Historic Candy Store Chain Lammes Candies Closes All Retail Locations After 141 Years
One of Texas's most beloved institutions has fallen silent. Lammes Candies, the historic candy store chain that has been a cornerstone of Austin life since 1885, has announced it is permanently shutting down all retail locations after 141 years in operation. The closures mark the end of Austin's longest-running family business.
Lammes Candies Closes Doors Citing Changing Market Conditions
The historic candy store chain Lammes Candies is closing all of its locations due to changing market conditions and long-term sustainability issues, the chain's owners said in a notice posted at its Round Rock, Texas, store.
The Round Rock location closed on April 24, 2026, with a sign that read, "we have made the difficult decision to close our business." The main flagship store on Airport Boulevard will remain open a bit longer so customers have the opportunity to purchase their favorite Lammes Candies treats.
Six years ago, Lammes Candies operated seven locations in the Texas Hill Country. That network has steadily contracted until nothing remains.
The 141-Year History Behind the Historic Candy Store Chain
William Wirt Lamme arrived in Austin from St. Louis in 1878 and founded the Red Front Candy Factory on Congress Avenue. He later lost the business at the card table, and in 1885, his son David Turner Lamme traveled from Ohio to repurchase it for $800 and reopen it that July under the Lammes Candies name.
The lamb logo was the first neon sign in Austin, and Lammes also had the first soda fountain in Texas. For generations of Central Texas families, a trip to Lammes was a ritual — not just a shopping errand.
Lammes is Austin's oldest continuously run family business. That distinction, held for over a century, now belongs to history.
Signature Products That Defined Lammes Candies
Lammes Candies is best known for its Texas Chewy Pecan Pralines, which debuted in the candy shop in 1892. The Texas Chewy was the company's top-selling product, producing 2,000 pounds of the candies each day.
Beyond its signature praline, Lammes offered a range of candies that became firm favorites among loyal customers, including Longhorns made with pecans, caramel and chocolate; Choco'Adillos combining caramel, almonds and chocolate; and Cashew Critters featuring caramel, cashews and chocolate.
The Texas Chewy Pecan Praline alone carried cultural weight far beyond its ingredients — it appeared at holidays, weddings, and gift boxes shipped across the country for decades.
Cocoa Prices and Economic Pressure Pushed Lammes Candies to Close
The candy retail industry has been hit hard by a combination of pressures in recent months. Cocoa prices surged to historic highs in the fourth quarter of 2025 and remain elevated, driven by a decline in cocoa bean availability and a sharp increase in the cost of production.
A J.P. Morgan agricultural commodities strategist described it as a historic increase in the cost of doing business, noting that cost pass-through is often limited by supermarkets and retailers, weakening industrial demand. For a family-owned operation like Lammes, those margins left little room to survive.
Lammes Candies Is Not Alone — A Wave of Candy Store Closures
Lammes Candies is not the only beloved candy business to close its doors in recent months. Kate Weiser Chocolate, a 12-year-old Dallas-area institution known for its artisan chocolates and national shipping operation, announced it would cease operations on April 15, just weeks before the Lammes announcement.
The back-to-back closures highlight how vulnerable specialty and independent candy retailers have become in the current environment, where elevated ingredient costs and cautious consumer spending leave very little room for error. The historic candy store chain sector is facing a reckoning that shows no sign of slowing.
Online Sales Continue as Lammes Candies Winds Down
Despite the candy store chain closing all of its locations, Lammes Candies said it will continue online sales for an indefinite period as long as it has inventory, and will begin an orderly wind-down of operations that includes fulfilling remaining orders and supporting employees through their termination process.
"Lammes Candies has been more than a business; it has been a family legacy spanning generations. We are deeply grateful to our employees, customers, and community for their unwavering support over the past 141 years," the statement said. For loyal fans of the Texas Chewy Pecan Praline, the online store represents one final chance to hold onto a 141-year tradition.
