Happy 30th anniversary to Corn Roast, the stand serving sweet corn doused in butter at the Minnesota State Fair. We chatted with owner Brad Ribar, 59, about how his kernel of an idea turned him into the State Fair’s corn king.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? I always knew I wanted to work for myself. When I was really young, maybe 4, I used to gather rubber binders and safety pins and sell them to neighbors. Later, I’d go door to door selling Christmas wreaths. When my brother and I were in high school, we took over a family business selling trees and wreaths wholesale. We sold that business in 2000.

What was your first job in food? My grandfather grew pumpkins so I could sell them on the street in South Minneapolis, where my grandpa lived. He also ran Corn Cabin, which used to be on 32nd Street and Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. It was one of the first drive-in restaurants and served popcorn, caramel corn and root beer.

How did you come up with the idea for Corn Roast? My grandfather worked for the Minnesota State Fair grounds department most of his life. After he retired, he went back and ran the sanitation department. That’s how I got started at the Fair. In 1967, I started picking up papers and trash.

My uncle had a beer garden at the Wisconsin State Fair, and I visited him to see how they ran their sanitation services. While there, I saw a roasted sweet corn stand. That was new to me. I tried the corn, and it was so good I turned around and bought another one. The people who ran the stand were from a Lions Club. I volunteered to work for them for the weekend and learned everything I could about it. I went back to Minnesota and came up with a business plan. That was during my college days.

How has Corn Roast evolved since it first opened in 1985? It took me five years to get into the Fair. They questioned whether people would eat sweet corn at the Fair because it was so plentiful this time of the year. And they worried about corncobs littering the ground.

Fairgoers’ acceptance has really evolved over the years, too. What makes our corn different from what you make at home is it has a richer, deeper flavor. We roast it and it starts to turn brown and caramelize. When we started, we served cobs with burned kernels on purpose and people would ask for a different one. Now, they ask for corn that is caramelized. It was a completely new idea for this area at the time. We sell about 200,000 ears of corn and go through 400 pounds of butter each year at the Fair.

What’s something few people know about you? I love to be in the northwoods in the fall.

If you could eat only five things for the rest of your life, what would they be? Eggs. Muffins. I’m sure sweet corn would be one. Melons, such as cantaloupe or muskmelon. That’s four. That’s enough.

What’s next? We keep making improvements and keeping up the maintenance of the booth. We put in new ticket booths and tarps this year. I want to open a stand at the Iowa State Fair. My son Matthew has a poutine stand there. I’m not sure corn will sell in Iowa, but we’re working on it. I have my kids involved in that one. It’s really nice to have my kids do this with me.

Nancy Ngo can be reached at 651-228-5172. Follow her at twitter.com/nancyngotc and pinterest.com/nancyngotc.