It’s not just about ‘Frys’ at Jack’s

By Shari Goldstein Stern

When you’re pumping ketchup over your annual Jack’s French Frys fix at this year’s State Fair of Texas (the Fair), you may overlook the menus behind the counter and miss out on some of Jack’s additional dynamite offerings. In fact, some of those are award winners that you may have never tried. Now, that’s a shame. Straight to the line you go to order those long, thin, nimble strips of potato you look forward to every fall. 

For more than 75 years Jack’s French Frys has been keeping the oil hot for fresh, made-when-you-order frys, burning the midnight oil for 24 consecutive days. It’s a tradition. In addition to the expected fare, Jack’s also serves Mexican food like tacos, chalupas and taco salads, and it’s rumored Jack’s has the best quarter pound burgers around. You can also choose from a chicken fry sandwich, chicken wings, waffles and other treats.

Jack Pyland IV, a Bryan Adams High School ’66 alum, said he has fellow Cougar alumni drop by each day of every Fair to say “hey” while drooling over a mouth-watering serving of Frys. He has run the popular, award-winning concession since his father, Jack Pyland III, passed away in 2003. That didn’t make him new to the business by a long shot. The younger Pyland had been working for his dad since he was a five-year-old. Pyland explained: “My first responsibility was counting potatoes. There were a lot of them!” Child labor laws? What are those?

The history of the Jack’s French Frys craze started like this: Jack Pyland III was on a Navy ship in 1941 when he fried the first of his “fried potatoes.” In 1945, the State Fair of Texas re-opened following the war. Jack Pyland III approached the Fair, and subsequently opened his first Jack’s French “Frys” concession. 

“My dad liked his incorrect spelling [of Frys], and so he kept it as his own,” the younger Pyland explained.

In addition to Pyland’s five concessions at the Fair, he sets up and strikes 25 additional booths for other vendors. When asked about his “typical” days during the Fair, the entrepreneur says, “I’m up at 4 a.m. every day and at work with a quick siesta between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., then it’s back to work. “I get to bed between 1 a.m. 2 a.m.” Like many locally based concessionaires, Pyland keeps his RV on Fair property as his “home away from home,” while he sets up for the Fair in advance, throughout the 24-day event and tearing down after. During the other nine months of the year, he works other venues like Wurst Fest in San Antonio. “This year I was one of the Semifinalists in the Deep-Fried food contests with my Deep-Fried Honey.”  

Jack employs 60 people to work at his stands during the Fair. Each morning he takes his potato truck bed to pick up the 50-pound bags of fresh potatoes he will need for the day. “We go through 450 bags, or 22,500 pounds of potatoes every State Fair.” He estimates that he uses 600 gallons of oil during the Fair.

As with everyone, Pyland’s costs have gone up like the Texas Star. He shared some grim news: “My potatoes that were $25 a case last year increased to $68 a case this year. But all the vendors are trying keep sales prices reasonable so families can enjoy the Fair without spending more than they can afford.”