Posted on 07/11/2026 11:32:22 AM PDT by Libloather
America’s love affair with the Blizzard is on ice.
Since early 2025, Dairy Queen has been in a franchise meltdown, closing at least 46 locations nationwide, with Texas taking the biggest hit after the chain operator, Project Lonestar, refused to renovate its restaurants, which got them iced out of the DQ family. Between February and March alone, 42 Texas locations shut down, leaving Lone Star cravers to fend for themselves. (Or finally try a McFlurry.)
In Alaska, three DQ locations in Anchorage, Wasilla and Palmer all shuttered at the start of July, leaving the 49th state with just one Blizzard maker left, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The lone location is in Soldotna, a small city with just 4,332 residents and 200 protected acres for bears, moose, caribou and wild sheep.
Meanwhile in Great Falls, Montana, a Dairy Queen that’s been open for 39 years chose to go dark on June 13 after nearly four decades. There’s no use crying over a spilled milkshake, though. The DQ owner, Steve Galloway, is pivoting to a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant instead.
The closures come as Americans are feeling the chill at drive-thru windows nationwide. Prices for food away from home have jumped 3.5% over the past year, according to federal data, making budget-conscious customers think twice before splurging on a Peanut Buster Parfait.
Considered one of the pioneers of soft serve ice cream, Dairy Queen was founded in 1940 in Illinois before getting acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 1998. Today, it boasts roughly 7,800 locations in over 20 countries. And though the mainland is losing some Blizzard hotspots, the chain is reportedly plotting an expansion into Puerto Rico with 20 new “Grill & Chill” spots in the tropical U.S. territory.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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We liked DQ but it got so incredibly expensive we quit it.
In our area, we have a regional Oklahoma dairy, Braum’s, which operates stores in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Texas, and has superior dairy products. They raise their own cows, all A2. Dairy Queen can’t hold a candle to their products. When our power was off for 12 hours last week, the ice cream in our freezer softened, but unlike most ice cream products, instead of turning to foam, it held it’s volume and refroze to its regular state. We pay a little extra for their milk, as its flavor and freshness are excellent. Also, it doesn’t upset my son’s stomach, like regular brands of milk do.
Yep, you knew you were in a small Texas town when the only restaurant was DQ… 😂
“I’ve been buying coffee and a bagel or egg sandwich for decades. No more, the cost is nuts. Minimum eight bucks.”
And why is the cost so high in New York? Bueller, Bueller? (Hint: NY has the third highest minimum wage in the Country.)
Preach it, brother. Anything else on the menu can be substituted at many chains, but on a long drive, I could hold out for a hundred miles for a dip cone.
I always considered them as saving calories, because with a dip cone I can skip lunch or dinner.
Fwiw, I always thought DQ burgers were above average. The only thing I’ve gotten at McDonald’s in 60 years is the fish sandwich, except in the occasional instance around here when they mix up my order. Which happens with some frequency in the DMV, though elsewhere in the country McDonalds seems to be more reliable. That’s not a menu problem; it’s a hiring practices problem.
And AQ drive-ins. They were like Sonic.
DQ is all over GA and FL.
Ditto.
I wonder if increased minimum wages might have been part of the cause.
As a former DQ franchisee of three stores I can provide some first hand knowledge of the International Dairy Queen mechanizations. When an innovator creates a product with mass appeal, like soft serve (3% milk fat, ice cream is 5%), they seldom have the capital required to expand their business so they sell franchises to others with varying amounts of royalties pledged to the franchise seller. Typically older franchises have better terms. When a franchise buyer decides to own multiple stores he must submit a current profit & loss statement, location plans and various projections before being approved by the franchisor. If a franchisee gets to be large enough he is guaranteed a certain geographic territory with exclusive rights. Then the multiple franchisee can become a Territory Operator. IDQ/ADQ will occasionally inspect a store for cleanliness, quality of products and conformity of menu items and product sourcing. Older franchises have more leeway on menu items and product sourcing since Dairy Queen approved items are generally more expensive. Conflict then arises and franchise terms become at issue. Additionally, as franchises become more successful they want to buy back old contracts and look for ways to declare a franchisee in default. I lost my three stores when a ADQ territory operator contracted to remodel my three stores and provide guaranteed TV advertising. He did neither but drove me out of business using the courts. But he actually did me a favor as I got out of the 24/7 responsibility and got a better career with benefits.
Really early childhood memories of the local Dairy Queen (which incredibly is still open in my old suburb of Detroit).
I was born in 1946 and can’t remember when that Dairy Queen wasn’t a source of fun back then.
One summer in HS worked in Auburn, Ca. All the cool kids hung out at the Fosters Freeze.
I see it all the time . They spend a bunch of money changing things around and then go broke. Sometimes the change even annoys me. I liked it the way it was!
Notice Canadian TV such as hockey games have a notice on the bottom “Dairy Queen is ice milk”.
US Government declared: “According to the FDA, ice cream must contain at least 10% butterfat, while Dairy Queen’s soft serve only has 5%. Because of this, it was legally classified as “ice milk”. Today, the FDA uses classifications like “reduced-fat ice cream” instead.”
How good is Braum’s???
My oldest daughter and the wife drove down to Emporia KS from Kansas City KS, abought a hour and a half drive and came back with 14 cartons of Ice cream and sherbet, filed a couple of coolers. The daughter took 4 home and we had 10, :asted us about 3 months or so.
Yum Yum
Regards
alfa 6 ;}<}
LOVE me a peanut butter parfait.. or snicker brownie blozzard
It’s that good!
There’s always Partially Gelatinated Milk Byproduct down at the Krusty Burger.
that can be said of almost all fast food these days
Yup
My youngest daughter had to go on a service call for work to Springfield, Mo a few years ago and came home with a cooler with about 6 Containers of ice cream and we got 2 or 3 cartons
of Braums. Its good stuff
Might have to make a trip of the road on of these days.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
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