A Dairy Queen that opened in 1949 in Minneapolis has served its last Blizzard.
The location at 3709 W. 50th St. closed on Saturday, at the end of last year.
International Dairy Queen spokesman Dean Peters said it was the franchisee's decision to close the restaurant. Dairy Queen has more than 6,700 locations, including 4,300 in the U.S. Only two restaurants, one in Richfield and one in Edina on Normandale Blvd., are directly owned by the company. The rest are run by franchisees.
Seven DQs closed last year in the Twin Cities, including one in the Baker Building in downtown Minneapolis, two locations in Minnetonka and one in Eden Prairie.
The first DQ was located in Joliet, Ill., which opened June 22, 1940, and closed in the 1950s. The company didn't incorporate until 1962. Its Twin Cities connection started with the corporation's first president, said Peters. "It was always a Midwestern brand," he said.
Still based in Edina, the company has been owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 1998.
John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633
