AUSTIN (KXAN) — This is your sign to go support your favorite local business soon. Why? Because October is right around the corner, and it’s Legacy Business Month in the city of Austin.
Legacy Business Month is a program by Preservation Austin that encourages people to get out and support local, iconic businesses in the city.
It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt, and at the end, participants have a chance to win prizes, like Music Wristbands for South by Southwest, spa experiences at Ottine Mineral Springs, gift cards and merch from participating businesses, and more.
“This is a program where we rally all Austinites to go out and support long-time iconic businesses that really inform our city’s culture and that need all of our support in order to thrive and stick around for generations to come,” Lindsey Derrington, Austin Preservation’s Executive Director, said.
The program runs Oct. 1-31. Participants will pick up free passports that list 10 Austin businesses, then take the passport to those businesses and get a stamp when making a purchase, then turn in their passports in early November to be entered to win prizes for most stamps collected.
“The whole goal is, take your passport, go to each business, buy something, they’ll give you a stamp, and then, in the process, you can learn about those histories and just really explore the city in a way that is really fun and engaging,” Derrington said.
Those interested can go to the Legacy Business Month kick-off party at Zilker Taproom on Oct. 2 from 6-9 p.m. to pick up their passport and try the taproom’s limited-edition Legacy Business Month beer. Those who can’t make the party can pick up a passport at either Wheatsville Co-op location or Zilker Taproom during business hours starting Oct. 1.
The Legacy Business Month wrap party will be on Nov. 5 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Saxon Pub, where participants drop off their passports for their chance to win prizes.
2025 Legacy Business Month Participating Businesses
ANTONE’S NIGHTCLUB (305 E 5th St, Austin, TX 78701)
AUSSIE’S GRILL & BEACH BAR (306 Barton Springs Rd, Austin, TX 78704)
MOZART’S COFFEE ROASTERS (3825 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, TX 78703)
MR. NATURAL (1901 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78702)
OILCAN HARRY’S (211 W 4th St, Austin, TX 78701)
ROOM SERVICE VINTAGE (117 E North Loop Blvd, Austin, TX 78751)
SAM’S BBQ (2000 E 12th St, Austin, TX 78702)
SHANDEEZ GRILL (8863 Anderson Mill Rd Suite 109, Austin, TX 78729)
TERRA TOYS (2438 W Anderson Ln C1, Austin, TX 78757)
THE SAXON PUB (1320 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704)
What is a ‘Legacy Business’?
Preservation Austin defines a Legacy Business as a locally-owned and operated business that is at least 20 years old. Additional considerations include whether a business:
● Has contributed to the history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood, community, or
the city as a whole;
● Is owned by generations of the same family;
● Has operated under singular ownership for 20+ years;
● Operates out of its original location or has operated out of the same location for 20+ years.
“Legacy businesses, as we define them, need to have been in operation for 20 years or more,” Derrington said. “They need to inform the city’s culture in some way, and just for our own kind of operational purposes, they need to have only one location.”
Derrington said that’s because a lot of businesses have grown and thrived to be able to open more than one location, which is great, but businesses with one location may need more help and support. Plus, it’s easier to keep the businesses’ staff and Preservation Austin’s team on the same page with the program if the businesses only have one location to coordinate.
Legacy Business Month is an annual program that businesses can apply to participate in. Derrington said so far, as this is the third year that Preservation Austin has run it, there have been 33 participating businesses. The first year, 13 businesses were involved, but it’s now capped at 10 businesses.
“These are not the only 10 significant businesses in Austin in a given month, like there are hundreds of legacy businesses… we’re only able to showcase 10, but that’s why this is an annual program,” Derrington said. “So, businesses actually apply to participate and work closely with our staff to make this happen. And we’re excited to keep moving through 10 after 10 after 10 every year and cycle through some pretty incredible places.”
Why do legacy businesses need extra support?
“It’s our city to lose. And if we want to keep Austin a place we know and love, we need to support Historic Places.”
Lindsey Derrington, Executive Director of Austin Preservation
Derrington said legacy businesses struggle with rising rents, rising property values, etc, and since they hold pieces of the city’s history and growth, they are “the heartbeat of our city,” she said in a press release from Preservation Austin.
“From iconic music venues and cherished vintage stores to pioneering Black- and LGBTQ-owned establishments, they’re on the frontlines of keeping Austin the vibrant, unique city we all love,” the release continued. “Supporting these businesses isn’t just nostalgic, it’s essential. We invite all Austinites to show up this October, celebrate these incredible places, and experience a true taste of old-school Austin and community pride.”
Derrington said via Zoom on Thursday that holding programs like Legacy Business Month helps celebrate and preserve the histories behind the businesses and helps build enthusiasm for why preservation is needed.
“People get really emotional when you talk about legacy businesses, because it touches, like, places they went as a child, or when they were in college, where they met their partner… Preservation is something that needs stewarding, like when you leave it up to chance, things can close, things can get torn down. That’s what we’re trying to do at Preservation Austin is give Austinites an opportunity to engage with us in our mission to take agency over this.”
Derrington added that preservation can come in the form of several different actions, like, reaching out to local, state, and federal representatives, shopping for holiday gifts at Terra Toys instead of Target, or buying a coffee from Mozart’s during Legacy Business Month.
More details about Legacy Business Month can be found on Preservation Austin’s website.