International Dairy Queen, Inc. (DQ) is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain founded in 1940 and headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. The first Dairy Queen was owned and operated by Sherb Noble and opened on June 22, 1940, in Joliet, Illinois. It serves a variety of hot and fried food, as well as original frozen dairy products that vary from location to location.DairyQueen.com page: "History of Dairy Queen, IDQ ."
The company has been owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 1998.
History First store The soft-serve formula was first developed in 1938 by John Fremont "J. F." McCullough and his son Alex. They convinced friend and loyal customer Sherb Noble to offer the product in his ice cream store in Kankakee, Illinois. On the first day of sales, Noble sold more than 1,600 servings of the new dessert within two hours. Noble and the McCulloughs went on to open the first Dairy Queen store in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois. It closed in the 1950s, but the 501 N Chicago Street building is a city-designated landmark.
1940s to 1960s
Since 1940, the chain has used a franchise system to expand its operations globally. The first ten stores in 1941 grew to 100 by 1947, 1,446 in 1950, and 2,600 in 1955. Canada's first location was at a "quick freeze plant" in Melville, Saskatchewan, 1952, followed by a standalone store in Estevan in 1953. The oldest surviving freestanding location opened in Port Colborne, 1954.
To compete with fast food chains, many Dairy Queen owners added hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries to their menus. The Brazier system, introduced in Georgia in 1958, featured broiled hamburgers and hot dogs and later became the national standard for Dairy Queen menus. It was developed by Dairy Queen operator Jim Cruikshank, who chose the name Brazier "after he decided the charcoal broiler was the way he wanted to prepare his burger line," said DQ vice president Lane Schmiesing.
The company became International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ) in 1962. IDQ is the parent company of American Dairy Queen Corporation (often abbreviated "Am. D.Q. Corp." in the chain's legal disclaimers), Dairy Queen Canada Inc., and other entities that franchise the Dairy Queen concept.
Dairy Queens were a fixture of social life in small Midwestern and Southern United States towns during the 1950s and 1960s. They have often been reflected in stories and memoirs of small-town America, as in Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and Beyond by Larry McMurtry, Dairy Queen Days by Robert Inman, Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights by Bob Greene, and The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton including the film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola.
1980s to present In 1987, IDQ bought the Orange Julius chain. IDQ was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 1998. In the 1990s, investors bought Dairy Queen stores that were individually owned, intending to increase profitability through economies of scale. Vasari, LLC became the second-largest Dairy Queen operator in the country and operated 70 Dairy Queens across Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. When stores were not profitable, the firm closed them. On October 30, 2017, Vasari LLC filed for bankruptcy and announced it was closing 29 DQ stores, including ten in the Texas Panhandle.
Thailand once had only one Dairy Queen outlet, still opened as of 1989.
In the US, the state with the most Dairy Queen restaurants is Texas. Using the 2010 census, the state with the most Dairy Queen restaurants per person is Minnesota. At the end of fiscal year 2014, Dairy Queen reported over 6,400 stores in more than 25 countries; about 4,500 of them (approximately 70%) were in the United States.
Stores The company's stores are operated under several brands, all bearing the Dairy Queen logo and carrying the company's signature soft-serve. "Brazier" locations, with expanded food menus and second floors for storage, are recognizable by their red mansard roofs.
By the end of 2014, Dairy Queen had more than 6,400 stores in 27 countries, including more than 1,400 outside the United States and Canada.
The largest Dairy Queen in the US is in Bloomington, Illinois. The largest in the world is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Standard stores
While some stores serve a very abbreviated menu primarily featuring DQ frozen treats and may be open only during spring, summer, and fall, most DQ restaurants also serve hot food and are open all year.
So-called "Limited Brazier" locations may additionally offer hot dogs, barbecue beef (or pork) sandwiches, and in some cases french fries and chicken, but not hamburgers. Dairy Queen Full Brazier restaurants serve a typical fast-food menu featuring burgers, french fries, grilled and crispy chicken, frozen treats, and hot dogs.
In some locations built in the 1990s, the "Hot Eats, Cool Treats" slogan can be seen printed on windows or near the roof of the building.
Franchise background The liquid capital required to invest in a Dairy Queen franchise is $400,000, and a minimum net worth is $750,000. The initial franchise fee is $45,000, while the total investment amount required ranges from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. There are 5,700 operating Dairy Queen units. In addition to the upfront investment costs, the royalty fee for Dairy Queen franchisees is 4%, and the advertisement royalty fee is 5-6%. The franchise term of agreement lasts for 20 years, and the contract is renewable.
Dairy Queen does not offer in-house financing options; they provide only third-party financing. This third-party financing covers the franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, and payroll.
DQ / Orange Julius They were also known as the "Treat Center" concept, an enhanced version of the original stores also serves drinks and foods from the Orange Julius menu. This was the company's preferred concept for new, small-scale locations, primarily in shopping malls food courts. Some early Treat Centers also included popcorn retailer Karmelkorn.
DQ Grill & Chill
DQ Grill & Chill locations feature hot food, treats, table delivery, and self-serve soft drinks. It is the new concept for new and renovated full-service restaurants. Stores are larger than older-style locations and feature a completely new store design. They usually offer an expanded menu, including breakfast, GrillBurgers, grilled sandwiches, and limited table service (customers still place orders at the counter). They also contain self-serve soft drink fountains allowing free refills. In December 2001, Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the site of the first two Dairy Queen Grill and Chill restaurants in the United States. The nation's largest DQ Grill & Chill is located in Bloomington, Illinois.
Texas Country Foods
All Texas locations, including those that otherwise resemble the Brazier or DQ Grill & Chill formats, use a separate hot food menu branded as Texas Country Foods. Among other differences, "Hungr-Buster" burgers are available instead of the Brazier and GrillBurger offerings. Other food offerings not found outside Texas include the "Dude" chicken-fried steak sandwich, steak finger country baskets, T-Brand tacos, and a one-half pound double meat hamburger, the "BeltBuster."
Texas is home to the largest number of Dairy Queens in the U.S. All Texas Dairy Queen restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees. The Texas Dairy Queen Operators' Council (TDQOC) runs a separate marketing website from the national website. Bob Phillips, host of the popular Texas syndicated television series Texas Country Reporter, was for many years the DQ spokesman in Texas, as the restaurant was a co-sponsor of the program at the time.
Products The company's products expanded to include malts and milkshakes in 1950, banana splits in 1951, Dilly Bars in 1955 (introduced to the franchise by Robert Litherland, the co-owner of a store in Moorhead, Minnesota), a range of hamburgers and other cooked foods under the Brazier banner in 1958, Mr. Misty slush treats in 1961 (later renamed Misty Slush, then again to Arctic Rush; as of 2017, DQ again calls them Misty Slush, as seen on dairyqueen.com), and Jets, Curly Tops, Freezes in 1964. In 1962, the Buster Bar, consisting of vanilla soft serve in the shape of a small cup with a layer of and covered with peanuts and chocolate, was invented by David Skjerven in Grafton, North Dakota. In 1971, the Peanut Buster Parfait, consisting of peanuts, hot fudge, and vanilla soft serve, was introduced by Forrest 'Frosty' Chapman in his St. Peter, Minnesota Franchise. In 1990, the Breeze, a dessert like a Blizzard but was made with non-fat, cholesterol-free yogurt, was launched. This was pulled from stores in 2000. In 1995, the Chicken Strip Basket was introduced, consisting of chicken strips, Texas toast (only in the US), fries, and cream gravy (gravy in Canada). Other items include sundaes and the blended coffee drink, the MooLatte.
DQ does not use the term "ice cream" in reference to its frozen dairy products. US Food and Drug Administration labeling regulations for ice cream require a minimum standard of 10% butterfat content, and DQ's soft-serve contains only 5% butterfat.
Blizzard
A popular Dairy Queen item is the Blizzard, which is soft serve mechanically blended with mix-in ingredients such as sundae toppings and/or pieces of cookies, brownies, or candy. It has been a staple on the menu since its introduction in 1985, a year in which Dairy Queen sold more than 100 million Blizzards. Popular flavors include Oreo cookies, chocolate chip cookie dough, M&M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Heath Bar (Skor in Canada), and Butterfinger (Crispy Crunch in Canada). In Canada, a Smarties Blizzard is also available; it was temporarily discontinued in 2015 but re-added to the menu in 2018. Seasonal flavors are also available such as October's pumpkin pie and June's cotton candy. It has been argued that Dairy Queen drew its inspiration from the concrete served by the St. Louis-based Ted Drewes. On July 26, 2010, Dairy Queen introduced a new "mini" size Blizzard, served in 6 oz. cups. During the 25th anniversary of the Blizzard, two special flavors were released: Strawberry Golden Oreo Blizzard and Buster Bar Blizzard. Salted Caramel Truffle was released in 2015 during the Blizzard's 30th anniversary and Dairy Queen's 75th anniversary, but it has since been removed from the menu. Dairy Queen has featured over 170 different Blizzard flavors since its introduction in 1985.
Blizzards derive their name from being so thoroughly cold and thick that the cup can be held upside down after serving without any of the contents falling out. Employees will frequently demonstrate this to customers. There is a company policy that one Blizzard per order will be flipped upside-down by the employee. If this does not occur, the customer may request a coupon for a free Blizzard to use on their next visit, though this is at the franchise owner's discretion.
Dairy Queen had served conventional "thick" milkshakes called "Blizzards" in the 1960s. This time period also introduced the contemporary custom of flipping the shake upside down when served to the customer. Selling for the premium price of 50 cents in 1962, the original "Blizzards" invented by Samuel Temperato were available in traditional flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, with added malt on request.
In addition, Dairy Queen offers a Blizzard Cake in flavors such as Oreo and Reese's. Much like the restaurant's conventional "DQ cake", this variation is aimed toward celebrations and birthdays.
Frozen yogurt In 1990, Dairy Queen began offering frozen yogurt as a lower-calorie alternative to its soft serve. The product was named Breeze. According to a company representative, Dairy Queen's regular soft serve has 35 calories per ounce, whereas the frozen yogurt was 25 calories per ounce. However, in 2001, the company phased out the frozen yogurt option in all its stores, citing a lack of demand.