11 OctOber 1 - 7, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Contents | Unfair Park | CUltUre | Dish | MUsiC | Classified Redemption tour The Martinez family has been a fair concessionaire for over 40 years. They’re back after a tough run in 2025. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS J ustin Martinez grew up at Fair Park. His father started Fiesta Concessions 40 years ago. Each fall, Justin did homework in the Centennial Building, where the family ran a restaurant. Then, af- ter he finished his work, he’d get to take a trip to the Midway. Not a bad setup; beats an iPad, right? After graduating from college, Justin came back to Dallas to help his father run and expand their business at the fair. Since his father, Rudy Martinez, passed three years ago, Justin has worked hard to honor his leg- acy at one of the most intense businesses around: running a food business at the State Fair of Texas. Only Fiesta Concessions has five stands, which include the large spot, Trio on the Green, just outside the Coliseum. Imagine a business where all your profits for the year depend on 24 days, which are dependent on the weather (either too hot or cold, too much rain or sun), the economy, hyper-seasonal workers and a whole bunch of equipment working well for 12-hour days. Back to back. No breaks. And you have to de- construct and rebuild your shop every year The redemption tour Justin loves it, though. About two weeks before the fair starts, he’s working on his space at Trio on the Green along with sev- eral others. Some things are already out of his control, though: Gas is high. Pennies are pinched. I wanted to get straight to it, so I asked him, “What are you most worried about this year?” “[Last year] was the worst fair for us per- sonally,” Justin says, adding that, in the big scheme of things, they still “did fine,” but it was their slowest year. Lower attendance last year confirmed early social media spec- ulation that prices, from parking to food, were too high for the average consumer. “I think the State Fair of Texas has done an excellent job of getting ahead of this and making sure that people understand there are things for everybody,” Justin says. It’ss something we preach here a lot: There are ways to do the fair on a budget. And this year, they made some moves to lower prices across the board. Parking lots managed by the state fair dropped from $30 in 2025 to $25 this year. Additionally, kids get $10 admission every day; adult tickets are $15 Monday - Thursday and only $10 af- ter 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday is $25 and $20, respectively. There’s also a personal favorite: Thrifty Thursday (after 5 p.m. for the evening dis- count), when food prices for some big items are reduced. “We have cheaper options, cheaper prices; they’re [the state fair] focusing on it more,” Justin says. Justin takes the current economic mood to heart, as well. He adjusted the ingredients of a new drink after realizing the specific lemons he wanted to import would cost too much. “I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t know if this makes sense since we’re on value this year.’” The biggest challenge of all: staffing Staffing is one of the greatest challenges for all vendors. Good workers already have jobs. And this gig runs only 24 days, with really long, hot days (12 hours) and an unstoppable crowd. “But the more challenging thing is not that you have workers that are ready to work; it’s trying to identify the ones that have that experience for this type of work,” he says. “This is different work out here.” His pregame speech leans into it. “In fact, I’ll have a staff meeting, and we’ll get all the people out here, and I will tell them upfront, I go, ‘The likelihood is that at the end of the fair, 50% of you will not even be work- ing with us.’ They’ll quit,” he says with an I- can’t-blame-them shrug and a smile. “They say they’re ready for those lines and all that, but it’s just not for everybody. Some people love it because time goes by fast, they’re busy, but there are people who are like, ‘I can’t do this,’” he says. The truth about a Big Tex Choice Award Fiesta Concessions has won five Big Tex Choice Awards, including the fried Thanks- giving dinner, Dominican hot dog and a cot- ton candy taco. But things, he says, are different now with the food awards because the food craze has expanded beyond the fairgrounds. “Back in the day, it was only eight entries, and you didn’t have everybody from the Texas Rangers to the Cowboys to all these other venues coming up with creative foods. We were the only game in town. And that’s where people are like, ‘If you want something crazy, you go to the State Fair Texas.’ Now it seems a little bit more common,” he says. There are even entire restaurants dedi- cated to just crazy foods. Back when they won for fried Thanks- giving dinner, the line was “out of control.” The impact on the bottom line was nice. But now, the winners’ lines are more manage- able. There are just so many over-the-top creations; fairgoers have more choices. He also points out that winning one of those early Big Tex Choice Awards had legs: it wasn’t just a one-year deal. For instance, the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which won in 2005, is a legend in fried fair foods. Fried Jesus, aka Abel Gonzales, told us last year that in a good year, they still sell 20,000 over the three weeks. Aside from being this food editor’s personal favorite, it’s still sought after. “But who won two years ago?” he asks rhetorically. (Well, his Dominican dog did.) The newer winners just don’t have the legs like in the old days. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is going to be around forever.’ Next year comes, they want to know what the newest stuff is,” he says. “Yes, you’ll have some people that are like, ‘Oh my God, I love that.’ But it falls off a cliff for most of our items. I’d say 90%. Fried Thanksgiving dinner — we won in 2015 with that one, I think. That one has actually stuck around, and we took it off the menu last year at Trio and people were like, ‘Why did you guys take that off the menu?’ So we’re bringing it back this year.” That actually sounds amazing right now. I’ll have to try it: on a Thursday after 5 p.m., because that’s how the locals do the fair. ▼ CHEFS THE CHEF PREP Q&A WE TALK TO MAMANI’S CHEF CHRISTOPHE DE LELLIS ABOUT THE CRAZIEST ORDER HE’S EVER RECEIVED AND THE CHALLENGES OF THE DALLAS DINING SCENE. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS T he Dallas dining scene is on fire. Restaurants from around the world are opening shop here to be a part of the high-flying restaurant scene. In the Chef Prep Q&A, we chat with Dallas chefs about the local scene, their favorite late-night snack and their worst kitchen disasters. This time we track down Mamani chef Christophe De Lellis. The native Parisian at- tended France’s celebrated culinary pro- gram Ferrandi Paris, where he graduated first in his class. His career began at a Pari- sian restaurant, Le Cardinal, before he moved to La Brasserie Renaissance at the Paris Marriott. De Lellis was then scooped up by chef Joël Robuchon’s eponymous three-star Michelin restaurant. He became executive chef at the young age of 27. He moved to Dallas in 2024 to open Mamani in Uptown, which earned a Michelin star just two months after opening in 2025. We caught up with him this summer. Here’s our chat: What’s your favorite guilty pleasure meal? Crêpes with Nutella. They remind me of my childhood, and once I start eating them, I can’t stop! What’s one food trend that you’re tired of? Caviar and truffles on everything. I love both, but they should have a purpose on the plate. What’s the one thing you always have in your kitchen at home? Eggs...we eat them for breakfast every day. And fresh pasta on the weekends. Who is a Dallas maker (farmer, pastry chef, barkeep) you wish more people knew about? John Kilburn and Aliza Kilburn from Comeback Creek Farm. What’s the single best meal you’ve ever had? It’s hard to choose just one because meals can be great for so many different reasons. But if I had to choose, it would be Plénitude in Paris. What are some of your favorite restaurants in Dallas right now? Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, Jinsol Gukbap and Resident Taqueria. What’s the craziest order you’ve ever re- ceived at one of your restaurants? At Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, someone once ordered our 18-course tasting menu — to go! What’s uniquely challenging about the Dal- las restaurant scene? I’m still relatively new to the Dallas market, so I’m learning every day. One challenge for me has been finding and building relationships with more local farmers and producers. ▼ Dish Provided by Justin Martinez Justin Martinez (Left) and hisz father, Rudy, at the State Fair of Texas >> p12