Veteran State Fair Vendor Hopes Lower Prices Bring a 'Redemption Year' After Slow 2025

For Justin Martinez, Fair Park has always felt like home. His father, Rudy Martinez, founded Fiesta Concessions 40 years ago, and as a child Justin did his homework each fall in the Centennial Building, where the family ran a restaurant. When his schoolwork was done, he could head out to the Midway.

After college, Martinez returned to Dallas to help his father run and expand the business. Rudy Martinez died three years ago, and Justin has since carried on the work. Fiesta Concessions now operates five stands at the State Fair of Texas, including Trio on the Green, a large location just outside the Coliseum.

The business model is unforgiving. A year's worth of profit rides on 24 days that hinge on the weather, the economy, seasonal staff and equipment that must hold up through back-to-back 12-hour days. Vendors also have to take down and rebuild their operations every year.

Martinez says last year was the family's slowest, though he stresses they still "did fine." Lower attendance appeared to bear out early speculation on social media that prices, from parking to food, were too steep for the average visitor. This year, he says, the fair has moved to address that, and he is hoping for what he calls a redemption year.

Fair-managed parking lots have dropped from $30 in 2025 to $25. Kids' admission is $10 every day, and adult tickets cost $15 Monday through Thursday, falling to $10 after 5 p.m. On Fridays through Sundays, adult tickets are $25, or $20 after 5 p.m. Thrifty Thursday, after 5 p.m., also lowers prices on some of the larger food items. "We have cheaper options, cheaper prices; they're focusing on it more," Martinez says.

He has taken the economic mood to heart in his own kitchen. After realizing that the lemons he wanted to import for a new drink would cost too much, he changed the recipe, reasoning that it did not make sense in a year focused on value.

Staffing remains the biggest hurdle. Good workers tend to have jobs already, and the fair offers only 24 days of long, hot shifts amid constant crowds. The harder part, Martinez says, is finding people with the right experience, because "this is different work out here." He warns his crews up front that about half will likely quit before the fair ends.

Fiesta Concessions has won five Big Tex Choice Awards, including for a fried Thanksgiving dinner, a Dominican hot dog and a cotton candy taco. Martinez says the awards carry less weight than they once did. When only eight entries competed, the fair was the only place for outlandish food, and the fried Thanksgiving dinner's line was "out of control." Now, other venues, including sports teams' stadiums, and entire restaurants offer over-the-top creations, and winners' lines are more manageable.

Staying power has faded too, he says. The fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which won in 2005, remains a fair legend, but Martinez says interest in most newer winners "falls off a cliff," by about 90%. The fried Thanksgiving dinner, which won in 2015, is an exception. The stand removed it from the Trio menu last year, drew complaints from customers, and is bringing it back this year.