Howling Cow is in a new, prime location at the NC State Fair. Here’s where to find it.

One of the NC State Fair’s most popular food vendors is moving to a prime location this year — and filling a void left by another longtime vendor.

Howling Cow, the NC State University-made ice cream brand, will take over the former First United Methodist Church of Cary/White Plains United Methodist Church space at the fairgrounds’ “restaurant row,” a permanent fairgrounds building with booths typically occupied by longtime, mom-and-pop-type vendors.

Restaurant row is located near the fairgrounds’ Sam Rand Grandstand and the Orville Terminus of the State Fair Flyer, and is located next to a State Fair tram stop. The booth now occupied by Howling Cow in the row is marked by a white exterior with bright green trim.

Perhaps best known for its country ham biscuits, the First UMC and White Plains UMC booth operated at the fair for more than 100 years before organizers announced this year that they would not return due to a lack of staffing exacerbated by COVID-19.

Howling Cow, which makes ice cream using milk and cream from 300 cows on an NC State campus farm, has been “slinging cones” at the fair since the 1970s, an N.C. State webpage says. For several years, the ice cream was only available at the fair and on NC State’s Raleigh campus, before Harris Teeter licensed the Howling Cow trademark in 2019. The ice cream then became available in Harris Teeter grocery stores statewide.

In an email to The News & Observer, director Carl Hollifield said Howling Cow uses its annual tenure at the State Fair as a fundraising opportunity for students.

“These 10 days allow us the opportunity to sell Howling Cow ice cream to support our academic programs at NC State University,” he said.

Hollifield said the ice cream brand received a call from fair organizers in September, informing them that the former church space was available.

“We knew this was an opportunity we had to jump on, so we decided to go look at the space to see if it would fit our needs,” Hollifield said.

Howling Cow was previously located near the fairgrounds’ MarketPlace tent, on the other side of the grandstand, State Fair spokesperson Heather Overton told The N&O.

Hollifield said the new location is larger, which “will allow for more room for our students to move around and hopefully provide faster service and decrease the long lines.” The space also offers a dine-in space for customers, which Howling Cow’s previous location at the fair did not.

“It will be exciting to be on the main drag adjacent to Dorton Arena and next to a key tram stop,” Hollifield said. “We hope this will provide more visibility for our booth and in turn our dairy and food programs at NC State University.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 2:22 PM.

Korie Dean

The News & Observer

919-335-8507

Korie Dean covers higher education in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer, where she is also part of the state government and politics team. She is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill and a lifelong North Carolinian.