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Of all the many fried wonders found at the North Carolina State Fair, one vendor served up the golden goods for nearly 70 years.
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Al’s French Fries, the most famous fry shack at the fair, will not be at the fairgrounds for 2026, the owners announced Thursday night.
“After many difficult conversations and a great deal of reflection, we have made the heartbreaking decision that Al’s French Fries will no longer be a vendor at the North Carolina State Fair,” the Beckwith family said in a statement on Facebook. “This was not a decision we expected to make, and it certainly wasn’t one we wanted to make.”
Al’s French Fries is named for its founder “Big Al” Beckwith, who first launched the french fry cart in 1959 but started selling ice cream at the fair in 1957.
“Daddy didn’t make any money selling ice cream in October,” said Debbie Anderson, who inherited and operated Al’s French Fries with her brothers after their father’s death. “He made a lot more money selling french fries.”
Anderson said she and her brothers had recently retired and stepped back from Al’s French Fries, passing the stand on to a third generation. With the demands of juggling early careers and new operational changes for fair food vendors, like a new point of sale system, Anderson said running the french fry stand had become too much.
“My dad did it for forever and a day, then he left it to me and my two brothers and we did fine for a number of years,” Anderson said. “We left it to our kids, but they have full-time careers and can’t get off work like we did. That and the changes from the fair, it looked like it was going to be too much. That’s what happens when you get to the third generation. It was a lot easier to be at the fair 30 years ago.”
The simple hand-cut fries became a tradition for generations of fairgoers, served in a paper tray, with only ketchup, seasoning salt and malt vinegar as toppings. There was even a spritz bottle of malt vinegar for those preferring a lighter touch.
Beckwith passed away in 2004, but his family continued to operate Al’s French Fries, continuing its legacy as a fair mainstay. Though many vendors serve french fries, often adorned with chili and cheese, legions of fry-lovers sought out Al’s each year, and introduced loved ones to its particular magic.
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Anderson said nothing about Al’s had changed in its six-decade history, except a switch about 15 years ago from tart white vinegar to mellow malt vinegar. Even the fry seasoning was proprietary, Anderson said, a mix of onion and garlic powders and red pepper.
“We never changed one single thing about the formula our daddy taught us a hundred years ago,” Anderson said. “We used Ford’s Farm potatoes, delivered every other day to the potato cutting booth, cooked them in peanut oil, never lard, even though it was cheaper. We sold french fries and soft drinks. Everybody knew exactly what they were getting every year when they came to see us.”
The closing of Al’s has been difficult for the family and its fans, Anderson said, noting that she’s had multiple teary phone calls in the past 12 hours.
“For 69 years, we have had the privilege of serving generations of North Carolina families,” the Beckwith family said in a statement. “We’ve watched grandparents bring their grandchildren, children grow up and return with families of their own, and friendships form across the counter. Customers became familiar faces, and many of those familiar faces became friends.”
With the 2026 fair only two months away, the loss of an iconic vendor will deal the latest blow to the annual festival of fry.
The North Carolina State Fair has lost several of its oldest vendors in recent years. Hot dog vendor Charlie Barefoot & Sons announced earlier this year that it too would end its fair run after more than 70 years. In 2022, the Cary Methodist Church stopped selling its biscuits and last year the fair announced it would remove its old Restaurant Row building of vendors.
“Most importantly, we want to thank you,” Al’s French Fries said in its Facebook statement. “Thank you for every order of fries, every conversation, every family tradition, and every year you chose to spend a small part of your fair experience with us. Your support has meant more than words can ever express.”
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This story has been updated.
This story was originally published August 21, 2026 at 8:38 AM.