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Fair food drive-thru kicks off

By CHUCK BALLARO 3 min read

news@breezenewspapers.com

Whether it was to grab a funnel cake, or to indulge in a huge turkey leg or some fried Oreos, there was something for every fair food afficionado at the Lee Civic Center on Thursday.

It was the first day of the first Fair Food Drive-Thru, which was held at the entrance road to the civic center and will continue until Sunday, Sept. 13.

While the first day was a little slower than they would have liked (it was a Thursday), it was still considered a success.

The drive-thru events have been successful in Tampa and Miami and throughout the country, but haven’t been tried here.

The idea behind them has been to not only give customers a chance to eat fair fare months before the fair, but to also give work to those who prepare the food, since they saw much of their income go away when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March.

“We see that people need to have some fun and something different. We aren’t having fairs after the virus and we have to bring that food to the people,” said Oswar Garcia, concession manager with Reithoffer Shows, which owns the midway. “We have to make money for our people because they have families, too.”

In response to the pandemic, people, including Garcia, were stationed near the drive-thru area, where they took orders and money. The people drove to the exit and waited until their food was ready, which was handed to them in a bag.

They had the popular items such as Philly cheesesteak, sausage on a stick and burgers, as well as huge cups of lemonade, cotton candy and much more.

Customers either brought the food home or went to the parking lot to eat, where they could stay in their cars to eat or sit at a picnic table.

Katie Finch, of North Fort Myers, took her mom for a bite to eat. She enjoyed a huge turkey leg while her mom enjoyed funnel cake, loaded in sugar.

“I love fair food. A friend of mine told me about it and I was picking up my mom today and the last time we were at the fair I bought her a bag of cotton candy and today she wanted funnel cake,” said Finch, who worked for the fair for a couple years when she was younger. “It was the perfect day.”

The Fair Food Drive-Thru is from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from now until Sunday. For more information, go online to leeciviccenter.com.

The Lee Civic Center is at 11831 Bayshore Road.