(also known as '''DQ''') is an
Ice-cream shop and
Fast-food Restaurant Franchise based in the
United States and founded in
1940 .
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 its headquarters are located in
Edina, Minnesota .
"Herb'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 Herbert Dick "Herb" 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 10ยข 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."
, near
St. Paul . Such signage is very unusual for still-operating Dairy Queens.]]
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 .
During the 1950s and 1960s, Dairy Queens in small towns of the Midwestern and Southern United States, especially , ''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. Dairy Queen appears in many small Texas towns and uses the nickname "The Texas Truck Stop" to illustrate their presence.
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 .
With 5,700 restaurants in 22 countries as of
2005 , Dairy Queen is one of the largest franchises in the world.
Its main competitors today are
Baskin-Robbins ,
Coldstone Creamery ,
Braum's ,
Carvel ,
Culver's ,
Foster's Freeze ,
McDonald's ,
Sonic Drive-In ,
Tastee Freez and
TCBY .
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 (along with the trademark "curl").
Stores which serve a very abbreviated menu featuring primarily DQ frozen treats and
Hot Dog s and which may be open only during spring and summer or located in shopping malls;
Stores serve a normal fast-food menu featuring burgers,
French Fries and processed fried chicken products in addition to the frozen treats and hot dogs;
Stores have an expanded menu including breakfast. Most Texas Dairy Queens are not part of the Brazier chain, but have ''Texas Country Foods'' branding.
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.
A very popular Dairy Queen treat today is the ''Blizzard'', which is ice cream with candy bits blended in; it has been a staple on the menu since
1985 . It is traditionally served upside down to prove the thickness. 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.
1 The most popular Blizzard flavors include
Oreo Cookies, chocolate chip
Cookie Dough ,
M&M's ,
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup , Kit Kat, and
Butterfinger . In the first year, Dairy Queen sold 175 million blizzards.
2
The Blizzard was invented by 4 teens who would ride their bikes to a Dairy Queen in Hamden CT. in 1954. They would order milkshakes with an extra scoop of DQ for an extra 5 cents. When the manager suggested that they give it a name they choose the word "Blizzard"
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 (later renamed ''Misty Slush'', then again to ''Arctic Rush''), and a range of
Hamburger s and other cooked foods under the ''
Brazier '' banner in
1958 . Other popular items include
Ice Cream Sundae s and the blended
Coffee drink, the MooLatte.
Its 100 (
As Of 1997 ) Japanese stores offered hamburgers, but competition from
McDonald's made the chain switch to
Pita sandwiches in that country.
Dairy Queen also has locations in Canada, Cyprus, Mexico, Bahamas, Panama, South America, Europe, Middle East, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia, South Korea, Guam, Brunei, and Malaysia.
- Caroline H. Otis, ''et al''. ''The Cone With the Curl on Top: The "Dairy Queen" Story''. International Dairy Queen Inc., 1990 .
- S.E. Hinton.''The Outsiders'' 1967
