Austinville center opens on US 183

"It's a hit, and we don't even have a sign up yet," Steve Simmons said. "It has surpassed a lot of our expectations."

In 2014, the Simmons family plans to expand their brand with a business education program that they have been developing for about four years. The program, deemed Amy's Edu, focuses on teaching good practices to business owners.

The couple purchased a building on Anderson Lane to use for the program's classes, Steve Simmons said. Education classes could be officially introduced in 2015 and will be open to anyone.

Adjacent to the property, Steve Simmons is helping to develop a second phase of Austinville 78750. That center is being renovated and will be home to four new tenants that are expected to open later in the year. The Simmonses worked with the new tenants to ensure that their companies will thrive.

"Even though it is two separate land owners, we want them to be successful because of us and us to be successful because of them," Steve Simmons said.

The new businesses are Papalote Taco House, women's clothing store Strut, the Soup Peddler and retail store Tejas Running and Trails.

"The whole concept of Austinville is that this is a community and these are local businesses," Steve Simmons said. "We kind of have it all here."