Lammes Candies closing its last remaining retail stores marks a painful farewell to one of Texas’s most cherished sweet traditions. The Austin-based, family-run candy manufacturer, which established its business in 1885, announced the closing of its Round Rock location on April 24, and confirmed that its final Austin store would soon follow. After 141 years of handcrafting confections for generations of loyal customers, the company cited changing market conditions and long-term sustainability concerns as the driving forces behind the decision.
Lammes is Austin’s oldest continuously run family business. Its story stretches back even further than most realize. The business began in 1878 after William Wirt Lamme arrived in Austin from St. Louis and established the Red Front Candy Factory at 721 Congress Ave. After losing the store in a poker game, his son, David Turner Lamme, repurchased it in 1885 for $800. That determination laid the foundation for a legacy that would endure for well over a century.
Lammes Candies closing chapter began with humble roots
The company did not always deal in the pecan-laden sweets it became famous for. Lammes Candies originally sold ice cream and gem, a frozen fruit dessert made from whole milk, until sugar rationing during World War II led to a phase-out of ice cream. After the war, both products returned briefly before fading from the menu. In 1965, the family discontinued those products and began focusing exclusively on candies.
The pivot proved transformative. Lammes Candies is best known for its Texas Chewy Pecan Pralines, which debuted in the candy shop in 1892. At their peak, the company produced 2,000 pounds of the Texas Chewy each day. Beyond pralines, the brand built out a beloved lineup: 1. Longhorns, made with pecans, caramel and chocolate; 2. Choco’Adillos, featuring caramel, almonds and chocolate; 3. Cashew Critters, combining caramel, cashews and chocolate; and 4. a wide range of seasonal and specialty confections. The lamb logo was the first neon sign in Austin, and Lammes also had the first soda fountain in Texas.
Why Lammes Candies closing was unavoidable
Six years ago, Lammes Candies operated seven locations in the Texas Hill Country. That number declined steadily as economic headwinds mounted. The candy retail industry has suffered from a combination of higher cocoa prices, rising labor costs and consumers pulling back on spending for non-essential items. Cocoa prices hit a high in the fourth quarter of 2025 and remain elevated. For a family-run operation without the financial cushion of a large corporation, absorbing those costs became impossible.
Lammes is not alone in this struggle. Kate Weiser Chocolate, a 12-year-old Dallas-area staple that operated retail outlets and shipped artisan chocolates nationally, closed its doors on April 15. The back-to-back closures underscore a troubling pattern sweeping through the independent confectionery world across Texas and beyond.
What comes next after Lammes Candies closing its doors
Despite the store closures, the company has not gone completely silent. Lammes Candies said it will continue online sales for an indefinite period, as long as inventory holds. The company also confirmed it will begin an orderly wind-down of operations, fulfilling remaining orders and supporting employees through their termination process.
For loyal customers who grew up stopping in for a bag of Texas Chewies or a box of Longhorns, the loss carries a weight that goes beyond nostalgia. Lammes Candies was not simply a place to buy sweets it was a gathering point, a generations-old tradition and a living piece of Texas history that stretched all the way back to the Reconstruction era.
Source: TheStreet / KVUE
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