Arthur on Saturday — Gulf Coast Health Center's fair runs 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at the Bob Bowers Civic Center. Blood pressure, blood sugar, vision and dental checks, plus $10 sports physicals. (409) 983-1161.
[ SPORTS ]
🏆 THE SPORTS DESK
🔴 Lamar reported to camp Thursday — About 100 players and 11 returning starters open Pete Rossomando's fourth season. First game is Aug. 29 against Abilene Christian.
🏈 High school practice opens today — Area districts are shifting workout hours to meet UIL's new Wet Bulb Globe Temperature rules for outdoor practice.
🥊 A Port Arthur coach earns his gold — Calvin Shepherd Jr. brought home USA Boxing's Gold Level Coach Certification from the Olympic training center in Colorado.
[ BIG NEWS ]
CHRISTUS Opens A Follow-Up Clinic For Violence Survivors
Funding Stream — The CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Foundation put $1.5 million into building the clinic and funding patient care. Insurance rarely covers this work, so philanthropy carries it.
Front Door — Referrals come from emergency rooms, physicians, law enforcement, state health services and victim advocates, and the Beaumont site is kept discreet to protect privacy.
[ IN OTHER NEWS ]
📋 IN OTHER NEWS
🏫 PAISD drills before it builds — Trustees hired Terracon for $87,800 to test soil under the new middle school and stadium, the first spending on the $300 million bond voters passed in 2025. Read more →
🚗 Port Arthur is enforcing where you park — Vehicles must sit on asphalt, concrete or brick. The fine has climbed from $100 to as much as $500 a day. Read more →
🩸 A national blood crisis has reached SETX — LifeShare says Type O is under a day's supply, and Type O donors get a $25 gift card through Aug. 13. Read more →
🎨 A free lecture on Port Arthur's most famous artist — The Rauschenberg Foundation's Kristen Clevenson on "Mostly Texas: Robert Rauschenberg at 100," Thursday Aug. 13, 6:30 p.m., at the McFaddin-Ward. Read more →
👮 West Orange-Cove has a new police chief — Shanter Norman, a military veteran and veteran law enforcement officer, now covers every campus with four officers and seven security staff. Read more →
📬 Which story caught your eye?
[ JOBS ]
💼 JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Industry pulse: Healthcare is carrying SETX hiring — a new CHRISTUS clinic in Beaumont, TAN Healthcare at four times the staff it opened with, and a Gulf Coast Health Center fair Saturday. Refinery work stays turnaround-driven.
🏥 Nursing and clinical roles — CHRISTUS Hospital – St. Mary | Port Arthur
RN, LVN, respiratory therapist, pharmacy tech and patient access rep openings. Check the CHRISTUS careers page for pay and closing dates.
🫁 Respiratory therapists — Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas | Beaumont
Ongoing openings system-wide, through the Baptist Hospitals careers page.
🌿 Tailored Lawn Care | Golden Triangle
Looking for work? Outdoor work, local routes. Call or text Frederick: (409) 365-4887
🔜 Browse all local SETX job listings — coming soon. Want early access when our jobs board launches? Email [email protected] to get on the list.
💼 Hiring in SETX? Send your listing to [email protected] and we'll put it in front of our readers.
[ YOUR TURN ]
📣 YOUR TURN
Every week, we ask a few questions because this newsletter is a two-way street. Hit reply — we read every single one.
🥪 Chuck's shuts at 2 p.m. Which SETX lunch counter is worth rearranging your day for?
🎈 Bridge City on Saturday, or the Jefferson instead?
🩸 Given blood during a shortage before? Tell us where you go.
👏 Got someone to brag on? A graduation, a new business, a milestone, a neighbor who showed up — reply and we'll put them in Community Notices.
See you in a few days, neighbor 📍
The What's Up SETX Team
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