Small, popular potatoes: Bushes Bunches ready for 2022 Alaska State Fair

Bushes Bunches is ready for another busy season at the Alaska State Fair.

“It’s coming together,” Bushes Bunches owner Bruce Bush said.

The most popular item at the Bushes Bunches stand is their iconic Peanut Potatoes, which are sold raw or deep fried onsite. Bush said they go through about 1,200 pounds of Peanut Potatoes over a typical weekend at the Fair, and they also sell a lot of produce such as carrots. He noted that they brought dessert items such as rhubarb pie back to the menu this year.

Peanut Potatoes are a specific breed of small potatoes that Bush developed through a 4-H project when he was eight years old. He said the State of Alaska has the exclusive rights, but these unique spuds bear his name and they’re sold far and wide.

“They all looked like little peanuts so that’s what I called them,” Bush said. “If you have them anywhere in the world, they come from my farm. It’s pretty neat.”

Bushes Bunches is the only place at the Fair you can purchase Peanut Potatoes. Bush said there’s a lot of people that come to the Fair specifically for the Peanut Potatoes every year.

“I think we do really well. It’s evolved into a pretty big business,” Bush said.

Located near the agricultural section, the Bushes Bunches stand has been a regular staple at the Fair for over three decades.

“It seems like I live at the Fair,” Bush said with a laugh. It’s been exciting. It feels great. The Fair’s been saving my farm for years. If it wasn’t for the Fair I would have been broke a long time ago,” Bush said. “There’s still opportunities for young people to get into agriculture.”

Outside the Fair, Bushes Bunches sells a variety of produce and locally sourced goods out of their primary location off the Old Glenn Highway.

For more information, visit bushesbunches.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com