Legacy Business Month

Paige Sipes, Graphic Design & Creative

Join the party October 2026!

Leg•a•cy Busi•ness noun || 1. A beloved local establishment open for 20 years or more that anchors a community and epitomizes classic cool.

From iconic music venues to Tex-Mex staples, legacy businesses are essential to Austin's culture. Every October, our Legacy Business Month passport features 10 beloved local businesses, encouraging Austinites to visit participating businesses, show their support with a purchase, get their passport stamped, and win awesome prizes.

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Not Just October: Celebrate Legacy Businesses Year-Round

We created Legacy Business Month to celebrate the businesses that define Austin’s culture, and encourage Austinites to support the businesses they love not just during the month of October, but all year long. Whether you’re holiday shopping, celebrating a birthday, or looking for something fun to do this weekend, we hope you’ll consider supporting a legacy business. Click through our map of every business we’ve featured in our Legacy Business Month passports over the years for some inspiration!

OPEN MAP

Thank You to our 2025 Legacy Business Month Sponsors

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. This year’s program celebrates restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and retail establishments. 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

Why are they important?

Legacy businesses have made significant contributions to Austin's cultural, economic, and historic landscape.

The city’s explosive growth has made protections and support for legacy businesses more important than ever, which is why Preservation Austin adopted Legacy Businesses as an Advocacy Priority in 2022. In the last several years, so many beloved businesses have shuttered, with others expected to follow in the near future.

Cities such as San Francisco and San Antonio have adopted ground-breaking legacy business programs to protect and support their cities’ identities. Following their example, Preservation Austin aims to identify, uplift, and generate support for new policies and tools to sustain legacy businesses citywide and ensure they remain vital cultural landmarks for generations to come.