The restaurant will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
Rousso and his family have been involved with the Texas State Fair for 10 years, serving from a variety of food stands, including the “Taste of Cuba,” “Mongolia Beer Garden,” “Magnolia Smokehouse” and the “Craft Beer Terrace.” Rousso has been a finalist in the Big Tex Choice Award for the past seven years for his creativity and tasty deep-fried treats.
Isaac Rousso is an award-winning concessionaire at the State Fair of Texas. His Cookie Fries will be served at State Fair Treats.[/caption]“At the end of the day, I love the State Fair of Texas,” he said. “I love the experience of being able to serve patrons that come here. It gives us an opportunity to be in front of thousands of people and introduce new products.”
State Fair Treats is Rousso’s first brick and mortar store, and will allow him to serve a larger audience, he said. Wal-Mart first approached Rousso in August 2015 at the state fair.
“Walmart found us,” Rousso said. “There was a group that was looking for new innovative concepts to show Walmart and Wal-Mart liked what they saw. They flew down during the State Fair of Texas and we were able to move forward with the idea.”
Diners will find chicken wraps, deep-fried Cuban rolls, hash brown bites, Rousso’s award-winning Cookie Fries and other unique dishes at State Fair Treats. Rousso said his favorite menu item is a 2015 State Fair of Texas finalist, the Cowboy Corn Crunch, which is made up of corn, cheddar cheese, sour cream, loose jalapeños and smoky bacon rolled up like a tater tot.
A second State Fair Treats is expected to open in Ennis, but customers can expect to see more locations open around the Dallas Fort Worth area over the next three years as well, Rousso said.
“At the end of the day, it’s hard to imagine a local, state fair guy, a family guy getting tapped on the shoulder by the biggest retailer,” he said. “We’ve worked so hard in the last decade. We have a tremendous brand and we believe in what we’re doing and it’s just a natural progression to what we’ve already done.”
