Texas fast-food chain Golden Chick has partnered with Dallas-based Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs to sell its iconic fried hot dogs on a stick at Golden Chick restaurants from Sept. 1 through Oct. 25.
It’s the first time Fletcher’s has sold its corny dogs at a fast-food joint, outside of the years when the family franchised Fletchers’ food from 1983 to 1992 in Arizona, Oklahoma and parts of Texas.
The limited-time-only sale takes place during the two months when the State Fair of Texas would have happened. The fair was canceled in 2020 because of concerns that crowds totaling up to 2.5 million people would contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the Dallas area.
Fletcher’s responded to the cancellation by staging pop-up events all over North Texas that have enticed thousands of people. They’re booked through December.
The State Fair cancellation was “devastating,” Fletcher’s matriarch GG Fletcher says. The family business would have ordinarily sold between 500,000 and 600,000 corny dogs in the fair’s 24-day run. With the Golden Chick partnership, Fletcher says they hope to sell “the same amount” from the fair.
“Or more.”
Terms of how the companies would share profits were not disclosed.
Each company has a history in Texas: Fletcher’s started frying hot dogs in Dallas in 1942; Golden Chick started frying chicken in San Marcos in 1967. Both companies are headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The idea to partner came from Jim Stevens, president of Golden Chick.
“It’s amazing how quickly this thing took off,” he says. He heard about the State Fair’s cancellation on the radio and quickly coordinated with the Fletcher’s family to see if they’d want to work together.
“The two brands are just a perfect fit,” Fletcher says. She says the family business is always concerned about maintaining Fletcher’s quality and protecting the brand. The company is engaged in a trademark lawsuit related to those concerns.
Fletcher says she “feels so comfortable” with Golden Chick making Fletcher’s food. And although Golden Chick employees will be frying corny dogs themselves, the corny dog batter recipe remains a secret.
“We know nothing,” Stevens says.
Golden Chick is purchasing batter and hot dog meat from Fletchers’ supplier, with the intention that Fletcher’s corny dogs will taste and look just as they do at the fair.
“We want people to come through every restaurant and say, ’That’s exactly what I got at the State Fair.’ It means a lot to us to make sure we’re authentic to the whole process,” Stevens says.
Fletcher’s corny dogs at Golden Chick cost $5 each. A combo with fries and a drink costs $7.99.
Customers at Golden Chick will find the original beef-pork corny dog only. (Fletcher’s also sells corny dogs made with a turkey dog; a veggie dog; plain cheese; and a jalapeño-cheese beef-pork frank, but those are available at the pop-ups only.)
Fletcher’s corny dogs will be for sale at 187 Golden Chicks in three states. They will not be sold at Golden Chick stores in Florida or South Carolina.
Beyond pop-ups and a partnership with Golden Chick, Fletcher’s will also sell corny dogs this year at a fried-food drive-through at Fair Park operated by the State Fair of Texas. Attendees can take photos with Big Tex, who will be wearing a 7-foot-wide mask, before they pick up Fletcher’s corny dogs on specific dates in September and October. Read more about that here.
