BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Education

Alcuin School athletes will be competing in the TAPPS 1A division in track-and-field and tennis this spring. The Montessori and International Baccalaureate school has been accepted as a member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. Membership in the conference opens opportunities for students in grades 9-12 to compete in sports, fine arts and academic activities at the local, regional and state level.

The Greenhill School won the third annual Old Parkland Debate Tournament in February, arguing on the topic of Ebola containment. The tournament included six high school teams from the United States, Canada, England and Mexico. Greenhill debaters, who ultimately won against team Canada, argued that “the need to contain the Ebola virus outweighs civil rights concerns.”

Preston Hollow Village openings

Trader Joe’s was slated to open Feb. 20 at Preston Hollow Village, but many other new businesses already have arrived at the development at Walnut Hill and Central.

Colorado-based healthy fast-food restaurant Modmarket opened at Preston Hollow Village in February. The menu includes breakfast, sandwiches and salads, brick oven pizza (the dough is made from scratch in-house) and “homestyle” plates that feature a protein and choice of two vegetables. Besides a few craft beers, there’s also $2 wine by the glass on tap. Or for the kids, Boylan’s cane-sugar sodas. The calorie counts appear on the menu and on your receipt at the end of the meal.

Austin-based sandwich spot VertsKebap opened in Preston Hollow Village in January. The restaurant specializes in the European kebap, similar to a gyro but on panini-pressed flatbread filled with vertically roasted meats and fresh vegetables with a yogurt-based sauce. The sandwiches are customizable with a build-as-yougo ordering process, and most entrees are fewer than 550 calories.

Blue Sushi Sake Grill also opened in January. The Nebraska-based restaurant has an upscale yet kitschy vibe; one side, the Sake Bombers Lounge, offers a bar atmosphere, while the other side features the sushi bar and restaurant seating. A screen above the sushi bar plays the vintage Japanese film “Gojira” on mute with subtitles. The menu features a wide selection of sake and martinis along with specialty cocktails, beer and wine. Don’t