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Dairy Queen is a Fast-food Restaurant Franchise that was founded in 1940 . With 5,900 restaurants in 22 Countries As Of 2003 , it is one of the largest in the world. Much of its early growth occurred in Rural areas of the United States , and references to the small-town "DQ" occur repeatedly in both the popular and literary culture of the US . For many years the franchise's slogan was "We treat you right!", in recent years it has been changed to "DQ something different." The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota . HISTORY "Sherb’s" was the name of a small Ice Cream store that opened on South West Avenue, in Kankakee, Illinois on August 4 , 1938 . The proprietor of the store, thirty-year-old Sherwood Dick “Sherb” Noble, a native of Clemons, Iowa , had been associated with dairy products from his teen-age years. What his customers were offered that day in Kankakee for 10¢ was a new semi-frozen, "soft serve" dairy product formulated by a recent acquaintance and new business partner, J. F. McCullough. The Dairy Queen companies and franchises recognized Sherb Noble as the “original Dairy Queen operator.” The first Dairy Queen outlet was opened by Noble in Joliet, Illinois on June 22 , 1940 . DQ was an early pioneer of Food Franchising , with the 10 stores of 1941 expanding to 100 by 1947 , 1,446 in 1950 and 2,600 in 1955 . The first store in Canada opened in Estevan, Saskatchewan in 1953 . The present Dairy Queen logo was introduced in 1959 . The company became "International Dairy Queen, Inc." (IDQ) in 1962 . It was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 1998 . Dennis The Menace appeared in Dairy Queen marketing from 1972 until 2002 , when he was dropped because Dairy Queen felt Child ren could no longer relate to the Character . The company's products expanded to include Malt s and Milkshake s in 1949 , Banana Split s in 1951 , ''Dilly Bars'' in 1955 , ''Mr. Misty'' slush treats in 1961 , and a range of Hamburger s and other cooked foods in the late 1950s, under the '' Brazier '' banner. Other popular items include Ice Cream Sundae s and the blended Coffee drink, the MooLatte . A very popular Dairy Queen treat today is the ''Blizzard'', which is ice cream with candy bits blended in ('' Oreo '' Blizzards are very popular, as well as one with '' Butterfinger '' candy mixed in); it has been a staple on the menu since 1985 . The Blizzard was modeled after the ''concrete'' treats of the Midwest from Frozen Custard shops like Ted Drewes in St. Louis, Missouri , and include the Ted Drewes' tradition of holding the cup upside down to demonstrate the thickness. {Link without Title} During the , ''Dairy Queen Days'' by Robert Inman , and ''Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights'' by Bob Greene . Some of the popular items on the Texas menu include the Hunger-buster and Belt-buster hamburgers. Bob Phillips, host of a popular Texas syndicated television program named "Texas Country Reporter" was the longtime spokesman for DQ in Texas. The company's stores are operated under three brands, all bearing the distinctive Dairy Queen logo and carrying the company's signature soft-serve ice cream: Small ''Dairy Queen'' stores (which serve a very abbreviated menu featuring primarily DQ frozen treats and Hot Dog s, and which may be open only during summer months), medium-sized ''Dairy Queen Brazier'' stores (which serve a normal fast-food menu featuring burgers, French Fries and processed fried chicken products in addition to the frozen treats and hot dogs) and large (and new) ''DQ Grill & Chill'' stores which have an expanded menu including breakfast. IDQ also operates the Karmelkorn and Orange Julius brands, the latter often appearing adjacent to DQ's. DQ's current franchising efforts are primarily to open Shopping Mall outlets and Grill & Chill stores. Its 100 (as of 1997) Japanese stores offered hamburgers, until the competition from McDonald's was too much; they switched to Pitas . "DQ" Much like KFC before it, Dairy Queen now mostly refers to itself by their initials, "DQ". From advertisements to the company's website, the phrase "Dairy Queen" is virtually nonexistent, and the logo has replaced the words ''Dairy Queen'' with "DQ". Some stores have even replaced the Dairy Queen signs with "DQ". This change has mostly been related to the company wanting to place more emphasis on hot foods (see DQ Grill and Chill), as well as the trend to refer to things by their initials. Ironically, DQ is doing this just as KFC is in the process of referring to itself as "Kentucky Fried Chicken" once again. COMPETITION Many other restaurants, including McDonald's, serve or have served soft ice cream. Many small towns have offered soft ice cream from locally-owned establishments. A couple of DQ's most direct franchise competitors were:
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