PUEBLO — Santa Lucia's Greek and Italian food truck functions year round, traveling to different events all over the country as their main source of income. When the pandemic hit, they say they lost 3/4ths of their business in one year.
"It was a rough year, COVID really hampered not only us, but the whole industry," said Alex Simeonidis, who is part-owner in the family business.
The Colorado State Fair begins on August 27, and this year will be Santa Lucia's third appearance in the fairgrounds.
"It is... beyond words. We're glad to be out, glad to be serving our food, our award winning recipes and give the people what they deserve to get," said Simeonidis.
Pro Tip: Don’t come to film the State Fair when hungry! 😂😅 It’s so close I can almost taste the funnel cakes! Tonight at 4 & 5 on @KOAA , we’re telling you everything you need to know about how vendors & the organizers are trying to keep people safe from #COVID19 this year pic.twitter.com/zlQ2quq4eC
— Natalie Chuck KOAA (@NatalieChuck) August 26, 2021
However, COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise throughout the state as the Delta Variant surges through the entire country.
On August 25, the Pueblo County Health Department announced they will be implementing new mask mandates for both school districts within the upcoming week.
The Health Department did not make any adjustments to regulations at the state fair.
Scott Stoller, the General Manager at the Colorado State Fair, expects roughly 200,000 people to attend opening weekend.
"The unknown of COVID has become a reality over the last 18 months, so I think it’s just part of life. We know what we know today, we don’t know what tomorrow’s going to be, but whatever it is, we’ll adjust like we have over the last 18 months," said Stoller.
The fair will be offering a COVID-19 testing site on Friday morning that is open to the public, as well as vaccination clinics during both weekends of the fair.
"The testing, obviously, if people are concerned, they can have piece of mind or knowledge before they enter the grounds... The vaccination is just more for the community to help people get vaccinated," said Stoller.
The state fair is also offering full refunds with no questions asked to anyone before Friday at 5:00 pm, in case anyone decides they are too uncomfortable with the current status of COVID-19.
Santa Lucia says they are sanitizing, offering hand sanitizer to patrons, and "require some employees to wear masks if they feel comfortable, some don't".
For more information about the State Fair's guidance for COVID-19 concerns, click here.
