Sept. 25, 2020

It’s the final days for corn dogs and funnel cakes at a Hartford carnival food stand that literally made lemonade out of lemons because of the pandemic.

The Midway Cafe is open from noon to 7 p.m. today and Saturday.

“It’s definitely been a trying summer; it really has,” said owner Rose Zeig, who lives in Hartford and saw her summer schedule on the road disappear as fairs and festivals were canceled. “It was something I never expected. But I’ve meet so many amazing people that have chose me.”

Zeig set up her stand in May in a parking lot on the west side of town and sold her traditional fair foods and lemonade every week from Wednesday through Sunday. Her son Matt worked with her, but he’s back in college now.

“I’m definitely ready to wave the white flag,” she said of working solo. “We’ll regroup and go from there.”

Her usual season would have ended the weekend before Labor Day at a county fair in North Dakota. Now, Zeig should have been at a 24-day run at the Texas State Fair, where she and other business partners operate the carnival games every year. That event was among the many that have been canceled because of COVID-19.

She’s not giving up on next year’s carnival season, but plans to open in Hartford the last weekend in April or early May before she heads out on the road in the second week of May.

“Hopefully, our life will go back to somewhat normal next year,” Zeig said.

She’s extremely grateful for the support in Hartford and beyond, and was able to make a living even though she was tied to one spot.

“We probably were down at least 25 percent, and that’s actually not terrible,” she said. “I’m glad people came.”