Beer garden coming to Canfield Fair, liquor license needed for 180th annual fair
Mahoning County residents are gearing up for the 180th Canfield Fair, which begins Sept. 2 and continues through Labor Day at 7265 Columbiana-Canfield Road in Canfield.
George Roman III is on the Canfield Fair’s board of directors. He’s in charge of advertising, concessions and special attractions.
Voters in the primary election approved the Canfield Fair board of directors’ request for on-premises alcohol sales and consumption including wine, beer, liquor and other mixed drinks in designated areas.
“We’re still waiting for the approval from the election board and are in discussion with an attorney who’s knowledgeable about the licenses that are available,” Roman said. “There are several, so we’re trying to figure out which one’s going to best work for us and go from there.”
In years past, beer and seltzer have been available for purchase in the grandstand and inside the Michael Kusalaba Event Center.
Organizers had to obtain special permits for alcohol sales each time.
“We’ve been doing that for about four or five years now, and that is for consumption only in the grandstands. You cannot walk out of the grandstands with a cup in your hand,” Roman said. “It’s an added stream of revenue, but we also have our large, 30,000-square-foot Michael Kusalaba Event Center which will help us to draw in more people to use that event center and be able to sell or give away drinks.”
Roman said during the Canfield Fair, they’re planning on having alcohol sales in a designated beer garden at the fairgrounds.
“It will be the same way [as the grandstands]; it will be a contained area, fenced in. We’re working on the size and the location as well, but they cannot leave that confined area with a cup in their hand, it has to be consumed inside the tent,” he said.
In addition to working on the liquor license details, Roman said the next step will be implementing training on how to serve beverages responsibly and prevent alcohol from being served to minors.
“We have a person who is capable and certified to teach the classes. We’re working on some of the clubs in the area that might want to earn some money as bartenders,” he said.
