One of the oldest NYS Fair stand’s secret spice calls for ‘family’

NYS FAIRGROUNDS (WSYR-TV) — The longest-running food stand at the New York State Fair is finishing up new renovations just before they start to sell their famous Italian Sausage Sandwich.

Basilio’s Italian Sausage, located in the fair’s ‘Restaurant Row’ is entering their 67th year at the same spot they’ve been at all of this time.

With sausage, meatballs, Philly steaks, and pasta– the perfect Italian menu that has kept Basilio’s sausage on restaurant row for over six decades. But this year, it’s getting a well-deserved makeover.

Their original building was 66 years old until Gov. Kathy Hochul warrants its reconstruction by knocking it all down.

Outdated and not up to code, the new stand will have all of the bells and whistles to keep one of the owners Gary Digeorge at the fair — a place where co-workers became family, Digeorge shared that the previous owner Paulie Basilio, and he were very close.

“I was the son he didn’t have. So I took him all over grocery shopping and pretty much ran the place for him here. He always said I kept it the cleanest.”

The former owner, Basilio would be preparing for the fair before his passing as early as March even if it was to sit in the stand.

“He’d had another guy with him. Paul what did you do today… we did this and this then we would come up and nothing would be done. He just loved coming to the fair. I think that’s what I took over. My wife says all the time you’re going up there again? I come up all winter,” said Digeorge.

At 15 years old, Digeorge started in this exact location. First, he fried, then waited at counters, and finally, he made sandwiches with the people he loved the most.

“My parents used to work here so I always wanted to come up when they worked. They worked for them 60 years ago,” said I knew from just watching it for the last 50 years how to take it over. My brothers and I started from them.”

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