Two business leaders behind the renaissance of the Fort Worth Stockyards are now looking to give life to another Texas institution: Austin’s Lammes Candies.
The family-owned confectionary brand, which had an iconic location and neon sign at 5330 Airport Blvd. in Austin, announced in April it was shutting down, citing market conditions. The company, which had several other outlets that have also closed, is known for their Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines and Longhorns made with chocolate, caramel and pecans.
But Delightful Development Co., the Fort Worth-based hospitality company co-founded by Craig Cavileer and Kayla Wilkie-Kinne, reached out to the Lammes Candies family. Their proposal to acquire the company kept the family involved while reinvigorating the brand’s identity and connecting it with the next generation of Lammes customers.
“Lammes Candies is more than a confection and candy company,” said Wilkie-Kinne, in a news release. “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 return kicks off Sept. 29 with holiday season preorders of the most popular Lammes Candies offerings.
“Our vision isn’t to change what Lammes Candies is known for. It’s to bring back the legacy recipes, traditions and heritage that made Lammes so special for 141 years, while we introduce new artisanal chocolates and candies for the next 141 years,” Wilkie-Kinne said.
Cavileer spent 13 years — with Wilkie-Kinne involved for eight of those years — leading the renaissance of the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District, including developing the Hotel Drover and the adaptive reuse of Mule Alley. Cavileer was then working with Stockyards Heritage, a partnership between California-based Majestic Realty and Fort Worth’s Hickman Companies. Last year, Cavileer left Stockyards Heritage in a legal dispute which continues in a Los Angeles court. Majestic Realty is asking for $76 million in unpaid loans from Cavileer, who has countersued.
In August, Stockyards Heritage announced it was not going to continue with a planned Phase II redevelopment of the historic area. The same day, Cavileer’s Delightful Development, in partnership with Woodbine Development Co. announced the development of their new $160 million, 225-room resort in the Stockyards, through a public-private partnership with the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
Candies from Lammes Candies in Austin. (Courtesy | Lammes Candies and Dixie Dixon Photography)
For the relaunch of Lammes, Delightful has partnered with McGarrah Jessee, an Austin-based firm that has helped build brands with deep Texas roots, including Whataburger, Shiner Beer, YETI and Deep Eddy Vodka.
For Lammes, McGarrah Jessee is working with Delightful to design new product packaging, redesign and refresh the brand’s website, and develop a social strategy for the legacy brand. Drawing on 141 years of family archives and history, the formal relaunch will hit in spring 2027.
The reopening of the orders this year includes a final, limited run of Lammes’ holiday Sherbet Mints, Longhorns and pralines packaged in the brand’s legacy boxes. Lammes Christmas Sherbet Mints will also be available at select Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations across the country.
The Lammes Candies family grew its praline business into a catalog of more than 1,000 items, all of which were made at the Airport Boulevard factory that opened in Austin in 1956. That was when the company installed its iconic candy cane pole and sign featuring a lamb outlined in neon. Founder William Wirt Lamme incorporated the lamb into his branding so customers would know how to pronounce his name.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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