Winners of the 22nd Annual Big Tex Choice Awards were the Burger Chop Tater Tacos by Tom Grace, Fletcher’s Chocolate Corny Dog by Beck Fletcher, Tropical Coco Fresca by Fruteria Cano and Berry Me in Matcha by Stephen El Gidi. Photo courtesy of the State Fair of Texas/2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.

Fruteria Cano won “Best Taste — Sipper” for its Tropical Coco Fresca at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.

“(It’s) an honor to represent especially the Hispanic community and the community in East Dallas,” owner Luis Cano said to the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate. “It’s very hard to get in the State Fair and also to compete, and it happened so quick.” 

Fruteria Cano has entered the competition before and made it to the semifinalist round about a decade ago. Cano decided to submit this year just before the deadline. 

“We had an hour left to submit something,” he said. “I was in my living room thinking about something simple that our customers really love already, so I just thought about pineapple and watermelon. I got inspired with the coffee. Everybody likes that creaminess. I was like, ‘Coconut is creamy,’ so I wanted to give a different texture to it, so I added an icy coconut slushy, and that’s where it became the Tropical Coco Fresca. It was 11 p.m., and me and my wife went to our location at Carroll and Colombia, and we just took a picture and submitted.”

Fruteria Cano has been serving East Dallas since 2001. The shop’s original location was destroyed by a fire in 2016 on South Beacon Street in the Mount Auburn neighborhood, but that didn’t stop Fruteria Cano, which set up across the street. 

Fruteria Cano’s Tropical Coco Fresca combines layered pineapple-watermelon agua fresca, a chamoy lava Tajin rim and coconut snow. Photo courtesy of the State Fair of Texas/2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.

In light of the Big Tex win, Cano is thinking of his parents who started Fruteria Cano and all the hard work they put into the business. 

“We hope to inspire other Latino entrepreneurs, like families who are building something on their own, and to believe what they’re doing and to dream bigger because our family came and they dreamt big,” he said. “Now so many years after, we’re still trying to grow, but it’s been a successful accomplishment for our family.”

You can try the Tropical Coco Fresca at the State Fair when it opens in a month (12 coupons for the 32-ounce and 10 coupons for a 24-ounce). The drink will also eventually be available in-store at Fruteria Cano. Locations in East Dallas include Old East Dallas on South Carroll Avenue, in the Casa View Shopping Center on Gus Thomasson Road and off Garland Road in a Lochwood shopping center. There are others in the Metroplex, including in Oak Cliff. 

Winners of the 22nd Annual Big Tex Choice Awards were chosen by a panel of 35 judges based on taste, value, creativity and fairgoer appeal, according to a press release. The contest is open to concessionaires with at least two years of experience at the State Fair. This year, there were 77 entries from 46 concessionaires. 

See all the winners here.