Black-owned businesses are getting their hustle on as they prepare for the State Fair Classic weekend, which will bring thousands to the southern sector of Dallas for the Oct. 1 game between Prairie View A&M and Grambling State University.
According to a study done by the Dallas Sports Commission, the classic, played at the Cotton Bowl during the fair’s run, has an annual estimated economic impact of $8.5 million for the area.
”The State Fair Classic is a significant event for the city, but it also has a great tradition for the State Fair of Texas, and it is something that we have been proud to host since 1925,” said Mitchell Glieber, president of the State Fair of Texas.
The original State Fair Classic game was held on October 19, 1925, in the Cotton Bowl between the Wiley College Wildcats and the Langston University Lions with about 5,000 in attendance.
According to statistics from the State Fair of Texas, game attendance was 55,231 in 2017, which solidified the event as one of the largest among historically black colleges and universities and the largest Division I FCS football game in Texas that year.
”When you bring that number of people to the State Fair, they are coming for more than just the game. They are going to show up a few hours in advance of the game, staying for the game and staying afterward as well,” Glieber said.
With millions of dollars being generated by the State Fair Classic, Harrison Blair, president of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, wants to make sure that Black-owned businesses are among those benefiting from the crowds. He notes that a lot of the revenue from the event flows to vendors at the State Fair.
”Black-owned businesses want to see hungry folk. The Texas State Fair hosts one of the biggest selections of fried foods that you can find anywhere in the world. When you start looking at different vendors that will be at the State Fair this year, at least 10 of the vendors that we work with on a regular basis will be represented,” said Blair.
In 1964, Little Bob’s BarB-Q became the first Black-owned food vendor at the State Fair. In the 1980s Smokey John’s BBQ joined the now growing list of Black-owned food vendors.
This year Roz Stafford-Grady will be the first African American to have a cigar lounge at the State Fair, with her Cedar Hill-based business, Smoking Jacket Cigar Lounge.
”I was overwhelmed with excitement to make history as a Black business owner at one of the biggest state fairs in the world,” said Stafford-Grady.
Coming out of the pandemic, the State Fair will have special importance to Black-owned businesses. In an effort to increase entrepreneurship, Blair is currently working with a few businesses that started out at the State Fair and are now working on getting brick-and-mortar locations.
He says this year is going to be an opportunity for many businesses to leverage the State Fair and get their business to the next level.
”I think the State Fair attendance will be at a record number because many people haven’t been out regularly in the last two years. People are eager to get back to life. There will be a huge demand for a lot of vendors. If you haven’t had a corny dog in two years, imagine how happy you will be to see Fletchers and how happy Fletchers will be to see you,” said Blair, who is a graduate of Prairie View.
”The State Fair Classic has always been a tradition for my family and me and probably for many Black people in the state. If you are Black and, in this state, someone in your family went to an HBCU.”
This story, originally published in Texas Metro News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and TMN. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
