Johnna McKee, left and Christi Erpillo pose at Fernie’s Funnel Cakes at the State Fair of Texas grounds at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The sisters lead the operations since their mother Wanda “Fernie” Winter passed away in 2021.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
For 24 days a year, hot fryers, sweet batter and clouds of powdered sugar are everything to Christi Erpillo and Johnna McKee. The owners of Fernie’s Funnel Cakes at the State Fair of Texas never stop working – not even for the birth of the family’s next generation.
McKee, 66, recalls being pregnant and behind a fryer in fall 1987 preparing funnel cakes for fairgoers. Fernie’s fair family eagerly awaited McKee’s baby, who was expected to come any day. The stork finally arrived as McKee worked inside The Dock at the fairgrounds.
While she was whisked away to the hospital, McKee’s relatives stayed behind to sell the last funnel cakes of the night before heading to the hospital to meet Johnathan McKee, the third generation of Fernie’s Funnel Cakes.
Article continues below this ad
“They walked in, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, y’all stink like funnel cakes,’ ” McKee said.
Fernie’s Funnel Cakes is one of the many food stands that have been part of the State Fair of Texas for generations. Fairgoers look forward year after year to a sweet treat from Fernie’s Funnel Cakes, a corny dog from Fletcher’s or a cheeseburger from Nevins Concessions.
For the families who run some of these food stands, the fair is more than a fall tradition. Fair food is a family business passed down for decades.
Related: Students win big money in State Fair of Texas livestock contests. They pocket life lessons, too
Keeping history alive
Jack’s French Frys owner Jack Pyland talks to The Dallas Morning News in front of his concession stand during the State Fair of Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, at Fair Park in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Jack Pyland IV has used the same hand-cut, spiced, and fry method since his father opened Jack’s French Frys at the fair in 1945. The recipe handed down by his father, Jack Pyland III, is in his blood.
Article continues below this ad
Served hot and dressed with salt, pepper, and white vinegar, the fry’s flavor speaks for itself, Pyland said.
“People like my French fries,” Pyland said. “They come out and want the same ones. I know how to cook them differently than everybody else.”
Jerome Garza’s family started at the fair in 1983, selling fajitas at their Ranchero Garza family stands.
Garza’s mother, Benilde Garza, applied to be a vendor at the fair for eight years before securing a spot, Garza said. She dreamed of serving up quality and affordable Mexican dishes at the fair.
Her family made history by becoming the first to sell fajitas at the fair, Garza said, and her legacy has continued for four decades.
Article continues below this ad
“I always have to remember, ‘Why are we here?’ I’m here because of my parents,” Garza said.
Ranchero president Jerome Garza, right, works with Tony Garcia in his family stand, Ranchero Deep Fried Love, during the State Fair of Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, at Fair Park in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
When they first started, Garza said the fair had fewer stands, and competition wasn’t as big of a concern. Now they can’t rely on just loyalty to keep some customers returning, Garza said their Ranchero family stand offers more options to attract customers, including churros, pizza and deep-fried ranch bombs.
During the fall, the fair comes first
Fernie’s Funnel Cakes has also expanded its menu options over the years.
Article continues below this ad
Erpillo, 73, and McKee prepare for the fair year-round by scouring social media and cookbooks for new menu ideas.
The sisters’ parents debuted their first fair concessionaire stand in 1969 selling nachos and corned beef and roast beef sandwiches. The stand is named after their mother, Wanda “Fernie” Winter, who brought funnel cakes to the fair in 1980. She died in 2021 at 95 years old.
Fernie’s Funnel Cakes co-owner Johnna McKee sifts powdered sugar over a funnel cake at the State Fair of Texas in Fair Park, September 27, 2026. This year fair executives made affordability a top priority to ensure families feel welcome and get better value from the experience.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
The State Fair of Texas nicknamed Fernie the funnel cake queen. In later years, her daughters said she greeted customers from a wingback “throne” at their concession stand at The Dock near the Embarcadero Building.
The business has grown to sell funnel cakes, drinks, crafted cocktails, pickle dip, nachos and other fried food galore.
Article continues below this ad
Fernie’s sells over 50,000 funnel cakes during the fair. Ordering pounds of ingredients, throwing batter in a big mixer, frying it up and serving funnel cakes hot and fresh takes a lot of work, Erpillo said.
Related: Deal-icious: 3 meal combinations at the State Fair of Texas for $25 and under
Erpillo said they don’t see their family and friends much during the fair. Making funnel cakes and other concessions they sell takes up most of the sisters’ time.
“And then when the fair gets here, we just don’t see them,” Erpillo said. “But we all do it out here. I mean, it is the strangest business profile of anything I know.”
Johnna McKee, left and Christi Erpillo pose at Fernie’s Funnel Cakes at the State Fair of Texas grounds at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The sisters lead the operations since their mother Wanda “Fernie” Winter passed away in 2021.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
A new generation
That’s also true for the family who runs Nevins Concessions, another of the oldest vendors and generational-run families at the fair.
Article continues below this ad
Growing up, Josey Nevins Mayes said she would sometimes go days during fair season without seeing her mother, Tami Jo Nevins-Mayes. Her family has run Nevins Concessions since 1949.
Josey Nevins Mayes, left, and her mother Tami Jo Nevins-Mayes talk to The Dallas Morning News in their family concession stand during the State Fair of Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, at Fair Park in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
As Josey got older, she saw the fair as more than a job, it was a legacy from her mother carried on that Josey would eventually oversee.
Nevins Mayes, now 26, runs the stand with her mother. Josey said she now sees the same frustration she had as a kid in her 3-year-old son.
“He just misses me, just like I missed her,” Josey said. “But I know one day he’ll understand. He already is saying, ‘Mommy, I’m ready to be your partner.’ ”
A question Josey gets asked regularly is how she and her mother keep the family’s 77-year-old legacy booming. She said the duo thrives on Tami Jo’s logistical approach and Josey’s innovative ideas.
Related: Butter sculpture nowhere to be found this year at State Fair of Texas
“Anything creative, she’s come up with it,” Tami Jo said proudly as she sat next to her daughter at the fairgrounds during the first week.
Josey’s fried charcuterie board made her the youngest Big Tex Choice Awards-winning concessionaire in 2022. In her five years as co-owner, Josey’s eye for tasty creations has placed her as a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist four times.
For 2026, the family decided to do a spin on their classic peach bellini by appealing to margarita soft-serve lovers. The award-winning Nevins Soft Serve Peach Bellini Float illustrates how Josey and her mother are mixing their concessionaire legacy with newer flavors.
“I don’t know that Joe Nevins would have ever thought that a business he started in 1949 would be feeding his great-great-grandson,” Josey said. “I think there’s something really special and beautiful about that.”
“A family reunion”
Seeing the smiles on customers’ faces, spending time with returning employees and fellow vendors is what Erpillo and McKee look forward to each year.
Jerome Garza poses at his Deep Fried Love stand at the State Fair of Texas grounds at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
The people are what make the fair special, the sisters said.
“It’s like a family reunion, everybody getting back together,” McKee said.
Garza said having guidance from prominent fair families like those who run Nevins and Fernie’s kept him pushing through each year. That sentiment is shared by others.
“It was our calling,” McKee said. “The greatest pride I take from all of this is that we are carrying on a legacy that our parents started.”