New generation carries on family tradition

By Warren Black

It is almost time for the great State Fair of Texas. And nothings says, “State Fair of Texas!” like a Fletcher’s Corny Dog. 

Neil Fletcher was a fifth-generation vaudeville performer. He saw a similar product to a corny dog. In 1942, Neil opened his first stand at the State Fair of Texas featuring corny dogs on a stick. Many passed by not sure of the new food item. “I can only imagine that grandad’s vaudeville instincts kicked in as I can almost see him standing on the stand promoting the dogs and trying to lure customers to the stand,” granddaughter Amber Fletcher said. His skills must have worked, as they sold 53,300 corny dogs for $0.15 each. They brought in $8,000 that first year. That’s about 3,000 corny dogs a day. Neil was known to say, “Eat, drink and be corny.” The Fletcher’s corny dog tradition was born. 

It didn’t take long for the Fletcher’s Corny dog to become synonymous with the State Fair of Texas. In 1988 Neil’s son, known as Skip, took over most of the operation. The Fletchers expanded and opened multiple locations around Dallas. In 1988, Neil Sr. passed away. In 1990, the business restructured and focused on their business at the State Fair. “We just go where our customers want us,” is one of Fletcher’s mottos.

The stands at the Fair sold mostly just the traditional dog until after ‘Skip’s’ passing in 2017. As the result of listening to their customers and giving them what they wanted, the Fletchers family followed Dad’s motto and expanded the menu to include some other options. The Bird Dog — a turkey dog corny dog — was added to satisfy the customers who wanted a lower fat option to the traditional beef and pork dog. The Jalapeno Cheese Dog is for customers who want a spicier product. Other choices include The Veggie Dog, an All-American Cheese dog, and The Dallas Hot – a spicey battered jalapeno cheese dog slit after cooking with macaroni and cheese topped with jalapeno slices. 

For a while, Skip said he felt like he was, “cheating on the original.” The family insists on maintaining a balance between innovation and tradition. In 1994, after many customer requests, Fletcher’s added ketchup to the condiment stand outside their booths. While Fletcher’s does sell soft drinks and beer, the most popular beverage is the Fletcher’s lemonade. 

Fletcher’s recently invested in several catering trailers to bring that famous Fletcher’s crunch to events and festivals around Texas outside the State Fair. You can find one of them at the back side of the Fair near the big adventure rides. And don’t miss Mr. Corny in the Fletcher’s parade cart each night in the Starlight Parade, which travels the streets of the Fair at dusk. 

The family turned the operations over to the third generation of Fletcher’s family members in 2017: Amber Fletcher and her brother Aaron and their first cousin, W.C. Amber is the first woman to run the operation. Aaron is the first minority who is running the business. And the fourth generation of Fletchers are already working at the stands during the fair. 

This is the 83rd year of the State Fair of Texas, and the Fletchers family all participate at Fair time. Cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews — everyone is part of the crew. They have the same commitment to serving a quality product, using the same processes and recipes from the same suppliers. Amber’s father would remind her “corny dogs are simple but they ain’t easy.” Last year, Fletcher’s sold more than 550,000 corny dogs and supplied 1,500 gallons of mustard and 800 gallons of ketchup to hungry customers. 

A visit to Fletcher’s is a family tradition for generations of fairgoers. And, as those customers know, if it doesn’t say “Fletchers on the stick,” it isn’t the original. 

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