Funnel cake family believes in tradition

By Warren Black

Few family traditions run deeper at the State Fair of Texas (Fair) than the Winter family legacy. Fernie’s Funnel Cakes was the original funnel cake at the Fair and has been a long-time tradition for many families since the early 1980s. “We put the ‘fun’ in Funnel Cake,” Chief Frying Officer (CFO) Johnna McKee said. She and fellow CFO Christi Erpillo are the spearheads of the family business today. “It’s not what we do, it’s who we are,” Erpillo said. Fernie’s sold more than 40,000 Funnel cakes in 2023. 

They are the second generation representing John and Wanda “Fern” Winter, who started operating at the Fair in 1967. What started as a part time job to make enough money for the Winters to take a vacation, has today become a family enterprise. Currently, the family has five locations at the Fair. 

The family runs the original Funnel cake stand across from the Old Mill Inn by Big Tex, The Dock in the Embarcadero Building to the right of the Chevrolet Main Stage, The Cantina in the Embarcadero Building unearthed during a renovation and revitalized into its original splendor, The Lone Star Lounge by the back of the Embarcadero Building and the Children’s Puppet Theater and the Skyway Porch by the Skylift behind Big Tex. All of their concepts bring a special Texas flavor to the Fair. 

Hospitality must be in their genes; Wanda’s parents ran the Locke Café at Second and Hickory Street near the Fair. They sold that business, then ran the soda fountain at the Rexall drug store in Lake Highlands. The Winters started in 1967 by being the first to sell nachos — then Called Nachitos — at the Fair in a stand by Big Tex across from the Old Mill Inn. A Fernie’s Funnel Cake location is now proudly selling the family legacy product where the nacho stand once stood. 

In 1969, the Winters bought the Betsy Ross Ice Cream Parlor in what today is called the Embarcadero Building. They changed the original concept, but sliced roast pork sandwich are still featured on the menu. Wanda worked many years at The Dock until her death in 2021 at 95. There is a shrine at the table where she used to sit at the Fair, and endless pictures cover the wall with local and national celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey. She told her children, “Working at the State Fair is the hardest job you will ever have, but it is also the most fun you will have working.”

KRLD Radio is broadcasting everyday Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-noon from the Fernie’s booth, and “The Fan” will be broadcasting on Saturday, Oct. 12 during the Texas OU Football Game, with the game broadcasting on a big screen in the restaurant. 

Nominated 18 times for the State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Awards, The Dock has won the prestigious award three times: in 2009 with Fried Peaches and Cream, in 2015 with the Holy Molly Carrot Cake Rolly and again in 2018 with the Hoppin’ John Cake. The Funnel Cake Cream (Like a vanilla Bailey’s Irish Cream) is sold at many local retailers as well as in The Dock. Another favorite is the 2008 nominated Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwich, which is served with a side of tomato soup and shoestring potatoes. True to the mindset of the winners they are, a sign hangs in The Dock that shows the family’s competitive spirit. It reads: “Duncan Hines never ate here — He couldn’t find a seat.”

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