Key Points:
- Lammes Candies candy store is permanently closing all retail locations after 141 years in operation.
- The Round Rock store closed April 24, 2026; the Austin Airport Blvd flagship has no firm close date yet.
- Owners cited changing market conditions and long-term sustainability concerns.
- Rising cocoa prices and retail foot traffic decline played a major role.
- Online sales will continue while inventory lasts, order at lammes.com.
What is Happening to Lammes Candies?
Cocoa prices hit a historic high in Q4 2025 and stayed elevated well into 2026. Small family candy businesses across America quietly started feeling that pressure, and now, one of the oldest has reached its limit.
Lammes Candies candy store, an Austin institution since 1885, is closing permanently. All retail locations are shutting down. The Round Rock store closed April 24, 2026. The flagship store at 5330 Airport Boulevard in Austin, which also houses the company’s manufacturing facility, will close soon, though the exact date has not been confirmed.
The company will continue selling online for an unspecified period while inventory lasts. After that, 141 years of handcrafted Texas candy disappears from shelves.
Why is Lammes Candies Candy Store Closing?
The owners posted a notice at the Round Rock store citing “changing market conditions and long-term sustainability of our operations.” Co-owner Lana K. Schmidt confirmed the closures.
“This was not an easy decision,” the company said in a statement.
Here is what that really means in plain terms:
| Factor | Impact |
| Cocoa prices | Hit a Q4 2025 record high and stayed elevated through 2026 |
| Rising labor costs | Compressed margins for small, family-run producers |
| Retail foot traffic | Declining nationally post-pandemic |
| Consumer spending | People cutting back on non-essential items |
| Scale disadvantage | Family businesses cannot absorb costs like large chains |
J.P. Morgan agricultural commodities strategist Tracey Allen described the situation as a “historic increase in the cost of doing business,” and Lammes Candies candy store absorbed that for as long as it could.
The Full Story Behind the 1885 Founding – Including the Gambling Debt
Most people know Lammes as Austin’s oldest candy store. Fewer know how the family nearly lost it before it even got started.
William Wirt Lamme arrived in Austin in 1878. He set up a small confectionery and built it into something the city genuinely loved. But somewhere along the way, the business changed hands, reportedly lost over a gambling debt. His son later paid that debt off and reclaimed the store, officially re-establishing it as a family business in 1885. That is the year Lammes Candies candy store counts as its founding.
From that point forward, the business stayed in the family without interruption for 141 years. Through wars, economic crashes, the rise of supermarkets, the internet, and eventually a global pandemic, the family held on. The fact that it started with a son paying off his father’s gambling debt and ended with a dignified farewell notice says something about the character of the people who ran it.
A few historic firsts the store carried quietly:
- The lamb logo was Austin’s first neon sign
- Lammes had the first soda fountain in Texas
- The Texas Chewie Pecan Praline recipe dates to 1892, made with pecans gathered from Colorado River trees.
141 Years of Sweet History
A quick Lammes Candies timeline:
| Year | Milestone |
| 1878 | William Wirt Lamme arrives in Austin |
| 1885 | Son reclaims business; family ownership officially begins |
| 1892 | Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines introduced |
| WWII | Ice cream paused due to sugar rationing |
| 1965 | Discontinued ice cream; focused solely on candy |
| 2020s | Operated 7 Texas Hill Country locations |
| April 24, 2026 | Round Rock store closes |
| TBD 2026 | Airport Blvd flagship final closing |
What Happened to the Other 5 Locations?
Six years ago, Lammes Candies operated seven locations across the Texas Hill Country. By the time the closure announcement came, only two remained, Round Rock and Airport Boulevard.
The company has not made an official public statement about when or why the other five stores closed. But the pattern is familiar. Rising rents, shrinking foot traffic, and the difficulty of staffing multiple retail locations during and after the pandemic pushed many small multi-location businesses to consolidate quietly before the final curtain.
For Lammes, each closure was likely a small attempt to survive, trimming locations to protect the core. It almost worked. Going from seven stores to two and holding on for several more years shows the family fought hard to keep it going. The Lammes Candies 141 years legacy did not end without a fight.
What Made Lammes Candies Special
The Texas Chewie Pecan Praline is the star product. The store produced 2,000 pounds of them every single day. That is not a boutique treat, that is a Texas staple.
Beyond the pralines, loyal customers kept coming back for:
- Longhorns: Pecans, caramel, and chocolate
- Choco’Adillos: Caramel, almonds, and chocolate
- Cashew Critters: Caramel, cashews, and chocolate
- Chocolate-covered strawberries
- Holiday gift boxes that Austin families passed down as a tradition for generations
A box of Texas Chewie Pralines typically ran around $15-$30 depending on size, affordable enough to be a regular gift, special enough to feel like one. That pricing sweet spot is part of why they became the default holiday box for so many Austin households.
For a lot of people, Lammes was a first job, a school field trip, a Christmas tradition, or just the place you stopped on a road trip through Austin.
How Austin Reacted Online
When news of the Austin candy store closing 2026 broke, social media moved fast.
Austin residents flooded Twitter, Instagram, and local Facebook groups with memories. People posted photos of old gift boxes with faded ribbons. Others tagged siblings and parents, “remember when Grandma used to bring these every Christmas?” Several longtime employees shared that they had worked at Lammes for over a decade and were heartbroken.
The overwhelming sentiment was not just sadness about losing a candy store. It was grief over losing something that marked time. Lammes pralines showed up at graduations, funerals, holidays, and first dates. That is the kind of business that does not get replaced by another store opening down the street.
Local Austin food writers noted that no other Texas candy chain closes with this kind of community response, because no other historic candy store closes with 141 years of unbroken family ownership behind it.
How Many Employees Are Affected?
The company has not publicly confirmed the total number of employees impacted by the closure. What they did say is that the wind-down will include “supporting employees through their termination process,” which suggests layoffs across both the retail and manufacturing sides of the business.
The Airport Boulevard location doubles as the company’s production facility, meaning the closure affects not just store staff but also the people who made the candy every day. Given that the store was producing 2,000 pounds of pralines daily, the manufacturing team alone was likely significant.
If you or someone you know worked at Lammes and is navigating the transition, Texas Workforce Commission (texasworkforce.org) offers job placement support and unemployment assistance.
Will the Texas Chewie Pecan Praline Recipe Ever Come Back?
This is what most people are actually wondering after reading the closure news, and so far, there is no clear answer.
The company has not announced any plans to sell the brand, license the recipes, or partner with another producer. The statement about online sales continuing “while inventory lasts” suggests the focus right now is on fulfilling existing orders, not planning a comeback.
That said, recipes this iconic rarely disappear completely. A few realistic possibilities:
- Brand acquisition: A larger candy company or Texas food brand could purchase the Lammes name and recipes.
- Licensing: The family could license the Texas Chewie formula to a local Austin producer.
- Pop-up revival: The company’s own statement mentioned potential future pop-ups on their website.
- Home replication: Pecan praline recipes are widely available, though none will taste exactly like the original.
For now, the honest answer is: nobody knows. Follow lammes.com for any announcements. That is currently the only official channel with confirmed future updates.
What Fans Can Do Right Now
- Visit the Airport Blvd flagship before it closes: 5330 Airport Blvd, Austin. No confirmed Lammes Candies last day yet, so go soon.
- Order online at lammes.com: Sales continue while inventory lasts.
- Stock up on Texas Chewie Pralines: Once production ends, this specific recipe may not exist anywhere else.
- Follow their website: The company said it will share news about future pop-ups and product availability there.
Best Alternatives to Lammes Candies in Texas
Once the historic candy store closes, where do you go for quality Texas pecan pralines and handmade sweets? A few options worth knowing:
| Store | Location | Known For |
| Péché Chocolatier | Austin, TX | Handcrafted artisan chocolates |
| Texas Praline Company | San Antonio, TX | Classic Southern-style pecan pralines |
| Buc-ee’s | Statewide Texas | Mass-market pecan pralines, widely available |
| Lammes.com | Online | Still active while inventory lasts |
None of these fully replace what Lammes offered, but if you need a pecan praline fix after the doors close, these are your best bets in Texas.
Common Questions About Lammes Candies
Why is Lammes Candies closing?
Owners cited changing market conditions and long-term sustainability concerns. Rising cocoa prices, higher labor costs, and declining retail foot traffic all contributed.
When does Lammes Candies close?
The Round Rock location closed April 24, 2026. The Airport Blvd Austin flagship has no confirmed closing date yet.
Where to buy Lammes Candies online?
Visit lammes.com, online sales are continuing while inventory lasts.
What is the oldest candy company still around?
Lammes Candies, founded in 1885, was Austin’s oldest continuously run family business. With its closure, that title passes to other historic American candy makers. Doscher’s Candies in Cincinnati, founded in 1871, is among the oldest still operating in the US.
What is the Lammes Candies Texas Chewie Pecan Praline?
A soft, chewy praline made with pecans, introduced in 1892. The store produced 2,000 pounds daily and it remained their best-selling product until the very end.
What candy bar was discontinued recently?
While not a candy bar, Lammes Candies Texas Chewie Pecan Praline is among the most notable American candy products being discontinued in 2026 due to the permanent closure of the brand.
What 2000s candy is not sold anymore?
Several nostalgic candies from the 2000s have been discontinued over the years including Altoids Sours, Wonka Donutz, and Life Savers Holes. Lammes Candies now joins that list of beloved sweets that future generations will only hear about.
End of an Era
Austin is losing more than a candy store. The Lammes Candies 141 years story is the closing of a family legacy that outlasted almost everything, two World Wars, the Great Depression, sugar rationing, the rise of Amazon, a global pandemic. Most businesses do not survive one of those things. Lammes survived all of them.
The lamb logo lit up Austin before most of the city existed. The pralines were being made before anyone alive today was born. That kind of history does not get replaced when a new store opens across town.
If you are in Austin, go to Airport Boulevard. Buy a box. Take your time inside. That is the only goodbye available now, and it will not be available much longer.
