Taste of Summer: Carnival of food moves to farm show grounds
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — It's farm show food without the farm show. A group of food stands selling carnival fare such as hot sausage sandwiches and gyros has set up business at the front gate of the Butler Farm Show grounds along Route 68.
Sandie Lefever, the farm show's recording secretary and office manager, said the four food vendors will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
“The vendors approached the board about renting space. We're renting them space in the front field right on (Route) 68 at the front entrance,” Lefever said.
With the Big Butler Fair, the farm show and other summer festivities canceled over COVID-19 concerns, fair food providers decided to try and recoup some of their lost revenue by setting up in non-carnival settings. The farm show grounds was just the latest venue. Earlier this summer, food stands set up along Route 8 in Penn Township and at The Atrium on New Castle Road in Prospect.
Bill Boyer of West Sunbury set up his Boyer's Ice Cream stand offering ice cream and apple dumplings to passersby.
Asked about business, Boyer said Wednesday afternoon, “It's been fair. We've got some loyal customers from the fairs. They've certainly come and supported us.”Boyer said the plan was for the food stands to move on to Clearfield Borough, Clearfield County, next week before a return engagement at The Atrium.Boyer said COVID-19 has cleared his usually busy summer schedule.“Nothing that was on our schedule we were able to do,” he said.In addition to the Big Butler Fair and the farm show being canceled, he said smaller events were also scratched such as the North Washington Rodeo and Cruise-A-Palooza.This “fairless fair food” tour is an attempt to recover some of the lost revenue.Trisha Koutoufaris was manning the John the Greek gyro stand owned by her mother and father-in-law, Connie and John Koutoufaris. She said the cancellation of the summer fair season has been a big blow to the family business that has been their main source of income.“It's taking a toll on our livelihood,” Koutoufaris said.Foot traffic at the fairgrounds might make up for a little of the lost revenue.
“It's been OK here. Evenings are usually busier than the afternoons,” she said.“We are very appreciative of all the people coming out to support us,” Koutoufaris said.Shelby Seivers of Grove City was working at Seivers Pit Stop Grill, where they were serving up Italian sausage sandwiches, burgers, fries, corn dogs and other midway staples. “This is all we do,” she said. “We're just traveling to cities in Western Pennsylvania where there would have been a fair.“We find a parking lot where we can get permits,” Seivers said.“We're not trying to get rich. We're just trying to pay some bills,” she added.Josh Spingola of Clearfield said he's been bringing his Stromboli Land stand to the farm show for years.“This has been a very bizarre summer,” he said. “This has been an entirely different way to look at this business with the pandemic.”Some customers were looking at it as an opportunity to sample some of their summer favorites.Maddie Richey and her mother, Flo Iman, both of Meridian, were sitting at a picnic table Wednesday enjoying a root beer float and ice cream, respectively. It was their second trip to the food stands in as many days.“We got strombolis yesterday. They were to die for. They were super good,” Iman said.“We saw it on Facebook,” said Richey of the food stands' pop up, saying the farm show grounds were along the way from their home to Iman's business, Flo's Gymnastics in Sarver.Asked if they might make a third trip to the farm grounds, Iman said, “There's a good possibility. We love fair food, and this way we don't have to cook.”
