Here's what's up in SETX,
A land swap in Port Arthur is buying Groves a set of pickleball courts, a Rauschenberg curator is coming to Beaumont, and J&J's wings are back where they started.
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Tailored Financial Solutions.
Let's get into it. 👇
[ THE FOOD CORNER ]
J&J's Salt-And-Pepper Wings Came Back From The Fire
Seasoned Veterans — The salt-and-pepper blend goes on everything — wings, catfish, shrimp, calamari. The owners bought the recipe from the previous ones for about $60,000.
Fired Up Again — A December 2018 fire closed the Bluebonnet original for eight months. It reopened in July 2019 with Chinese plates and boiled seafood added.
📍 1600 Bluebonnet Ave, Port Arthur, TX 77640 · (409) 985-8880 · jandjwingsandseafoodtx.com
🤤 Had a great meal somewhere in SETX lately? Reply and tell us — we feature reader picks.
[ EVENTS ]
The Future of Work Is Fractional ✨
Join the Fractionals Community Event for a practical session on the accounting and finance side of running your fractional business.
🤝 About the Fractionals Community
Built for professionals who work with multiple companies on a part-time or fractional basis. Think fractional CFOs, COOs, marketing leaders, consultants, and more.
What You’ll Learn
S-Corp vs. LLC
Tax basics for fractionals
Setting up your business the right way
Smarter expense tracking
Host: Rashel Hariri
Guest Hosts: Lance Taylor & Gabe Mejia, CPA
📆 Thursday, August 1
⏱ 11:00 AM CT / 12:00 PM ET
🔗 Virtual: https://luma.com/7mwoxyx8
Limited spots. Save yours!
Register Now: https://luma.com/7mwoxyx8
[ EVENTS ]
The Art Museum Throws Its Doors Open On Saturday
Mess Hall — Four hours of hands-on art under a back-to-school theme: Don't Mess with Texas, Mess with Art. Free, no ticket, no registration.
Cold Open — Punch and cookies for everyone, and the first 100 through the door get ice cream. Which is an argument for arriving at ten.
📍 Art Museum of Southeast Texas, 500 Main St, Beaumont · 🕐 Sat Aug 15 · 10 AM–2 PM · 🎟️ Free
[ EVENTS ]
Texas Turns Off The Sales Tax This Weekend
Native Son — Kristen Clevenson of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation takes on the Port Arthur-born artist at 100, with childhood photographs and studio images from the Foundation's archive.
Second Sitting — Free, doors at six, space limited. There is a sequel too — a free exhibit tour in Port Arthur the next morning, thirty seats.
📍 Statewide, in store and online · 🕐 Fri Aug 7 – Sun Aug 9 · 🎟️ Free
[ EVENTS ]
Be Our Financial Bestie 💙🤍
Every business deserves a financial bestie. Someone who keeps things organized, helps you make smart decisions, and is always in your corner.
At Tailored Financial Solutions, we’re here to make your finances feel less overwhelming and a lot more manageable. From bookkeeping and tax planning to financial reports, Fractional CFO services, business valuation, and QuickBooks support, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s take the stress out of your finances so you can focus on growing your business. Schedule your free discovery call today.
👉 Learn more: https://tailoredfinsolutions.com
🔗 Connect with us, access our social links, or book a free discovery call with Lance
[ BUSINESS ]
A Two-Agent Brokerage Cuts Its Ribbon On A Saturday
Cut To The Chase — The Vidor Chamber does the honors at 1173 N. Main Street on Saturday morning, nine to ten — a weekend cutting, so neighbors can turn up.
Two Of A Kind — Desha Byars and Ragan Funderburke run it, the office line is 409-768-SOLD, and posted hours are ten to four.
This section is sponsored by Tailored Financial Solutions. Want your business featured here? Email us at [email protected].
✅ THE SETX TO-DO LIST
✅ Get your name on the November ballot — Filing closes Sunday, August 17 in Groves, Port Neches and PNGISD. Groves City Hall, 3847 Lincoln Ave.
✅ Apply for summer bill help if you're 60 or older — Power to Care opened August 3. United Board of Missions, 6605 9th Ave., Port Arthur.
✅ Reserve a seat on the Rauschenberg tour — Thirty seats, Friday 10 AM at the Museum of the Gulf Coast. Call (409) 832-2134
✅ Turn up early to Free Family Arts Day — First 100 people get ice cream. Saturday from 10 AM, 500 Main St.
[ 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 11: Orange County Historical Society: A Message of Hope | Heritage House, 905 W. Division St, Orange. 5:30–7 PM. Frank McCoy on 70 years of diabetes care
Aug 11 & 13: Cattail Marsh Van Tours | Cattail Marsh, Beaumont. Free guided rides. Tuesday 2:30 PM, Thursday 9:30 AM. Reserve online.
Aug 13: Thursday Night Karaoke | Brick & Barley, 2614 Lutcher Dr, Orange. 9 PM. Weekly, 21 and up.
Aug 14: Robert Rauschenberg Exhibit Tour | Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur. Free, 10 AM. Thirty seats; register at (409) 832-2134.
THIS WEEKEND
Aug 15: Beaumont Farmers Market | 6525 College St, Beaumont. 8–11 AM, under the Athletic Complex pavilion.
Aug 15: CREATE! Workshop: The Color Orange Collage | Stark Museum of Art, 712 Green Ave, Orange. 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM.
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 14: Clueless
Aug 21: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Aug 28: Cry-Baby
Which one are you hitting up? Reply and tell us. Missed something? Submit it at events.whatsupsetx.com 🎉
[ COMMUNITY NOTICES ]
📌 GOOD TO KNOW
🚧 Central Drive is open again — Beaumont reopened the East Drive intersection on August 7 after crews finished the water-main repair and rebuilt the roadway.
🚧 Port Arthur's draft budget is posted — The FY 2026–27 draft and a notice of intent to issue certificates of obligation both went up on August 7.
🩸 Power to Care is taking applications — $500,000 in Entergy-funded bill relief for residents 60 and up, or 55 with a disability. No income limit. United Board of Missions, 6605 9th Ave., Port Arthur.
🩸 The Southeast Texas Food Bank needs hands — Sorting shifts, senior meal boxes and the Enrichment Garden. Sign up at setxfoodbank.org.
[ SPORTS ]
🏆 THE SPORTS DESK
🔴 Lamar football reported to fall camp — about 100 players in, 21 practices before game-week prep, and a fourth season under head coach Pete Rossomando. More →
🏈 The Cardinals open Saturday, Aug 29 — against Abilene Christian at Provost Umphrey Stadium — a rematch of last season's FCS playoff game. More →
🥊 Port Arthur's Shepherd earned USA Boxing Gold Level Coach Certification — the organization's top coaching credential.
[ BIG NEWS ]
A Land Swap Buys Flood Storage And Pickleball Courts
Ground Rules — TotalEnergies handed about 40 acres off Taft Avenue to Drainage District 7. The pond will cover 47 acres and hold 265 acre-feet.
Paid In Pickleball — Rather than buy the land, the district agreed to fund pickleball courts beside the Groves Public Library. It expects a foot less water in a 100-year storm.
💡 The bottom line: Inside the triangle of 39th Street, FM 366 and Texas 73, a foot off a 100-year flood is the difference between a soaked yard and an insurance claim bought for the price of a pickleball court.
[ IN OTHER NEWS ]
📋 IN OTHER NEWS
🏭 ENEOS is buying TPC Group — The $1.3 billion deal hands Japan's ENEOS the Port Neches terminal along with TPC's Houston operations. Regulators sign off in October, and the companies say nothing changes day to day for workers.
🏛️ Port Arthur put a year of spending on the record — Mayor Charlotte Moses's progress meeting named $9.2 million for Fire Station No. 3, $11.6 million for No. 2 and $2.4 million to clear asbestos from the Sabine Hotel.
🎂 Rao's Bakery turned 85 — Cookies, cupcakes and coffee went for 85 cents apiece across five locations. Johnny Rao started out baking for refinery workers, and opened his first storefront in 1941.
🍎 A Port Arthur teacher makes the state twenty — Evette Rodgers of the Port Arthur Alternative Campus is Region 5's Secondary Teacher of the Year, and one of twenty still in the running for the state title in October.
📬 Which story caught your eye?
[ JOBS ]
💼 JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Industry pulse: Two tracks this week: Bechtel is still recruiting for the Port Arthur LNG build, and the state prison system is running repeat fairs across all three workforce centers.
🛩️ U.S. Air Force and Popeyes hiring event — Beaumont Workforce Center | Beaumont
Walk in today, Monday August 10, 10 AM to 1 PM at 510 Park St., Suite 200. Call (409) 839-8045.
👮 Texas Department of Criminal Justice job fair — Orange Workforce Center | Orange
Thursday, August 13, 10 AM to 1 PM at 2266 MacArthur Dr. Popeyes is recruiting at the same event.
🌿 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.
🍗 Where do you go for wings around here and does anything beat J&J's salt and pepper?
🥒 Pickleball courts in exchange for 40 acres of flood storage. Fair trade?
🎨 Who else from Southeast Texas deserves a hundredth-birthday lecture?
👏 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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