- Lammes Pralines same recipe for over 100 years
- Family owned since 1885
- One of oldest business in Austin
- Lammes factory on Airport produces preservative free candy
- Retro candy counter sells local Austin gifts
- Seasonal for chocolate covered strawberries
- 5330 Airport Boulevard
- (512) 453-2899
- lammes.com
Lammes pralines made on Airport Boulevard in Austin are world famous. They come from one of the oldest continuously operating businesses in the city of Austin. From their single factory on Airport Boulevard, Lammes Candies produces up to a million pounds a year of preservative free candy including caramels, hard candy, fudge, taffy, chocolates, and pralines. Founded in 1885 and originally named the “Red Front Candy Factory,” the company has a long history as a candy store in Austin.
The first Lamme’s Candies was located in downtown Austin, Texas and the original owner, David Lamme Sr., lived in an apartment above the store. Candy store customers could stroll from the shop up to the grounds of the Texas State Capitol. In those days, Congress Avenue was the only commercial street in the city and there were only about 12,000 residents in Austin.
Lammes Candies was the site of the first soda fountain in Texas. David Lamme, Sr. began to use the lamb logo still used today to help people pronounce his name properly. The red outlined lamb was the first neon sign in Austin.
In the early days, Lammes mainly sold ice cream and “Gem. ” Gem was a frozen fruit dessert made from whole milk with a taste and texture similar to sherbet. Lammes also sold ribbon candy. Ribbon candies are candies that are cut from a strip of hand-spun sugar.
Gem was discontinued during World War II due to sugar rationing. After the war, larger manufacturers were cornering the ice cream market and Lammes pivoted to focusing on candy. In addition, the spread of air conditioning in Austin after WWII made buying chocolates to take home much more popular.
Lammes pralines were first produced by David Lamme, Sr. in 1892. Lamme tasted and tested the recipe for seven years before he began selling Lammes pralines in his store. Known as Texas Chewie Pecan Praline, the Lammes praline has a soft, chewy texture and not the hard chew often found with caramel candies.
Originally, only pecans from the trees along the Colorado River in Austin were used to produce Lammes pralines. Lammes pralines continue to follow this tradition using only Texas grown pecans. Lammes Candies still tries to source as many ingredients as possible from Texas.
The ingredients in Lammes pralines are still the same as when they were first sold in the original shop in downtown Austin. Pecans, corn syrup, sugar, milk, butter, and salt are combined in small batches using traditional methods to produce over 2000 pounds of the “Texas Chewie” Lammes pralines every day. The Lammes praline is not overly sweet. The strong taste of pecan in the soft caramel is one reason the Lammes praline has remained a favorite of chocolate lovers for over a hundred years.
In addition to the Texas Chewie Pecan Praline, Lammes also produces a range of other confections based on the Lammes pralines, including Longhorns, Choc’Adillos, Cashew Critters, Peanut Paws, and Habanero Pralines. These treats are all made with premium chocolate and feature the same creamy, chewy texture as the original praline.
This fifth-generation family owned company continues operating today out of a chocolate factory on Airport Boulevard. The Austin candy plant employs around 60-80 people. Besides the Lammes pralines, the red storefront at the factory sells a wide range of confections at its retro candy counter, including mints, taffies, divinity, and limited release treats such as chocolate-covered strawberries.
Lammes Candies is one of the few places you can find that sells strawberries completely covered in chocolate, without any green stems sticking out. Another popular item is the soft peppermint kisses. Lammes Candies produces the bulk of its products at its Austin plant. Some specialty items like gummy bears and taffy are purchased from other producers and brought into the store.
Besides the store on Airport at the candy factory, Lammes has three other locations in the Austin area where Lammes pralines are prominently featured. Lammes Candies are also available online.