DALLAS, Texas — At the center of the State Fair of Texas grounds lies an establishment that has been serving flavor, innovation and culture for 40 years.
Denise Garza De La Cruz is continuing her parent's legacy with the Ranchero: Deep Fried Love. Having applied for a spot at the Texas State Fair back in 1983, the establishment has grown beyond their wildest dreams.
The Ranchero introduced fajitas to the State Fair of Texas when they started out. They quickly realized to remain competitive and relevant to fair-goers they needed to evolve. Fortunately, evolution is something De La Cruz and her family know all to well.
"Mother used to have a restaurant in West Dallas and noticed that in October we were never busy," De La Cruz said. "A customer said everyone was at the fair! So she said 'if they're not coming to me, I'm going to them.'"
Establishing themselves in a new environment, the Ranchero managed to change some of their offerings, while remaining true to the culture. Their efforts worked, becoming four-time Big Tex choice awards finalists and three-time winners for several new treats including the Cha-Cha Chata just last year.
"The one thing I wanted to do with the Cha-Cha Chata was to introduce the Latin flavors. We're too close to Mexico to not know what these things are," De La Cruz said. "Horchata is a popular flavor and so I said we've got to do a milkshake with the horchata. We dressed it up and made it big."
The Cha-Cha Chata is big indeed. Packed with culturally-inspired flavors from the churro straw to the addition of the 2018 Big Tex choice award-winning deep fried arroz con leche (rice pudding) balls, paired with traditionally sweet flavors we know and love like caramel drizzle and cinnamon toast crunch crumble.
De La Cruz's love for her culture and ambition to sharing it with as many Texans as possible, radiates through every sip and bite of what the Ranchero has to offer.
6News was able to taste the Cha-Cha Chata and it was no surprise the beverage became an instant hit.
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