EV News

Mega EV hub to charge up shoppers at Allen's Watters Creek Village

XCharge EV stations

Courtesy rendering

A masive new EV charging station is coming to Allen's Watters Creek Village, to provide an on-site amenity for shoppers who drive electric cars.

The hub will provide charging stations for more than 20 cars with ultra-fast chargers that can charge most EVs in 20-60 minutes, making it the largest fast-charging facility not owned by Tesla (which has many dedicated charging stations across DFW). The Allen station will be able to charge both Tesla and non-Telsa vehicles.

The facility is owned by XCharge North America, a charging company founded in Germany that is expanding its market in the U.S. According to a spokesperson, construction is anticipated to begin in July, and the hub is projected to open in August or September.

Each port will have a maximum capacity ranging from 200kW to 400kW — for comparison, the average home EV charger maxes out at 7kW.

In addition to charging electric vehicles, XCharge promises the hub will contribute to the neighborhood by returning surplus energy to the grid. It’s also designed to handle intense weather conditions that could threaten Texas’ power grid.

“This cutting-edge facility represents a noteworthy stride towards more sustainable and easily accessible electric vehicle infrastructure,” XCharge North America President Aatish Patel says in a statement.

The new hub will be the company’s second in Allen; the first was at MD7, a technology company in Allen, where a station was installed in 2023.

EV usage is growing in the region: The number of registered electric vehicles in North Texas increased by 63 percent between 2022 and 2023, according to data from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Registered electric vehicles increased by 56 percent across the state overall.

As of February 6, there were more than 254,800 electric vehicles registered in Texas, according to DFW Clean Cities, an NCTCOG initiative. About 26,900 of those were registered in Dallas County, 25,781 in Collin County, and 17,800 in Tarrant County.

In January, LG Electronics opened its first factory in the U.S. for assembling electric vehicle charging stations in Fort Worth. The factory was built to support the growing EV charging infrastructure in the U.S.

sustainability

SWEET comeback

DFW developers rescue legendary Texas candy brand from closing

Courtesy of Lammes Candies

Lammes Candies’ neon lamb sign announces the Austin candy maker’s return after it appeared to be closing for good.

A Fort Worth-based hospitality duo has stepped in to rescue one of Texas' oldest and most beloved candy brands.

Austin's Lammes Candies looked like it had reached the end of its 141-year run in April, when the confectionery announced it would close. But its death was short-lived.

Craig Cavileer and Kayla Wilkie-Kinne of Fort Worth's Delightful Development Co., known for leading the revival of the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, have acquired Lammes in partnership with the Lammes Candies family.

Craig Cavileer and Kayla Wilkie-Kinne of Fort Worth-based Delightful Development Co.Photo courtesy of Lammes Candies

The Lamme family will remain involved in the transition and preservation of the company’s recipes and traditions, according to a release. The first sweets are already on their way back: Sherbet Mints, Longhorns, and Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines in legacy boxes.

“Our vision isn’t to change what Lammes Candies is known for,” Wilkie-Kinne said in the announcement of the sale. “It’s to bring back the legacy recipes, traditions and heritage that made Lammes so special for 141 years.”

For now, Lammes’ return is happening solely online. A separate Austin developer purchased the former Lammes building this spring.

Preorders opened September 29, with nationwide shipping set to begin November 1. A fuller relaunch is planned for spring 2027, although no brick-and-mortar plans have been announced yet. Texans will be able to buy products from retail locations around the state.

Lammes’ holiday Sherbet Mints are among the first sweets returning in a limited legacy-box run.Photo courtesy of Lammes Candies

For generations of customers, Lammes was tied not just to candy, but to holiday gift boxes, Valentine’s chocolate-covered strawberries, chewy pralines, and the familiar candy cane pole outside its Airport Boulevard shop.

Lammes’ history began in downtown Austin. David T. Lamme Sr. opened his first candy shop at Eighth and Congress in 1885, later moving to 919 Congress and establishing the Red Front Candy Shop. The company’s chewy pecan pralines date to the 1890s, when Lamme used pecans from trees along the Colorado River. The lamb logo was adopted so customers would know how to pronounce the family name.

Over the decades, Lammes grew from a downtown candy shop into one of Austin’s most recognizable legacy businesses. Its Airport Boulevard factory opened in 1956, marked by the neon lamb sign and striped candy cane pole. Three generations of the Lamme family ran the business there.

Although the brand is most closely associated with Austin, where it maintained its production facilities and retail stores, the pralines and other candies are widely available at spots like Spec's, Walmart, and Central Market throughout Dallas-Fort Worth.

Cavileer and Wilkie-Kinne headed the modern redevelopment of the Fort Worth Stockyards, including Mule Alley and Hotel Drover. Delightful Development has also purchased the historic Williamson County Jail in Georgetown, another landmark property being considered for adaptive reuse. Their new company was founded in 2025 to develop hospitality destinations and build on legacy brands in Texas.

“Lammes Candies is more than a confection and candy company,” Wilkie-Kinne says in the 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.”

Lammes Christmas and Easter Sherbet Mints will be available at select Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations nationwide. Details on future restocks and new releases have not yet been announced. Updates will be posted at lammes.com and on Instagram.

candy desserts hotel drover mule alley openings reopenings