When it comes to American fast food icons, Dairy Queen holds a special place in many hearts. Founded in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois, Dairy Queen has grown from a single storefront into a beloved chain with thousands of locations worldwide.
Known for its signature soft-serve ice cream, DQ has been a sweet part of summer for generations. Beyond ice cream, Dairy Queen offers a range of treats and meals that keep customers coming back.
Whether it’s a classic Blizzard, a Dilly Bar, or a juicy burger, Dairy Queen combines nostalgia with deliciousness, making it a cherished part of American food culture.
How much do you truly know about this ever-evolving, soft-serve-slinging “fan food” behemoth?
1. The original menu of Dairy Queen is smaller and simpler than you think
When Dairy Queen first opened, its menu was far simpler than what we see today. Interestingly, milkshakes and malts weren’t added until 1949. Initially, Dairy Queen offered soft-serve cones, ice cream sundaes, and larger containers of ice cream.
The real shocker, however, was the prices. A soft-serve cone was just five cents, and a hot fudge sundae cost eight cents. While the expanded menu today is appreciated, those prices would certainly be a treat.
Gail Jackson, a reader of Taste of Home’s sister magazine Reminisce, recalls the restaurant opening in Roseburg, Oregon, in 1948.
“I talked Mom out of a nickel and walked the nine blocks to the new Dairy Queen,” she says. “When I asked what flavors they had, they realized I hadn’t been there before and gave me a free cone. I remember how good ‘the cone with the curl on top’ (pictured above) tasted. And best of all, I still had my nickel!”
2. The Blizzard wasn’t invented until 1985
Dairy Queen introduced the Blizzard to its menu in 1985, offering it in two sizes: small and large. Initially, customers could choose from four mix-ins—Oreo, M&Ms, Heath Bars, and Snickers—and ten syrups. This resulted in an impressive 35 flavor combinations to explore.
Blizzard quickly achieved legendary status as it became a staple at DQ within a year. By September 1986, Dairy Queen anticipated selling 175 million Blizzards that year, doubling the previous year’s sales.
3. Blizzards are not ice cream
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has specific standards for what can be called “ice cream,” and Dairy Queen’s soft serve and Blizzard treats don’t meet those criteria.
The Dairy Queen website actually states as much: “Technically, our soft serve does not qualify to be called ice cream. To be categorized as ice cream, the minimum butterfat content must be ten percent, and our soft serve has only five percent butterfat content.”
Although a Blizzard is a tasty frozen dessert, there’s a reason it’s not labeled as ice cream. It’s made from Dairy Queen’s soft serve, which doesn’t qualify as ice cream by FDA standards. Despite this technicality, it remains a delicious treat.
4. There were weird rumors about quality of meat
Rumors spread that Dairy Queen was serving “human meat” in its burgers, but the company strongly denies this. The speculation arose following an FBI raid at a Dairy Queen in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Manager Saif Momin stated “If that was the case, they already would have shut me down,” Momin said (via New York Post). “I just want to make sure people know it has nothing to do with my business. They were looking for people that don’t work there.”
5. Dairy Queen took over Orange Julius
Dairy Queen’s menu includes a unique brand of beverages that many might not be familiar with: the Orange Julius. While not as popular today, this sweet drink is still available at most Dairy Queen locations.
A classic Orange Julius combines orange juice, ice, sugar, egg whites, milk, and vanilla. This drink was a hit from the 1950s to the 1980s and gained even more popularity when Dairy Queen acquired the brand in 1988. After the buyout, many Dairy Queen locations also became Orange Julius spots, merging the two brands.
Today, in addition to the original Orange Julius, Dairy Queen offers smoothies and a strawberry banana Orange Julius drink, all under the Orange Julius brand.
6. DQ soft serve recipe is a secret
Anyone who’s tasted Dairy Queen’s soft serve ice cream likely wonders how to recreate it at home. However, the recipe for Dairy Queen’s iconic soft serve remains a closely guarded secret. The company values this formula so highly that even during interviews, details are off-limits.
Michael Keller, Dairy Queen’s chief branding officer, explained to ABC News that no one outside the company knows the recipe for their smooth, creamy, and ice-cold treat.
“There’s no way I could tell you what’s in that formula …. it is kept in a safe deposit box and there are only a few keys to it,” Keller said.
7. The band No Doubt actually got its start at a Dairy Queen
When you think of Dairy Queen, a pop-punk band from the 1990s might not come to mind. However, the band No Doubt formed at a Dairy Queen.
John Spence, a former member of No Doubt, played a key role in the band’s formation in an unexpected setting. In 1986, while working at Dairy Queen, Spence, along with Gwen Stefani and her brother Eric, decided to pursue their musical ambitions seriously.
Gwen Stefani, in an interview with Marie Claire, shared that she earned her first dollar working at Dairy Queen, where the idea for No Doubt took shape as they served up chocolate-dipped cones.
8. Dairy Queen’s blizzards are served upside down
Ever wonder why Dairy Queen serves their Blizzards upside down? If you’ve ever ordered one, chances are you’ve seen it happen.
According to Dairy Queen, their Blizzards are no ordinary frozen treats; they claim, “We do things differently here. We defy gravity.”
To prove their point, most Dairy Queen staff will hand you your Blizzard upside down. It’s a way of showing customers just how thick and creamy their Blizzards really are, standing out from your typical frozen dessert experience.
9. Warren Buffett spent hundreds of millions to get Dairy Queen
Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest individuals globally, bought Dairy Queen in 1997. Through his company Berkshire Hathaway, he’s invested in many popular brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. Dairy Queen joined his portfolio, adding to his collection of consumer favorites.
That year, Berkshire Hathaway bought all of Dairy Queen for a staggering $585 million. This acquisition fulfilled a lifelong ambition for Warren Buffett, the renowned investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
“Warren tells the story that when he was young he took a young lady to Dairy Queen, she had a great experience, and he said if he ever had the opportunity he would buy the business,” Dairy Queen CEO John Gainor told Fox Business News in 2016. “So he did.”
10. The Dairy Queen logo has meanings
In 1960, Dairy Queen introduced its iconic red and white logo, featuring a red dollop with “Dairy Queen” written in both upper- and lower-case letters. This logo remained unchanged for over 40 years until the 2000s when it was slightly updated to the shorter and trendier “DQ.”
In 2007, Dairy Queen rolled out a new logo design, an updated version of the one they’ve had since the 1960s. It’s still red, with a slanted “DQ” surrounded by blue and orange lines.
The orange stands for hot foods like burgers, while the blue is for cold treats like ice cream. This new logo shows that Dairy Queen has both tasty meals and cool desserts.
11. There’s a Blizzard in the Guinness Book of World Records
In 1999, Mark Cowles, a franchise owner in Massachusetts, aimed to create a massive dessert unlike any other. He succeeded in breaking a Guinness World Record with a colossal 5,316.6-pound Blizzard.
But for Cowles, that just wasn’t good enough. Cowles went even bigger for Blizzard’s 20-year anniversary in 2005. This time, he surpassed his own record by making a towering 22-foot Blizzard, weighing an astonishing 8,224.85 pounds.
This feat required the efforts of 20 volunteers, two weeks of work, and over 3,000 pounds of crushed Oreos.
This monumental endeavor wasn’t just about setting records; it was also a charitable event. The Blizzard creation served as a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network, supporting children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada.