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For the Big Green Pepper and the Strawberry Patch, the Minnesota State Fair is an all-in-the-family experience. 

The two iconic food booths trace their ownership back decades through the extended family of John Ivory, the original manager of the fair’s beer garden who was said to have worked 50 jobs on the fairgrounds, including running all the Pronto Pup stands.

His kids, Margaret and Nora, started working at the Minnesota State Fair when they were kids. In 1979, Margaret and her husband Joe decided they were done selling pronto pups and bought the Big Green Pepper. That same year, Francis Ivory, brother of Margaret and Nora, purchased the Strawberry Patch with his wife Rosemary.

Their fair stories are similar to many families who’ve kept booths running in the family not just to make money but to reconnect generations. Over the years, the advice to the extended Ivory family has been simple: Keep August clear on the calendar. 

“It is about having the family out there,” said Shannon Lawson, 46, daughter of Francis and Rosemary Ivory. “There are 19 grandchildren and a gazillion great-grandchildren and it’s really a 12-day reunion for everybody.”

Family members tend to stay with the booth where they began. There are Patch people, and there are Pepper people, although if one booth needs extra hands, a cousin or two will run over. 

“Even before I could work, we went to the pepper every day and hung out behind the booth with my cousins from the patch,” said Colin Barret, 38, son of Margaret and Joe. “When you’re old enough, everyone starts working there. It’s a tradition.”

State Fair officials say there are quite a few family-owned stands, including the Corn Roast, Ball Park Cafe, Dino’s Gyros and more. Food vendors are around for a long time. A typical year sees less than a 3 percent turnover. 

Nora, 81, owns the Patch now with Rosemary, 74, and Margaret, 78, owns the Pepper. They’re hoping to pass them to future generations.

In 2018, Joe and Francis died. Both families ordered State Fair commemorative benches in their honor and Nora had another one made with the history of the Ivory family. Every year, they find all three benches and move them in front of the Patch and Pepper. 

“I really just stuck with the fair and the Patch, and then I stuck with the family,” Nora said.

The families say they don’t get sick of eating ravioli, peppers or strawberries.

“Being with all of the relatives, it’s always so much fun,” said Margaret. “It just kind of all falls into place.”

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Sam Stroozas

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Running the Big Green Pepper and Strawberry Patch is more than just a money-making venture for the extended Ivory family. It’s a labor of love that helps reconnect generations of family members each year at the Minnesota State Fair.

‘12-day reunion for everybody’: 1 family, 2 State Fair food booths, many grandkids

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