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Arts & Entertainment

A Fletcher’s family granddaughter is getting into the fried-food biz in Texas

Its co-owner is positioning it as a concessions company selling “fine stick food.”

Jace Fletcher Christensen, the great-granddaughter of the Fletcher's Original State Fair Corny Dogs founder, doesn't call it a corny dog anymore.

It's corn dog.

"I have to think about it every time before I say it: corn dog," she says, correcting herself more than once.

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Christensen and her mother, Vickie Fletcher, a decades-long Fletcher's employee, are breaking away from the longtime State Fair of Texas family business and starting their own fried-food business called Fletch.

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Though it sounds like a younger, hipper version of the famous corny dog brand, Christensen is quick to explain: "This is not a State Fair play," she says, despite her State Fair family history. Her great-grandfather Neil Fletcher introduced the corny dog at the State Fair of Texas in 1942, and the name Fletcher's is famous, statewide.

Christensen is positioning Fletch as a concessions and catering company selling what they call "fine stick food" — and not sold at the State Fair of Texas. Fletch sells corn dogs, for sure, but also loaded funnel cakes topped with ingredients like bacon, powdered sugar or sprinkles. Fletch will sell fried pickles and jalapeno poppers, too.

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The two-woman team has already signed contracts to sell Fletch's food at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, University of Texas football games and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

At first bite, it's a sweet story, of a mother and daughter cheffing up fried hot dogs. But bittersweet is a better word, because the launch of this new business means both younger Fletcher women are moving away from the brand their elders built.

It's complicated.

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Christensen is the grandchild of "Papa Skip," a son of the original Fletcher. Papa Skip liked to say he ran "quality control" on his corny dog business until he died in 2017. Christensen's mom Vickie worked at the company, too, dedicating 35 years to Fletcher's — and eating two to three corny dogs a day.

Fletcher's "was her life," Christensen says.

Vickie Fletcher, right, CEO and co-owner of Fletch, kisses a Fletcher family heirloom...
Vickie Fletcher, right, CEO and co-owner of Fletch, kisses a Fletcher family heirloom goodbye after taking it off of her daughter Jace Fletcher Christensen before the debut event of their new food company Fletch in Dallas.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Christensen pursued jobs in finance, taking her to New York and Florida, before moving back to Texas a few years ago to raise toddler-aged twin boys. It was during the euology for Skip Fletcher that Christensen says she recognized a renewed interest in working in the food industry with her mom.

At a kick-off event for Fletch in Dallas, Vickie Fletcher teaches attendees how to batter...
At a kick-off event for Fletch in Dallas, Vickie Fletcher teaches attendees how to batter and fry a corn dog. It's more complicated than it sounds.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

In late 2018, Vickie dissolved one of the Fletcher's family's businesses. Christensen now wears her late grandfather's silver bracelet that says Corny Dog King. Christensen could be the corn dog's new grand-princess.

Fletcher and Christensen created a new recipe for corn dog batter — not the same one as the infamously secret corny dog batter recipe championed by Fletcher's. Fletch's focus is on "simple" and "clean" ingredients, Christensen says. She's working on a gluten-free batter and has chosen grass-fed beef franks. As accompaniments to her corn dogs, Fletch will offer six sauces — not just the traditional classic yellow mustard and (often frowned-upon) ketchup, but also a creamy Gorgonzola, ranch, a spicy Dijon and a Fletch Sauce inspired by Raising Cane's Cane's Sauce.

Drinks will include fresh-squeezed lemonade with jalapeño, one of Vickie's recipes.

The plan is to introduce Fletch's name at upcoming festivals, parties and sporting events. In March, they'll pop up at the North Texas Irish Festival and Mansfield Pickle Parade.

"We're able to provide food for thousands, at a moment's notice," says Marcus Christensen, Jace's husband.

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One of the company's first events is Monday, March 19, at The Rustic in Uptown, where Fletch will hand out corny dogs for free.

No, wait: corn dogs.

Update on March 3, 2019: The free-corn-dog event above was originally scheduled for March 4 but has been rescheduled for March 19.