A 15% Cut of Every Sale: NC State Fair Vendors Do the Math

A 15% Cut of Every Sale: NC State Fair Vendors Do the Math

A commission replaces rent by the foot

The 2026 North Carolina State Fair opened in Raleigh on Oct. 15 for an 11-day run through Oct. 25, and the way food vendors pay the fair has changed. Instead of a flat rent of $180 per foot of booth frontage, most food vendors now hand over 15% of gross sales, calculated after sales tax. ABC11 framed the mood among some vendors bluntly: they feel burned.

Officials call it the lowest rate in the country

Fair director Kent Yelverton told Spectrum Local News the model makes the fair "a partner" with vendors: "Now, our income depends on their income." To The News & Observer he said 15% is "the lowest of any major fair in the country," adding that most fairs charge more and that North Carolina was one of the last to convert. A fair spokesperson told ABC11 the switch was delayed after COVID-19 and that organizers "chose the lowest percentage being used in the industry."

One vendor's math: $4,500 becomes $30,000

Isaac Horton, co-owner of Oak City Fish & Chips, told The News & Observer his business paid a $4,500 flat fee for an 11-day stint; under the commission, with roughly $200,000 in after-tax sales, it could owe up to $30,000 — an increase of more than 550%. He gave ABC11 a slightly different accounting: revenue of $150,000 to $200,000, a 15% fee of roughly $25,000 to $30,000, on top of about $4,000 he was already paying for booth space. ABC11 described the fee as coming on top of booth rent. "Fifteen percent is in the realm of partnership. It's in the realm of equity," Horton said. "Somebody's getting 15% of your business."

Two dozen booths did not renew

Oak City sat out for the first time in six years. Al's French Fries, a fixture since the late 1950s and nearly 70 years at the fair, announced in the summer that it would not return. Charlie Barefoot & Sons and Ezzell's Somethin' Good, known for bacon-wrapped pimento cheese sandwiches, also stayed home. Fair spokesperson Heather Overton told The News & Observer that about a dozen vendors normally drop out each year; this year it was "around two dozen," double the usual attrition. She said it was unclear how many left because of the fee.

Not every vendor is complaining

John Peterson of D&J Concessions, a well-known funnel cake stand that works fairs up and down the East Coast, said most events already take a percentage. "The 15% is not an unreasonable percentage in our industry, it's a very fair percentage," he told The News & Observer. Deep River Kettle Korn returned for a 12th year, and S2 Concessions has been frying mini donuts and fried Jell-O in Kiddieland since 2010. For those stands, a commission means paying less in a bad year — the risk-sharing the fair is selling.

The new food hall pays 20%

The fair also opened a $25 million food hall on opening day, with five vendors including The Yard Milkshake Bar, which appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2019, and Hunnicutt's, whose biscuits date to the 1930s. Vendors inside pay 20%, above the 15% outside. The News & Observer reports that the building is eventually meant to hold eight year-round tenants, with leases expected early next year.

Where the money goes

Fair officials say the fee revenue will fund improvements to the fairgrounds and rising operating and safety costs. The grounds just finished a three-year, $60 million renovation that added the Midway Event Center, a rebuilt flower show building, a remodeled Dorton Arena and a 230-foot observation wheel billed as the largest portable Ferris wheel. There are 84 new foods this year. Attendance was 946,811 in 2025, and officials expect a million or more; advance tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 6 to 12.

The real test comes at renewal

The fair runs through Oct. 25, so vendors' books are still open. The clearer signal arrives early next year, when the food hall's permanent leases and the 2027 booth contracts come up. If booths keep leaving at twice the usual rate, the "partner" language will be tested; if most vendors absorb the commission as crowds return, this may look less like a rupture than a transition.