Dairy Queen, abbreviated to DQ, is a global chain of ice-cream and fast-food restaurants. Its first location was founded in 1938 by John McCullough and since 1940 it has used a franchise system to expand its operations globally. Its largest franchisee is the Texas Dairy Queen Operating Council which runs the majority of DQ locations in the state of Texas.Dairy Queen International is the parent company of Dairy Queen, in the US it operates under the American Dairy Queen title.It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. At the end of its fiscal year 2006, Dairy Queen reported over 5,600 stores in more than a dozen countries; about 4,600 of its stores, or approximately 85%, are located with in the United States.[
Sherb's was the name of a small ice cream shop 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 teenage 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." A Dairy Queen with older, 1950s-era signage in Roseville, Minnesota, 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 Minnesota, were often a center of social life. In that role they have often come to be referenced as a symbol of life in small-town America, as for instance in Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and Beyond by Larry McMurtry, 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. 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, TCBY, 7-Eleven, and Wessam Essam.StoresThe company's stores are operated under several brands, all bearing the distinctive Dairy Queen logo and carrying the company's signature soft-serve ice cream (along with the trademark "curl").Dairy QueenStores which serve a very abbreviated menu featuring primarily DQ frozen treats. These locations may be open only during spring and summer; many year-round locations are located in shopping malls. So-called "Limited Brazier" locations may additionally offer hot dogs, barbecue pork sandwiches, and in some cases French fries and chicken, but not hamburgers.DQ / Orange JuliusAlso known as the "Treat Center" concept, an enhanced version of the original DQ also serving drinks and foods from the Orange Julius menu. This is the company's preferred concept for new, small-scale locations.Dairy Queen BrazierStores serve a normal fast-food menu featuring burgers, french fries and processed fried chicken products in addition to frozen treats and hot dogs. Due to the protracted rollout of the Grill & Chill concept, Brazier restaurants have been allowed to sell certain products originally restricted to G&C, including GrillBurgers.
The "Brazier" name has been slowly phased out of signage and advertising since the early 1990s, although it has not generally been removed from existing signage. New locations (i.e. built since the early 2000s) that feature elements of the Grill & Chill store design, but which are similar to Brazier restaurants in terms of size and menu selection, usually carry the name "DQ Restaurant".DQ Grill & ChillDQ's preferred concept for new and renovated full-service restaurants. Stores are larger than older-style DQ Brazier locations and feature a completely new store design. In most cases, they offer an expanded menu including breakfast, GrillBurgers and grilled sandwiches, as well as limited table service (customers still place orders at the counter).Texas Country FoodsMost locations in Texas, including those which otherwise resemble the Brazier or Grill & Chill formats, use a separate menu branded as Texas Country Foods. Among other differences, "Hungr-Bustr" burgers are available in place of the Brazier and GrillBurger offerings. The Texas Dairy Queen Operating Council is the largest of all Dairy Queen franchises. Texas is home to the largest number of Dairy Queens in the U.S. The TXDQOC runs a separate marketing website from the national website, located at www.dqtexas.com.Other StoresDQ 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.Products
DQ's popular frozen Ice Cream Cake, CanadaThe company's products expanded to include malts and milkshakes in 1949, banana splits 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 hamburgers and other cooked foods under the Brazier banner in 1958. Other popular items include ice cream sundaes and the blended coffee drink, the MooLatte.Dairy Queen's one hundred (as of 1997) Japanese stores offered hamburgers, but competition from McDonald's made the chain switch to pita sandwiches.The Blizzard TreatA very popular Dairy Queen treat today is the Blizzard Treat, which is ice cream with pieces of cookies, brownies or candy blended in. It has been a staple on the menu since its introduction in 1985, a year in which Dairy Queen sold 175 million Blizzards. The Blizzard was invented and copyrighted by Richard, Ronald, and Ralph Medd of Iowa. It is traditionally served upside down to prove the thickness. The most popular Blizzard flavors include Oreo Cookies, chocolate chip cookie dough, M&M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Kit Kat, and Butterfinger. Seasonal flavors are also available such as November's Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. As of June 21, 2005 the World's Largest Blizzard Treat was built in Springfield, Massachusetts. It weighed 8,224.85 pounds at 22-feet tall.In addition, Dairy Queen is marketing its new Blizzard's Cake which includes flavors such as raspberry cheesecake and Reese's. Much like the restaurant's conventional ice cream cake, this variation is aimed toward celebrations and birthdays.AdvertisingFor many years the franchise's slogan was "We treat you right!" In recent years, it has been changed to "DQ something different." Dennis the Menace appeared in Dairy Queen marketing from 1972 until 2002, when he was dropped because Dairy Queen felt children could no longer relate to the comic strip character. 2004 marked the restaurant's first full year of national advertising with award-winning commercials. Such ads commonly relied on humor to the delight of viewers.Highlights of the Dairy Queen system include:
1940: First Dairy Queen store opens in Joliet, Illinois.1949: DQ introduces malts and shakes.1951: Banana Splits appear on the menu.1953: First DQ store opens in Canada.1955: The Dilly® Bar debuts1957: The Dairy Queen/Brazier® concept is introduced.1958: The Dairy Queen/Brazier food products are introduced.1961: The Mr. Misty slush treat cools throats in the warm South.1962: International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ) is formed.1965: First national radio advertising sends DQ message 169 million times a week.1966: First national TV commercial is aired, "Live a Little"1968: The Buster Bar® bursts forth.1970: Hot Fudge Brownie Delight,, debuts1972: First DQ store opens in Japan and Dennis the Menace becomes the spokescharacter for DQ.1973: Say the word Scrumpdillyishhus! and get a Peanut Buster Parfait for 49 cents.1979: The DQ system debuts in the Middle East.1980: We Treat You Right themeline is debuted.1985: More than 175 million Blizzard Flavor Treats sold in its first year.1989: Dairy Queen ranked America's number one treat chain.1991: First DQ store opens in Mexico1995: DQ Treatzza Pizza,, and the Chicken Strip Basket make their debut.1998: Chocolate Rock® Treat is introduced systemwide1999: Pecan Mudslide® Treat is introduced.1999: An operator of several DQ locations in Massachusetts builds the world's largest blended treat weighing in at 5,316.6 pounds.2000: The S'more Galore,, Parfait makes its debut.2001: Crispy Chicken Salad is introduced.2001: The first DQ Grill & Chill® restaurant opens in Chattanooga, Tenn.2002: Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, becomes manager for the day of a DQ location in Texas.2003: The Blizzard of the Month Program kicks off.2004:The MooLatte® Beverage line debuts in Mocha, Vanilla and Caramel flavors.2004: Award-winning Dairy Queen commercials can be seen throughout the country in the system's first full year of national advertising.2005: GrillBurgers,, were introduced to consumers on national TV.2005: The record is broken on June 21, when a new World's Largest Blizzard Treat was built in Springfield, Mass. It weighed 8,224.85 pounds and was 22-feet tall.
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