🍖A Best-Kept Happy Hour Secret

Good morning, Waco. Hope you got some rest this weekend, because we've got a full one ahead.

In today’s Sunday Sip:
🥟 One of Waco's best-kept happy hour secrets
📆 Three events to circle this week
📝 Is $3M Rich in Waco?
🏡 Home of the Week: 602 & 606 S 8th St

Let’s get to it!

— Sam Harper

Two reasons to get your car looked at before a road trip catches you off guard. Chevy of West is running up to $210 in stackable rebates on brake pads and rotors, cabin and engine air filters, wiper blades, and batteries.

They'll also match any better price you find on the same tire from a competitor within 100 miles, and refund the difference if you find an even lower price within 30 days of buying.

👉 Schedule your next vehicle service at chevyofwest.com^*

Today's happy hour tip comes from a friend who let me know Casa do Brasil runs one of the longest happy hours six days a week, so I had to check it out.

Fun fact: Casa do Brasil started as one Brazilian steakhouse in College Station in 2018. Waco got its own location last year, the chain's fourth after Austin and Houston.

How it works: Happy hour is bar and patio only, Sunday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

What to order: The Brazilian Empanadas. Flaky pastries with your choice of chipotle chicken, picanha, or palmito and spinach.

Where: 1001 Webster Ave.

Cost: $8 for the empanadas, $8 for a caipirinha to go with them.

Six-word review: My friend was right. Go now.
^{Not sponsored. If it was, I’d tell you.}

World Cup Semifinals Watch Party
Tuesday & Wednesday | 2 PM | Barnett's Whiskey House Patio

The World Cup has been electric this year, and if you've watched any of it packed into a venue with strangers who suddenly feel like friends, you know it beats watching alone on your couch every time.
Big screens, a packed patio, and a room full of people who all care about the same 90 minutes. Get there early if you want a seat. First match is Tuesday at 2, second is on Wednesday at 2. The Final will be held on Sunday the 19th.

Waco Indie Film Festival
Thursday-Sunday, July 16-19 | Mostly at the Hippodrome

This is Waco Indie's 10th anniversary, and the festival's recognition has kept pace with its growth. MovieMaker Magazine named it one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" for 2025, and one of only 12 festivals worldwide to also land on their "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" list.

Opening night brings "Crystal Cross," which already won the Audience Award at Austin Film Festival. Closing night is "Due West," honored at the Lone Star, Burbank International, and El Paso film festivals, starring Adrianne Palicki and Henry Thomas. Passes and the full lineup at wacoindie.com.

Puppies! At The Disco
Thursday, July 16 | 7-11 PM | Truelove Bar, 414 Franklin Ave | Free

A free silent disco benefiting the Humane Society of Central Texas. Wireless headphones, your own music channel, and adoptable puppies on site.

Skip the showroom and the markup. Waco Mattress Direct sells mattresses built by the same manufacturer behind Mattress Firm, Costco, Wayfair, and Marriott, just without the retail overhead or the commissioned sales pitch.

Every mattress comes with a 100-night comfort exchange, a price-beat guarantee, and up to a 10-year warranty. All handcrafted in the USA.

👉 Email [email protected] and tell them The Waco Buzz sent you for 5% off.

Shop the collection^*

Good Life in Waco is our series on how real Wacoans build a life here. What you earn, how you're saving, what you've learned about money and health living in this city. 👉 Participate

Age: "Mid-50s."

Job: "I run a small business."

Why Waco: "I moved here from a major metropolitan area about 20 years ago. For the first several months, I was convinced I'd made a terrible mistake. Twenty years later, my husband and I are in love with this city. We're home."

Income: "I started out around $45,000. Over time, working at places ranging from a two-person office to international companies, I got into six figures before I retired."

Housing: "We bought our 1950s ranch house outright for $125,000, then accelerated payments to pay it off early. We've never carried a mortgage since, and never financed a car. If we couldn't pay cash for it, we didn't buy it."

Money decisions: "Worst was buying a house a couple years before the 2008 housing bubble. We lost a lot of money because we didn't check with our financial advisor first. We learned to do more research and check in before any big purchase. Best has just been staying frugal. You don't accumulate wealth if you're spending it."

Rich in Waco: "Wealthy doesn't look like money to us. A roof over your head, food on the table, family, friends, and neighbors who show up. We've found that here."

Freedom number: "Between $3 and $5 million. Not because our expenses are high, but because we're risk averse. If either of us needed long-term memory care someday, we want to cover it ourselves."

Best restaurant tip: "Terry Black's BBQ. Get the half-pound brisket, $18."

👉 Got lessons worth sharing? Share your story.

Welcome to Home of the Week, the only section in this newsletter that guesses list prices better than it guesses World Cup brackets. A few facts, then you guess the list price.

Two brownstone-style short-term rentals in the Silo District, built in 2022, walking distance to the Silos.

👉 Take your best guess at the list price, then peek at the answer here.

Free. Six city splash pads, open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through September. Kendrick Park and Pecan Bottoms have the most shade if you're staying a while.

Cheap. Doris Miller Community Pool's Summer Splash Pass runs $25 a person for unlimited admission through August 8.

Go big. Waco Surf's lazy river and Wedge Water Slides run through September 13. Take a surf lesson while you're there.

Thanks for reading The Waco Buzz today. If you found something helpful, share it with your relative who loves empanadas.

Three ways to be part of The Waco Buzz:

1. 15,000+ neighbors are reading this right now. If you're a local business owner, one of them is your next customer. Here's how to reach them.

2.Got an event worth showing up to? We'll put it in front of the people most likely to actually be there. Get it featured.

3. Dinner Club: Meet five other locals (recent movers and lifelong Wacoans) over dinner on July 28. You’ll make new friends regardless of stage of life and help make Waco a smaller town.