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Lammes Candies closes after over a century in Austin
Lammes Candies, a sweet staple in Austin since the 1800s, is closing its doors.
AUSTIN, Texas - After more than a century of bringing sweet treats to Central Texas, Lammes Candies is closing its doors.
The backstory:
"Back in the day, you went to Lammes Candies for your candy. You went to the grocery store for your groceries. You went to Scarborough's for a nice outfit. And we went to Benold's or Kruger's for your jewelry," said Lana Schmidt, vice president of Lammes Candies.
Lammes Candies has been a sweet staple in Austin since the 1800s.
"My great-great-great grandfather started it in 1885. Actually, his father started it a little bit before. It was called the red front candy store. But he had a passion for playing poker and lost it in a poker game. So his son came down, repaid his debt of $800 and got the candy company back and then renamed it Lammes candies, which is a family name," said Schmidt.
For 141 years, the family business has been serving up sweets one treat at a time. For vice president Lana Schmidt, she started working the cash register at just 12 years old.
"Throughout the years, my father bought it in its entirety, I think, in 1972. And so, he was in the fourth generation. My brother and sister and I are the fifth generation. And back in that time, we had just like one, two retail stores. And then they grew it throughout Austin," said Schmidt.
What began as a small shop on Congress Avenue grew into Austin’s hometown candy store and home of the world-famous Texas chewie Pecan Praline.
"It's been through the sugar rations and the wars and everything like that. It was a product that you could ship in Texas and ship to our military overseas without it melting. And so that was our mainstay here, and it's unique," said Schmidt.
After five generations, Schmidt says the decision to close was not an easy one.
Lammes closed its Round Rock location last week. Its Airport Boulevard store remains open, but not for long.
"The economy, you know, with the raw materials going up, labor is going, it's just everything is escalating. There's not a huge margin in confections, but the bottom line is we need to spend time with our grandchildren," said Schmidt.
What's next:
Ahead of its closure, Lammes is thanking the community for more than a century of shared memories and support.
"I think we've built a legacy for the community. I mean we had the first neon sign. I mean there are a lot of firsts with lamps in Austin. I know people are gonna miss this sweet treat, this tradition of theirs. And so we will miss the community," said Schmidt.
Lammes is encouraging customers to stop by the Airport Boulevard location while inventory lasts.
Online sales are still open as well.
Local perspective:
The community is sad to see it go. From locals who have been coming for years and for first timers, too.
"I first came here when I first moved to Austin. This was one of the first places I came to. I moved here about five years ago. And I came in because I saw that it was one of the oldest places in Austin. And I was like, I want to get in on that," said Hannah Burwell, an Austin resident.
"I've never been here before. My mom told me when we moved over here about how, when she was a kid, she used to go here a lot," said Charlie Ritter, Lammes first time visitor.
Many customers have been stocking up on their favorites before they disappear.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King