Join Our Food and Beverage Family

Your Success at the State Fair of Texas Begins Here

Thank you for your interest in applying to be a food and beverage vendor at the State Fair of Texas! The State Fair of Texas is known worldwide for its tasty and innovative food concoctions. If you can eat it, we can fry it – and we probably already have! In addition to being deep-fried culinary geniuses, our concessionaires also make gourmet regional, national, and even international dishes with a Texas twist.  .

Before filling out the application, please download and read the Food and Beverage Concessionaire Applicant Packet.  You will be asked to agree to information within this packet during the application process.Before applying to become a  If you have any questions, please contact concessions.

Click here for the Food and Beverage Concessionaire Applicant Packet

Important Information

You’re almost ready to start your application – but before you do, here are a few things you should know: 

  • It’s 24 straight days of fun and food! You and your team are expected to operate your location all 24 days of the annual event – rain or shine.
  • With more than 2.3 million guests attending the State Fair of Texas in 2023, you’ll need the capacity to feed a large amount of hungry Fair fans. Previous serving experience with large events is a must!
  • Order up! In addition to the capacity to feed large amounts of guests, creating your dishes quickly and efficiently is expected in order to maximize the guest experience.
  • It’s an investmentinvestment costs range from vendor to vendor, but you can expect to start with a minimum upfront investment of $5,000.
  • All hands-on deck is an understatement! The more hands-on you are as a vendorwhether you’re working in the stands alongside your manager or counting coupons with your cashier, the more successful you’ll be – you’ll build a rapport with your customer base, and you’ll have first-hand knowledge of what your customers want
  • The Fair makes it easy for you to say “howdy!” to Fair food fans. New vendors are eligible to be included in the State Fair’s “New Food” communications, driving plenty of possible customers right to your stand.
  • After successfully completing one year as a food and beverage concessionaire, you’re eligible to compete in the Big Tex Choice Awards – the Fair’s annual food competition that showcases concessionaires’ creativity. For more information on the Big Tex Choice Awards, visit BigTex.com/BTCA.
  • You’re joining a family unlike any otherMore than 80 small businesses make up the Fair’s concessionaires. In addition to the support you receive from the State Fair, other concessionaires are here to support brand-new businesses with advice, feedback, and friendship. Not only are you joining a family, you’re part of history in the making! Some vendors have been returning, year after year, to the Fair since the 1940s!

Ready to apply? Click the button below.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY