Roberto Riggio, Grammy-nominated director of world music act Atash, passed away on Monday, Sept. 28. He was 55. Born in Mexico and raised in Edinburg, Texas, the violinist and composer came to Austin to study music at UT in 1989 and never stopped learning and playing in the four decades that followed, becoming an influential force in Austin’s world music scene and a connective advocate for the entire musical community. In addition to leading the seven-time Austin Music Award-winning international fusion group Atash, he composed, arranged, produced, and conducted for a variety of musical acts, concert events, and film scores across different genres and disciplines, including leading Bereket, the Middle Eastern ensemble at UT. “Austin lost a cornerstone of our music community,” wrote local advocacy group Austin Texas Musicians in a remembrance post. “His artistry, friendship, and contributions touched countless lives, and his absence will be deeply felt.”
Lammes Candies is making a sweet return, thanks to Fort Worth-based hospitality duo Craig Cavileer and Kayla Wilkie-Kinne, known as Delightful Development Co. The two will bring their knowledge from leading hospitality development projects in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards to the 141-year-old company, with guidance from the founding family. “141 years of history is not something you learn through an acquisition or overnight,” Wilkie-Kinne acknowledges. Alongside the brand’s beloved treats like Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines, Sherbet Mints, and Longhorns, Cavileer says the purchase includes “a library of legacy recipes and formulations” that have been absent from shelves for some time. In the coming years, they plan to dust these handwritten recipes off for testing and potentially bring them to new customers. 5330 Airport, where Lammes’ lamb flew for over a century, was purchased by Topo Development Group, but the candies will still be produced and shipped from the “proud borders of Texas,” Wilkie-Kinne says. This year, a limited run in the original iconic packaging is available for preorder beginning Sept. 29, with nationwide shipping starting Nov. 1.
Austin Opera celebrated the official opening of the Sarah and Ernest Butler Performance Center on Saturday, Sept. 26, with the world premiere of Ofrenda, a Spanish and English opera set around Día de los Muertos. The tale of familial sacrifice and healing is just the first of several smaller-scale opera productions that Austin Opera plans to host at the 189-seat theatre, in addition to larger operas performed at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Along with the theatre, the new complex – located at 5811 Trade Center Dr. – contains rehearsal rooms, a conference center, and indoor and outdoor event spaces to accommodate education programming and community events year-round.
Moonline is the official new name of the venue at 2015 E. Riverside, formerly known as Emo’s. Los Angeles-based live entertainment company AEG announced in June that they’d purchased the venue from Live Nation. Emo’s will say its farewells in December, and Moonline is scheduled to open with refreshed sound and lighting systems, bars, and dressing rooms in February 2027. Real estate developers Presidium, who own the building, are also collaborating with AEG on another venue, the 4,000-capacity United Heritage Hall. That venue is slated to open in spring 2027 as a part of the 109-acre mixed-use Riverside development project River Park.
Legacy Business Month is in full swing across Austin this October. Organized by Preservation Austin, the initiative honors 10 local businesses that have been in operation for more than 20 years, encouraging folks to explore neighborhood staples and cultural cornerstones they might not have made it to before with their Legacy Business Month Passport. This year’s picks have something for everyone: Fuel up with a famous Don Juan El Taco Grande at Juan in a Million; shop fresh fruits and veggies at Boggy Creek Farm or outdoor supplies and livestock at Callahan’s General Store; grab a snowball at Casey’s on Airport or traditional noodle dishes at Coco’s Cafe. Start your night with a Mad Dog Margarita at Texas Chili Parlor, then catch the game at the Tavern, bowl at Westgate Lanes, dance at goth mainstay Elysium, or play bar games at neighborhood dive Shenanigans. There’s still plenty of time this October to hit every spot for a passport stamp – collect them all for a chance to win prizes from other Austin staples like a two-night stay at Hotel San José, a stay-and-dine at the Driskill Hotel, or a three-month, all-access pass to Castle Hill Fitness. “These long-time local businesses embody so many threads of our city’s history and culture,” says Preservation Austin’s Executive Director Lindsey Derrington. “We’re proud to present another incredible lineup of legacy businesses for our community to celebrate; every dollar spent keeps Austin more real, more unique, and more ours.”
This article appears in October 9 • 2026.
