Carnival & Fair News

Michael Santillo, third-generation owner of Santillo's Concessions, headquartered in Naples, New York, says his family began in the Italian sausage business in 1934.

According to Santillo, the company offers Philly cheesesteaks, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, hamburgers, and hot dogs, among other food concessions, with sausage firmly reigning supreme. “Our family is very well known when it comes to sausage,” he says with a laugh. “My grandfather, A.F. Santillo, was essentially the inventor of Italian sausage in the U.S., and he also served as independent president of the New York State Fair at one point.”

While the company originally made its own sausages, growth over the years has led to production being handled today by a major meat company in Rochester, New York.

On the carnival circuit, Santillo's Concessions works a wide range of fairs independently, from Maine to Key West, Florida. “We do festivals, fairs, and fire department carnivals,” Santillo reports. “I personally work 86 different events a year. We have a very large family, and eight of us are heavily involved in concessions throughout the U.S., from the East Coast to the Midwest.”



The company operates nearly year-round. “We don't shut down,” Santillo explains. Santillo's runs concessions from January 15 through the end of November, often concentrating on weekends and smaller festivals.

Santillo says every event is his “favorite,” thanks to the long-standing relationships built over decades. “We have wonderful friendships at every event we play,” he says. “I have a connection at all of them, and I truly enjoy each area we visit.” The company's events range from seafood festivals to Miami's Gay Pride celebration to the Danville County Fair in Virginia, which Santillo calls “a real standout, run by a wonderful family we've worked with for years.”

Many of Santillo's venues have been part of the company's route for more than 70 years. These include the New York State Fair, the North Carolina State Fair, the York State Fair, and numerous county fairs throughout New York State.

Santillo describes the company as “more or less the largest concessionaire traveling the East Coast.”

When it comes to customer favorites, Italian sausage leads the way. “It's really big in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and throughout New England,” Santillo says. In recent years, the company has also added funnel cake trailers, which have become strong sellers.



“Along with the sausage wagon, we operate funnel cake wagons, lemonade wagons, ice cream wagons, roasted corn and turkey operations, and Italian-sausage-only wagons,” Santillo explains. 

Santillo takes pride in the company's longevity. “We're pushing 100 years in business, and there aren't many food operators who can say that,” he says. “I only know of one other, Fowler Taffy out of Sarasota, Florida. We are the two oldest in the business.”



Despite its long history, Santillo's Concessions continues to evolve. “In recent years, we've added specialty funnel cakes, including bacon funnel cakes,” Santillo says. “We've also expanded into roasted corn and turkey operations, along with a large chicken and pork-on-a-stick business.”

The roasted corn offerings are particularly inventive. “We do a lot of fun flavors that people really go wild for,” he explains. “We have corn topped with Fruity Pebbles, Parmesan cheese, Mexican-style seasonings, garlic butter, and bacon.”

Still, sausage remains the heart of the operation. “We keep our sausage pretty much the same as we always have,” Santillo says. “It's served on an authentic hoagie roll with a flat-top sausage, peppers, and onions. It's hard to improve on perfection. I've sold tractor-trailer loads of it.”

Santillo also notes that he is the largest user of hoagie bread in upstate New York due to the volume of sausage sandwiches sold.

Beyond sausage and sweets, Santillo's Concessions also serves mozzarella sticks, curly fries, corn dogs, hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken tenders.

Looking ahead, Santillo is refurbishing some of the company's equipment and recently added a new ice cream trailer that is gaining momentum. The trailer is operated by Santillo's daughter, Chloe, who is married to Jason Houghton Jr. of Houghton Shows. “She's part of the carnival life now,” Santillo says. “She represents the fourth generation of our family, with her own food operation.”



The ice cream trailer features 36 flavors of soft-serve ice cream. “It's a system that allows us to do everything from pistachio to coffee,” Santillo explains. “We also offer sundaes and 50 flavors of milkshakes.” Both Santillo's daughter and his wife now operate ice cream trailers, which he calls “a great addition as we move forward.”

That forward momentum continues into the coming year, as Santillo plans to add several new, as-yet-unannounced stops to the route, including multiple large fairs.