Running the family business keeps Worthington Christian grad busy.
If Galen Cox (WC ’18) sits down at your Thanksgiving dinner, there’s a good chance he will not fight you for a turkey leg. The Concessions by Cox owner has seen enough turkey legs to last him a lifetime of Thanksgivings.
“At this point in my life, I can’t eat them anymore,” Cox said with a laugh. “I would expect it’s no different than how people would (feel about burritos) if they worked at Chipotle their whole life.”
Turkey legs take a long time to prepare, but remain among the most popular items for Concessions By Cox services. Each year, the company manages booths at over 400 events attended by 30 million people. The company, which employs over 300 people during its busiest season, has worked on a variety of projects, including the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, and the three-day Ohio Country Concert at Hickory Hill Lakes in Fort Loramie, Ohio.
Cox said he won’t let his vendors sell anything he personally hasn’t tasted. He said the most unusual thing he’s tried was a funnel cake-coated turkey leg at the Georgia National Fair last summer.
“We took a turkey leg, coated it in funnel cake batter, and deep fried it,” he said. “It was like this monstrosity of bread and turkey. It was like a Thanksgiving meal, a blend of sweet and savory flavors.
Now leading the company his father, the late Charles “Charlie” Cox, started more than 60 years ago, Galen oversees far more than turkey legs. Headquartered in both Columbus and Perry, Georgia, Concessions by Cox provides food and beverage service, corporate and event catering, logistics support, point-of-sale systems, cashless transactions, ATMs, and a full range of event-support equipment at many events.
The family also runs Tavern 22, a restaurant located just outside Lancaster at 5270 Sand Hill Road in Amanda, OH.
And it all started with ice cream.
In the summer of 1957, Charlie Cox anticipated being a high school history and driver’s ed teacher as well as a basketball coach. The summer before he was supposed to start teaching, Charlie decided to work in an ice cream truck to make some extra money.
“He realized he was making more money at the ice cream truck than his teaching salary would be for the year,” Galen said. “He ended up staying with the ice cream truck.”
Galen’s father earned enough money to buy the ice cream truck, and over time, he purchased a fleet of them.
Steadily, Galen’s father’s business grew to the point where nearly every deep-fried “elephant” ear or cotton candy you purchase at the Ohio State Fair is somehow connected to Concessions by Cox. The company has placed vendors at the Indianapolis 500, World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II in Canada, and a White House gathering during President Bill Clinton’s tenure.
“My dad would always talk about what we could do next, how we could expand, and what we could change to adapt to the times,” Galen said. “But every once in a while, he’d say, ‘I just can’t believe we’ve made it as far as we have and have had the experiences as we’ve had.’ He had done it all, that’s for sure.”
Asked if he was destined to take over the family business, Galen chuckled.
“My mom (Stacy) would say ‘no,’ but my dad would have said ‘yes,’” he said. “If you had asked me that question in elementary school, I would’ve said I didn’t know what our family did. I thought we owned the fairgrounds.”
As he attended high school, Galen noticed how hard his father had to work and began to consider other career options. During football season, he would shed his shoulder pads after Friday night games and go directly to work with his dad. However, the longer he worked there, the more Galen realized how much he enjoyed it.
“I liked how different it was,” he said. “I liked meeting people and being able to help others.”
Concessions by Cox is all about helping those in need. It is often called upon to help in the aftermath of hurricanes, providing food services and dining areas to those trying to restore power to communities left without electricity.
It is a demanding task, requiring workers to set up a field kitchen, a dining tent, and semi-trailers for sleepers and showers. Frequently, workers have to tear it all down, travel to another area, and set it back up within 24 hours.
“It’s my favorite thing we do,” said Galen, who estimates he has done hurricane duty at least 40 times. “At the end of the day, it’s good to know when a massive hurricane comes through, you’re able to do something in a significant way to help people.”
While you can plan for a state fair, hurricane duty is its own type of circus. Hurricanes have no timetable. One of Galen’s favorite stories is asking his wife, Olivia’s father, Mark Ross, for permission to marry his daughter. In the middle of the conversation, Galen’s cell phone beeped, and he was asked if he could provide meals for a group of hurricane workers in Florida.
After he received Ross’ blessing, Galen jumped into a truck, drove 20-22 hours straight, and set up camp. They served dinner and then traveled across the state to Venice, Fla., and prepared for a five-day stay serving food to a camp of 5,000 workers.
Galen said Worthington Christian gave him “the critical thinking skills” he needs to solve problems in high-pressure situations.
Two years ago, a hurricane struck at the same time Concessions by Cox was gearing up for the Georgia National Fair. That forced Galen to divide and conquer, with Olivia staying in Georgia with the fair workers and Galen serving with the hurricane team.
“There are a lot of problems when you split your team,” Galen said. “You’re dealing with being low on this and low on that. You have to put a lot of thought into it as you try to figure things out.”
That scenario was one of the first tests Galen had to deal with as he prepared to take charge of the company.
The Cox family was rocked by the death of 84-year-old Charlie Cox on May 9, 2021. He had a fall, broke his hip, and died from complications after his surgery. Stacy, who was a partner in the business, ran Concessions by Cox for three years before Galen took over permanently.
“Dad was always at the helm of the ship, handling everything and whatnot,” Galen said. “But the one who was doing all the behind-the-scenes dirty work was my mom. Dad would be at an event somewhere in Florida, and Mom would be running a state fair in Georgia or in Ohio. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”
One of the things Galen learned from his father is that business begins with three key elements: networking, building connections, and forming friendships without burning any bridges.
However, Galen admits that there are still many things he wishes he had asked his father.
“My dad was always giving me advice. I was young and didn’t realize how valuable some of that information would be,” Galen said. “With him passing, I still have a lot of questions and ideas I want to bounce off him, but I don’t have that opportunity anymore.
“I guess if I had one more chance to talk with my dad, I would tell him (the things I never got a chance to say), but I’d probably ask him what I can do better?”
Wherever the future leads him, and whatever challenges he will face, Galen can count on two things: his father’s wisdom will always guide him and, of course, turkey legs will probably be waiting for him.