Lammes Candies, the 141-year-old Austin shop once headed for closure, will reopen under new owners determined to preserve its Texas heritage and classic recipes.
The Sun reported that Lammes Candies announced on Tuesday it would return under Craig Cavileer and Kayla Wilkie-Kinne of Delightful Development Co., reversing plans to shut down earlier this year.
The Austin, Texas confectioner dates to 1885 and has long been known for staples such as Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines, Longhorns, and Sherbet Mints. Those products are slated to come back with the shop.
Cavileer and Wilkie-Kinne have worked with companies including Starbucks. They say they intend to keep the brand’s character intact rather than reinvent it.
Wilkie-Kinne laid out the approach in plain terms.
She said:
“Our vision isn’t to change what Lammes Candies is known for.”
She added:
“It’s to bring back the legacy recipes, traditions and heritage that made Lammes so special for 141 years.”
And she framed the shop as more than candy:
“Lammes Candies is more than a confection and candy company.”
She continued:
“It’s a significant piece of Texas history that Craig and I will honor, preserve and celebrate with future generations of Texans and customers around the country.”
The company’s story starts even earlier than the Lammes name. In 1878, William Wirt Lamme lost the Red Front Candy Factory in a poker match.
In 1885, David Turner Lamme Sr. paid $800 to reclaim the factory. After clearing the debt, he rebranded it Lammes Candies. That lineage is what the new owners say they want to protect.
Exact sale terms, store counts, and a firm reopen date were not detailed in the announcement. What is clear is the direction: private buyers stepped in after a planned shutdown and chose continuity over a teardown.
When a local institution lasts nearly a century and a half, the market still finds people willing to buy the recipes, keep the name, and serve the next generation, without a government rescue.