Schertz Station's Fast Year Is Over, and the Next Wave Starts With Construction

In October 2025, Schertz Station had exactly one restaurant open, a Panera Bread on the I-35 frontage near Cibolo Valley Drive. By mid-June 2026 the center had added Dave's Hot Chicken, Chipotle, CAVA, Portillo's and James Avery Artisan Jewelry. That was six openings in less than eight months, and several more tenants were serving customers by July.

The next round of names is just as recognizable. First Watch, Hopdoddy Burger Bar and The Home Depot are all headed to Schertz Station. They're at an earlier stage, though. Two are still waiting on construction to begin, and the one with a stated opening window is targeting early 2027. If you live in Schertz and have watched the center fill in fast since last fall, expect a slower stretch over the coming months.

How the first wave arrived, one opening at a time

Here is the order the first tenants opened in, using the dates local outlets reported.

1. Panera Bread, October 20, 2025. Community Impact called it the first tenant of the development.
2. Dave's Hot Chicken, January 9, 2026. That is the day it welcomed customers, according to MySA.
3. Chipotle, late January 2026. MySA reported its grand opening the week of January 28.
4. CAVA, February 25, 2026. It opened at 18406 I-35 N., Suite 300, Community Impact reported.
5. Portillo's, soft opening by June 1, 2026. The Chicago-style chain at 18678 I-35 N. Frontage Road began soft-opening by June 1 and planned a grand-opening celebration for June 9, per MySA.
6. James Avery Artisan Jewelry, June 13, 2026. The store at 18406 I-35 N., Suite 500, was the first James Avery built with the company's "Modern Hill Country" layout, Community Impact reported.

Panera was alone for close to three months. Then, from January through June, a new tenant opened about once a month, and most of those were order-at-the-counter restaurants.

By July, the center's roster had grown past that list. MySA's July 9 roll call counted Piada Italian Street Food, Smokey Mo's BBQ, Jersey Mike's and Smoothie King among the current tenants, along with the six above. It also named Infinity Nail Bar as an upcoming tenant.

So for a quick weeknight dinner or a lunch run off I-35, Schertz Station already has about ten choices, from barbecue and Mediterranean bowls to Italian beef and subs.

Two spaces where the state filings set the timeline

Two more restaurants filed construction plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation this summer. These filings are public, and they're the best way to see where a project stands before a business announces anything.

Wonder's state record lists a $1 million tenant finish-out, as What Now San Antonio reported in June. You can read the filing yourself on the TDLR project page.

Fork to Fit Kitchen's filing covers the smaller space and the later window, which ends Friday, November 6. What Now reported that the opening timeline would follow the end of construction.

A work window in one of these filings is a construction schedule. It tells you when the builder expects to work inside the space. It doesn't tell you when a host will seat you. The business sets its own opening calendar once construction wraps, not the state.

Use these filings as an early signal. Once a window has closed, it's reasonable to start watching the restaurant's own channels for an opening date.

The next wave moves on a longer calendar

The tenants announced most recently are at an earlier stage than anything in the first wave.

First Watch. The breakfast and brunch chain is coming to Schertz Station. The San Antonio Business Journal reported on October 12 that construction on the new location begins in January.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar. Two days later, the Business Journal reported that Hopdoddy is headed to the center too, with shell construction expected to start in November. Shell construction means putting up the building itself, before any restaurant finish-out begins inside.

The Home Depot. In July, MySA reported that state records had scheduled construction to finish August 1, 2026. The same story said the company expected to open in early 2027.

Infinity Nail Bar. It was on MySA's July list of upcoming tenants.

First Watch is still a couple of months from breaking ground, and Hopdoddy's building is only now getting started. Both still have construction and then a finish-out ahead of them, so the stretch between "announced" and "open" is likely to run longer this time than it did for the first wave.

The Home Depot is on its own track. The company's early-2027 target came several months after the building's scheduled completion date.

First Watch is the one to watch if you've wanted a sit-down breakfast closer to home than a drive down I-35. Hopdoddy adds a sit-down option for burgers. Based on the construction timing reported in October, neither will be serving this holiday season.

Why the center keeps filling in

Schertz Station is part of a 72-acre master-planned development at IH-35 and Cibolo Valley Drive, anchored by EVO Entertainment. The developer is Merit CRE. As of this fall, its leasing materials still show three open pads along the I-35 frontage, plus space in the multi-tenant retail buildings.

Community Impact reported in December 2025 that the developer had invested more than $65 million in the center, with infrastructure support from the Schertz Economic Development Corporation, and that construction would continue through 2026.

With frontage pads still open and new buildings going up for First Watch and Hopdoddy, there's still building left to do at the center. For a Schertz household, the restaurant mix you see today is likely close to what you'll see over the next several months. Wonder and Fork to Fit Kitchen are the nearest-term additions. After them come First Watch and Hopdoddy, both still in construction, and The Home Depot with its early-2027 target.

If you're settling in near Randolph or moving across town and want to know how places like Schertz Station fit into your daily routine and drive times, I'm glad to walk through it with you. Reach out to Marcus T. Wood and let's connect.