Mardi Gras a favorite for long-time food vendor

Middletown man’s family serving fries, sandwiches at festival for decades

Richardson’s french fries have been served at countless Northeast Ohio events since 1960.

Henry Richardson’s reasons for pursuing a career in carnivals was simple.

“He told me once, ‘You could get a full-time job, but then you have to work all year round,’ ” said son Jack. “But this you can work seven or eight months out of the year and take three or four months off.”

That rationale was good enough for the younger Richardson, who followed his father’s footsteps into the food vendor business, begun by the family in 1950. Richardson’s french fries have been served at countless Northeast Ohio events, including Fairport Mardi Gras every Fourth of July weekend since 1960.

“My father and my grandfather started it right after my father got out of the Navy in 1946,” recalls Jack, 55. “He actually started with photo buttons, going to fairs and festivals. He moved onto some rides for awhile and found out the rides were pretty tough to do, and he moved onto food, and that’s how we ended up doing the french fries.”

The shoestring variety are made from freshcut Idaho potatoes and fried in corn oil, which he notes isn’t as heavy as peanut or soybean oil, and is gluten- and cholesterol-free. Some other vendors use frozen fries or partially cooked ones that are blanched before being served.

“They lose some of the taste,” he said. “We cook them all the way through from start to finish. That’s one thing we do that a lot of people don’t.”

Mom Shirley operated Shirley’s Steak & Sausage trailer, now being run by Richardson’s nephew. Funnel cakes are another family specialty.

His parents have passed — Henry in 1986 and his mother two years ago — and his daughters are busy with another occupation or child-rearing, so it is unclear to whom the food booth baton will go when he retires. His wife, Debbie, owns a Subway in Middletown, where the family lives.

Jack isn’t exactly sure how his parents first came to Mardi Gras — now in its 75th year — but he’s heard stories from the early days.

“They were here the year of the big flood,” he said. “They had knee-high water and had to pull all the rides out. There was actually standing water on the beach.”

He has seen a lot of change in his years participating at the Fairport festival, which is as long as he can remember. A little less party and a lot more family friendly is among his observations.

“They had a beer tent at the bottom of the hill and the bikers used to come, and they got pretty rowdy,” he said. “But they kept it in check. They still have one (beer tent). … They used to let you have the beer all over the Mardi Gras, but now it’s in the tent only. I’m talking 25 years ago. They don’t get motorcycle gangs down here anymore; mostly local people.”

Another change is the difficulty finding reliable help.

“None of the kids want to work these days,” he said. “We had them beating on our door 10 or 15 years ago.”

Johnny Kemp is an exception. The Painesville native began working the fry booth at age 16. Twenty-three years later, he still enjoys it. He even has a tattoo of the Richardson French Fries logo on his leg.

“I love it,” Kemp said. “Some people like a 9 to 5 job and some people enjoy seeing something different all the time.”

Richardson appreciates the improvements made by Lake Metroparks at Fairport Harbor beach, but says it can do much about the erosion that has taken a toll over the years.

Other area events at which he has provided fried treats include Geauga County Maple Festival, Lake County Fair, East 185th Street, It’s Better in Mentor Days, and the Metroparks’ Village Peddler festival. In the offseason, he repairs his nine trailers and those of others.

He calls Fairport Mardi Gras his “favorite spot of the year.”

“The scenery, the lake — you just can’t get that anywhere else,” he said, adding the he enjoys the people as well. “The rides are great, the food is great and it’s free to get it in.”

Mardi Gras continues July 3 and 4, and culminates with fireworks.

Photo gallery: More photos from this event are available online MEDIA. NEWS-HERALD.COM

CARRIE GARLAND — FOR THE NEWS-HERALD Jack Richardson’s family has been serving up fresh fries and other food at Fairport Mardi Gras for more than 50 years.