CLOSURES are continuing nationwide for Dairy Queen with little explanation as to why.
The beloved fast food chain began abruptly axing locations in February with signs posted outside notifying customers.
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A spokesperson for Dairy Queen noted that at least 25 restaurants in Texas shuttered last month while speaking with local CBS affiliate KFDM.
“We can confirm that 25 DQ restaurants in the Texas Panhandle, North Texas, and West Texas/South PlainS — owned by a single franchise owner — closed last week,” they told the outlet.
“After these closures, Texas continues to lead the country in the number of DQ restaurants.”
That franchisee is Lone Star DQ.
Texas has long been dubbed by the chain as “DQ Country” in its advertising, but the removal of the locations was likely a hit for some local customers who now have to drive further to get Blizzards and other popular menu items.
More will have to do the same this month after a local manager told Daily Mail an additional 12, also belonging to Lone Star DQ, were closed on March 24.
Six were specified in the Hemphill, Jasper, Kountze, Huntington, Lufkin, and Longview Eastman areas.
The other six closed on the same date but exact locations were not provided.
That brings the total of closures to 37 for Dairy Queen in Texas over the past two months.
TEXAS STRONG
A Dairy Queen spokesperson told the publication that the closures for the franchisee were an “isolated event” and further emphasized that Texas still houses more of its restaurants in America than any other state.
Interestingly, the 25 shutdowns from last month had their assets liquidated and auctioned off, per the website LocalAuctions.com.
Excluding Coke machines, CO2 tanks, tea brewers, ice cream machines, and IT equipment, the “complete contents” remaining inside of each Dairy Queen are up for sale.
Bids for the remaining items ranged from $450 to $2,650.
Dairy Queen was founded in 1940 and currently operates about 7,700 restaurants worldwide.
Which Dairy Queens in Texas have closed?
Sour Lake
Buna
Dayton
Cleveland
Canadian
Fritch
Panhandle
Hereford
Olton
Idalou
North Richland Hills
Hillsboro
Hewitt
Pflugerville
Franklin
Longview
Waskon
Carthage
Rusk
Nacogdoches
Diboll
Huntsville
Tomball
Huffman
Hemphill
Jasper
Kountze
Huntington
Lufkin
Longview Eastman
Six other undisclosed locations
Throughout the 1950s it became a quintessential American fast food spot, known mostly for its burgers and ice cream.
It’s famously owned by Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, which acquired the chain in 1997, per Forbes.
Buffett wanted to invest because of Dairy Queen’s quality approach and its potential scalability.
CASUAL CHAIN CHAOS
Some fast-casual restaurant chains have also been taking some serious hits in the past year and are closing restaurants, filing for bankruptcy, or both.
Red Lobster notably went bankrupt in May of last year and closed over 100 locations before re-emerging months later with $60 million in additional funding and a new CEO.
TGI Fridays also has a “long-term” plan after a Chapter 11 filing and a similar shutdown amount of around 100 restaurants.
Additionally, beloved chain On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is shuttering 70 spots after its bankruptcy filing in March.
Dairy Queen competitors like McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A are also making some menu updates for spring and summer.
A huge “shakeup” from McDonald’s is coming, for example, but diners have already slammed it as “false advertising.”
Chick-fil-A also confirmed in March that a new dressing would be brought to its iconic lineup.
