Pricey Fair Food - Who's Making A Profit?
YAKIMA - Tickets, parking, rides and of course the food! A day at the state fair can really take a bite out of your paycheck. You've told us a day at the fair is becoming cost prohibitive. So, we wanted to know why prices are so high. KIMA did some some digging and found the reason is "overhead." Selling at the state fair is pricey.
There's nothing better than a state fair corn dog. Or mouthwatering BBQ and an icy-cold, freshly squeezed lemonade.
"The food is wonderful!" said Ronda Giles.
Ronda brings her kids to the fair every year, knowing it's going to cost her. She said, "You're prepared for it, but this year is a little more than we've seen in years past. Fair food is more this year."
But just how much more? And food vendors really raking it in? We went to the fair to find out.
A mom and two kids can easily spend $100 for food at the fair, if they stay all day. But your money is not exactly lining the pockets of the folks who make it.
"Everything is going up from drink costs, foods costs, meat costs, everything is going up," said Amber Cappi, with the Arizona Mesquite BBQ Company.
They've sold food at the fair for ten years. And they say the higher overhead is making it harder to turn a profit.
First there's the cost of the booth, at least $600. Then each food vendor pays nearly a quarter of the day's receipts back to the fair. Add in sales tax, at a little more than 8% and the booth owner only gets about 70 cents on the dollar.
That means at least $3 of what I paid for lunch goes to someone else. Still, most vendors say they do what they can to keep prices down.
Amber said, "Keep labor down, keep family members working and then just keep it as small as we can."
So who's making the profit? That money that goes back to the fair also goes back *into the fair.
"That's how we are able to do the improvements out here," said fair General Manager, Greg Stewart.
And who wouldn't want to see a bigger, better state fair the next year? Now you know where your money is going the next time you order that big batch of garlic fries.
The state fair is spending $6 million on improvements to the fairgrounds this year, including all the electrical. That money also comes from several sources, not just what you spend on site.
There's nothing better than a state fair corn dog. Or mouthwatering BBQ and an icy-cold, freshly squeezed lemonade.
"The food is wonderful!" said Ronda Giles.
Ronda brings her kids to the fair every year, knowing it's going to cost her. She said, "You're prepared for it, but this year is a little more than we've seen in years past. Fair food is more this year."
But just how much more? And food vendors really raking it in? We went to the fair to find out.
A mom and two kids can easily spend $100 for food at the fair, if they stay all day. But your money is not exactly lining the pockets of the folks who make it.
"Everything is going up from drink costs, foods costs, meat costs, everything is going up," said Amber Cappi, with the Arizona Mesquite BBQ Company.
They've sold food at the fair for ten years. And they say the higher overhead is making it harder to turn a profit.
First there's the cost of the booth, at least $600. Then each food vendor pays nearly a quarter of the day's receipts back to the fair. Add in sales tax, at a little more than 8% and the booth owner only gets about 70 cents on the dollar.
That means at least $3 of what I paid for lunch goes to someone else. Still, most vendors say they do what they can to keep prices down.
Amber said, "Keep labor down, keep family members working and then just keep it as small as we can."
So who's making the profit? That money that goes back to the fair also goes back *into the fair.
"That's how we are able to do the improvements out here," said fair General Manager, Greg Stewart.
And who wouldn't want to see a bigger, better state fair the next year? Now you know where your money is going the next time you order that big batch of garlic fries.
The state fair is spending $6 million on improvements to the fairgrounds this year, including all the electrical. That money also comes from several sources, not just what you spend on site.
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