Legacy Austin Businesses Shine in October Celebration
Oct 20, 2023

Legacy Austin Businesses Shine in October Celebration

By Ronan Benford

Reporting Texas TV

AUSTIN, Texas – Preservation Austin celebrated 13 longstanding Austin businesses during its first Legacy Business Month.

The businesses range from skateparks to libraries, and include local staples Peter Pan Mini-Golf and the Green & White Grocery. All the establishments met the Preservation Austin criteria of being locally owned, open at least 20 years, and having “contributed to the history and/or the identity of a particular neighborhood, community, or the city as a whole.”

Peter Pan Mini-Golf owner Margaret Dismukes Massad said the reason for the course’s success is its authenticity. 

“The people of Austin are really wanting to preserve that specialness of Austin,” Dismukes Massad said.

“Keep some of those things that have really made Austin, given us a reputation for being a really cool fun city that people want to visit and we want to live in.”

She took ownership of the business in 1998, carrying on the business family members started 50 years earlier.

Customers reserve equipment for a game at Peter Pan Mini-Golf in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Ronan Benford/Reporting Texas TV)

Other businesses haven’t been so fortunate, as many have closed due to the city’s increased cost of living. 

David Hancock of Filterbuy analyzed the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Regional Price Parities data and determined the cost of living in Austin rose 17.6% from 2010 and 2020.

Preservation Austin’s website states Legacy Business Month is a way to increase support for these long-established standing businesses as the city grows.

Dismukes Massad said she worries older stores like hers could be left by the wayside as the city expands. 

Longtime Peter Pan Mini–Golf customer Moses Alcala said he agrees with this concern. 

“I understand how Austin’s getting really big, but some things need to stay here,” Alcala said.

People can win prizes if they visit many of the businesses before the end of the month and attend a closing party at Victory Grill on Oct. 30. They need to get a Legacy Business Month Passport from either Book People or Zilker Taproom and can get stamps at each of the other 11 businesses.

Green & White Grocery owner John Cazares said he has seen an increase in customers since the start of October, which he attributes to Legacy Business Month.

“A lot more people have come in here, bought something and gotten stamped,” Cazares said. “[Legacy Business Month] gives a chance for these businesses to get exposure for customers that didn’t know they were there.”

More stamps mean more prizes and a greater chance to win. There are three tiers of raffles, requiring at least one stamp, five stamps, and 10 stamps for entry toward the grand prize of a stay at the Driskill Hotel. Lower and mid-level prizes include gift cards and a breakfast for two at the 1886 Cafe.

The participating businesses are: