Lammes Candies, a Texas confectionery business that has operated for more than a century, is shutting down its locations after 141 years.

The company confirmed it will close six of its seven stores, keeping only its flagship shop on Airport Boulevard in Austin open temporarily as it winds down operations.

Online sales and purchases at the flagship location will continue until inventory is depleted.

Closure tied to market challenges

The decision follows what the company described as “unprecedented economic pressures and current market conditions.”

In a formal statement, ownership said the move came after reviewing changes in the marketplace and evaluating the long-term sustainability of the business.

The company plans an orderly shutdown, including completing outstanding orders and assisting employees through the transition.

"This was not an easy decision," the ownership team said. "Lammes Candies has been more than a business — it has been a family legacy spanning generations."

Family business spanning five generations

Lammes Candies traces its origins to 1878, when William Wirt Lamme opened the Red Front Candy Factory in Austin.

After losing the store in a poker game in 1885, his son, David Turner Lamme Sr., repaid an $800 debt to regain control and reopen the business under the family name later that year.

The company officially began operations as Lammes Candies on July 10, 1885, and remained family-owned across five generations.

From ice cream to signature pralines

In its early years, the shop sold ice cream and frozen fruit desserts before shifting toward chocolates in the mid-20th century.

One of its best-known products, the Texas Chewie Pecan Praline, was first introduced in 1892 and became closely associated with the brand.

Since 2004, the company has been run by siblings Pam, Bryan, and Lana Lamme, representing the fifth generation of the family.

As operations wind down, the closure marks the end of one of Texas’ longest-running family businesses, leaving behind a legacy built over more than a century.