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Buzzy Yemeni coffee chain perks up San Antonio and more top stories

Haraz Coffee House has a new location.

Haraz Coffee House/Instagram

Editor's note: The top San Antonio news of the week includes a coffee shop opening and a sudden café closure. Plus, six local employers clock in among the best places to work. Catch up on our top stories below, then plan some 4th of July fun via this guide.

1. Yemeni coffee chain perks up Alamo Ranch with new shop. Haraz Coffee House is bringing its time-honored Yemeni brewing traditions to a second area location at 10907 Culebra Rd. in Alamo Ranch.

2. Promising San Antonio café to close after 7 months on South Side. A South Side coffee shop known for “family, culture, and cariño” is closing its doors after only seven months. Besitos Café at 1123 Nogalitos St. will shutter on July 12.

3. 2 San Antonio P. Terry's locations switch to 24-hour service. Popular Texas burger stand P. Terry's is expanding operations to 24 hours a day at two Alamo City locations.

4. San Antonio's Aztec Theatre raises the curtain on new boutique hotel. The 77-room Aztec Hotel at 201 E. Commerce St., part of Marriott International's boutique Tribute Portfolio, is expected to open its doors in the third quarter of 2026.

Aztec Hotel San Antonio The Aztec Hotel's design motifs borrow from the flamboyant theater downstairs. Rendering courtesy of the Aztec Hotel

5. 6 San Antonio companies land on U.S. News best workplace list. A new ranking of the best employers has named 95 Texas companies among the best places to work in the South, and six of them are based right here in San Antonio.

star-spangled flop

Texas fizzles again on 2026 list of most patriotic states in U.S.

Texas Capitol building with state and US flags

Photo by Muhammad Ma'ruf on Unsplash

Texas ranks 45th for the second year in a row.

Texas has fizzled out once again as one of the least patriotic places in the U.S., according to a new report.

WalletHub's report, "Most Patriotic States in America (2026)", was released just ahead of America's 250th anniversary and compares the military and civic engagement levels across all 50 states. Factors such as the number of veterans per 1,000 civilian residents, the share of adults who voted in the 2024 presidential election, and volunteer rates were used to determine which states are the "most patriotic."

The Lone Star State sits at 45th out of 50 for the second year in a row. Texas first earned its surprising rank as the 6th least patriotic state in 2025, after previously ranking 36th in 2024. Texas' performance across the two main categories in the study remains unchanged year-over-year, with the state ranking 13th nationally for its military engagement and 47th in civic engagement.

Texas has the third-highest average number of military enlistees in the U.S., but it has the second-lowest percentage of adults who voted in the 2024 presidential election.

WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said the most patriotic states in America — this year they are Virginia, Montana, and Vermont — have high voter turnouts, a large share of residents who are veterans or active military, and boast a large share of the population that volunteers with local or national organizations.

Essentially, patriotism can be found in places where residents are "actively working to improve conditions for your fellow Americans," says WalletHub.

"Being a patriot means loving your country and its people while also recognizing its flaws and striving to make it the best it can be," the report's author wrote.

At least Texas is more patriotic than the bottom five states in the report: Florida (No. 46), Alabama (No. 47), Louisiana (No. 48), New York (No. 49), and Arkansas (No. 50).

The top 10 most patriotic states in America this year are:

No. 1 – Virginia
No. 2 – Montana
No. 3 – Vermont
No. 4 – Colorado
No. 5 – Oregon
No. 6 – North Dakota
No. 7 – Washington
No. 8 – Maryland
No. 9 – Minnesota
No. 10 – New Hampshire

texas wallethub reports 4th of july