When Covid finally forced a decision on a long-distance romance, Arizona casino floor manager
Samantha Morton chose Ireland,
writes Brian Byrne, and today her
Fun Foods horse-box outside Kilcullen Community Centre is serving up hot dogs and pizza, in a new life chapter far from the casino tables.
She made that life switch because she had met and fallen in love with an Irishman. For twelve years, the relationship flipped back and forth between Ireland and the US. Then Covid came and, after a year apart, he urged her to move here. “I told him that had been my end plan anyway," she says with a smile, "and we got married five years ago.”
Openings in County Kildare for blackjack and poker dealers were, well, not. But Samantha had a hospitality background: her entertainer father owned a B&B and bar-restaurant, and she’d grown up around food. After moving to Ireland, she began going to craft markets with a friend and saw people selling food at them. “I was, like, yes, I could do that.”
Starting small with crêpes and waffles, she gradually extended her Fun Foods offerings to savoury dishes. Authentic American in style, they include jumbo hot dogs, homemade pizzas with her own family secret sauce, nachos with optional toppings, and breakfast baps and bagels that are popular all day. She also makes her own healthy energy snack protein balls. Specials can feature her particular take on a burger or a barbecue selection of pulled pork, beef, or chicken.
The Fun Foods name was deliberate, rather than ‘Samantha’s Pizzas’ or ‘Samantha’s Burgers’. It allows her, at markets or festivals, to pivot to something that doesn’t directly compete with fellow traders.
The current Kilcullen location grew from a link with the Community Centre about three years ago, when she began providing food at Sunday events. “That was really successful, and we’d be rocking all day, with up to 1,000 dancers involved.” This year, centre manager Enda O’Neill suggested she trade through the weekend, complementing the centre’s very busy Coffee Hatch. She is still refining opening hours to match demand. She also offers a party service, setting up at customers’ homes, providing customised food from a bespoke menu and clearing everything afterwards, which has proved very popular.
Now living in Prosperous, Samantha is in every respect a world away from the high-pressure, neon-lit casino floors of Arizona — a life which she recalls with deep affection. But she's happy to be here, bringing a real taste of Americana to her Irish and Kilcullen customers.
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