RALEIGH, N.C. — A tradition that’s been part of the North Carolina State Fair for longer than anyone can remember comes to a close this year. The Lunchstand Building, home to longtime vendors like the Apex Lions Club and Hunnicutt’s, will be torn down to make way for a new events center.

The N.C. State Fair is tearing down the Lunchstand Building to build a new events center

The seven vendors currently in the building are concerned about having a spot at the fair next year

Hunnicutt’s has been in the Lunchstand Building since it was first built

The tenants in the Lunchstand Building, better known at the fair as Restaurant Row, will be the first to admit the building is old and in need of updates. The letter from the fair informing them the building will be torn down after this season wasn’t the shocking part. That came with the revelation that the new building will not have space for food vendors.

The open front door at Hunnicutt’s welcomes customers. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)

“It’s just we thought we had a place and now we don’t,” said Karol Buchanan, the third-generation owner of Hunnicutt’s. “You know, this was something that’s been in our family for as long as forever for me.”

Betty Buchanan, Karol Buchanan’s mother, affectionately known as “Memaw” to many, grew up in this building while her parents ran Hunnicutt’s. Five generations later the family is spending their final week in the building that they’ve called home for decades. 

“I remember 5 and 6 years old going to Hunnicutt’s with my mom and dad,” Betty Buchanan said. “And I would play around while they got the place fixed up, you know.”

People expect to stand in line for rides at the fair, but Hunnicutt’s is one place that always seems to have a line, and it’s all due to Memaw’s homemade biscuits. Her family is still churning them out for hungry fairgoers even if she’s had to reluctantly step down herself. 

Betty “Memaw” Buchanan gets a hug from one of her great-grandchildren. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)

“I have not made them in two years,” Buchanan said. “I have two daughters that have mastered Memaw’s biscuits, and I really think they are better than mine. And this year, I’m so proud of bringing on the fifth generation. So when they say that all tradition has to come to an end, that’s not true.”

All seven vendors in the Lunchstand Building received letters from the state fair director on September 1, announcing this would be their final fair in the building. The letter invited them to submit an application for the 2024 season.

“Just to come and say we may not have a spot for you next year or any of the seven they’re tearing down, I thought that was a little heartbreaking,” Buchanan said. 

We reached out to the State Fair Director Kent Yelverton, who said the traditional practice is to offer a vendor the opportunity to return to the same space the following year. He said several factors go into choosing vendors, including product sold and history with the State Fair. 

Yelverton said all of the spaces at the fair this year are completely full, and that the former Lunchstand vendors will receive consideration prior to new applicants for any spaces that may come available next season. 

Memaw with the fifth generation and future of Hunnicutt’s. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)

“So the only way we would have a chance of coming back is if someone that’s here this year decides not to come back,” Karol Buchanan said. 

Regardless, it’s the end of an era at the State Fair. Now the question in all of their minds is will an old tradition go by the wayside to make way for a new one? 

The family doesn’t want to let their customers down, people who have grown with them for generations. Over the years they’ve celebrated birthdays, babies and countless traditions at Hunnicutt’s, making it hard for them to imagine this is the last year.

“We’ll carry all those memories with us,” Betty Buchanan said. “But it has been an absolute pleasure … I just hope and pray that Hunnicutt’s will have a spot, and we’ll be there if they find a spot for us.”