Hot dogs and amusement parks seem to have always gone together, and with the advent of theme parks they continue to be a featured food.
	For the 1975 season, Great Adventure added the Fortune Festival games area which included two food stands on the ends of  U-shaped structure. The corner of the Fortune Festival closest to the Carousel was Mustard's Last Stand, purveyor of foot long hot dogs.
		The Fortune Festival building was fairly simple, with painted plywood facades and an overhanging roof offering protection from the weather and shade for the stands and games. Being on the corner, the food stands had room for sizable patios with tables and umbrellas where guests could sit and eat.
	The mostly white Fortune Festival building was full of accent colors, lights, sounds, and scents from all the games and food stands. Originally noted on the 1975 park map as Midway Treat, Mustard's Last Stand was one of the most popular food stands in the park.  The name was a play on Custer's Last Stand also known as the historic Battle of Little Bighorn.
	After seven seasons of operation, an electrical fire on December 3, 1981 started in one of the game stalls.  Most of the Fortune Festival structure was burnt to the ground, leaving only the two restaurants at the far ends of the building untouched.  Breezeways separated the food stands from the game stands which probably helped save the two outlets.  In the spring of 1982, a new Good Time Alley games area was built which incorporated the two remaining stands into the new structure.
		The new and improved Mustard's Last Stand reopened with a new look to match Good Time Alley. New and much more elaborate signs were added to the stand, now advertising "jumbo" franks rather than foot long hot dogs. The stand continued to be popular with the new games area and increased traffic. For several years there was sponsorship from Thorn Apple Valley hot dogs which was the featured brand.  Armour Hot Dogs and Sabrett Hot Dogs were also offered at the stand over the years.
	The seating areas on either side of the stand offered a great place to get out of the sun (or rain) and grab a bite. The roof over the seating area featured speakers which played Muzac style songs which strangely for many years featured a version of the Star Wars theme that sounded like someone was whistling it.
	After 25 years of serving hot dogs Mustards Last Stand went away for the 2001 season being replaced by Nathan's. With the transition to Nathan's the seating areas were enclosed to create an air conditioned dining room where the covered patios had been for so long.
Original Spotlight:  September 17, 2021.  GAH Reference#:  FOOD-1975-001
		FUTURE SPOTLIGHT