The History of Dairy Queen

In 1938, soft-serve ice cream was invented by J.F. McCullough and his son Alex, who convinced a local ice cream man named Sherb Noble to sell it at his shop in Kankakee, Illinois; it was an immediate and immense success. Noble and the McCulloughs went into business together and opened the first Dairy Queen location on June 22, 1940. It was located along Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois and while the location is no longer operational, the building still stands today and is considered a local landmark. The original Dairy Queen menu included soft-serve ice cream cones and sundaes; an ice cream cone cost 5 cents and a sundae sold for 8 cents. The chain also sold their ice cream by the pint and quart. Malts and shakes were added to the menu in 1949 and banana splits arrived in 1951. In 1953, Dairy Queen went international with its first Canadian location. In 1954, Dairy Queen’s famous Dilly Bar was created at a location in Moorhead, Minnesota (one of the oldest Dairy Queen stores still in operation today). It was rolled out nationally ia year later. In 1968, the Buster Bar debuted. The chain’s now-famous Blizzards were introduced in 1985. New food items like the DQ Treatzza Pizza and Chicken Strip Basket debuted in 1995 and the Blizzard of the Month program kicked off in 2003. GrillBurgers were introduced in 2005 and in 2010, Dairy Queen locations began offering Mini Blizzard Treats. In 2019, some locations began getting design upgrades and in 2020, Dairy Queen rolled out a non-dairy Dilly Bar. Today, Dairy Queen remains a beloved restaurant chain that is popular throughout the United States as well as in many other parts of the world.