Latest news with #DQ
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Classic Ice Cream Chain That's Closing Dozens Of Locations In 2025
It's a difficult time to be in the business of food, period, as the classic ice cream chain Dairy Queen has been closing locations throughout the first half of 2025. Known for its famous (and adorably named) Dilly Bar, and as one of the fast food restaurants that is completely different today from when it first opened, DQ — as it's known colloquially — began its closing spree in February, when it was confirmed that it would be saying goodbye to 25 locations in Texas. By early April, however, the chain had closed 40 locations in Texas. Customer feedback following the announcements reflected disappointment, though many were unsurprised. One person commented on Facebook, "I think this is sad, but honestly, Dairy Queen isn't what it used to be. It's really gone down downhill," while another mentioned that all the restaurants were showing signs of wear and tear. Others remarked that they preferred Oklahoma City-based chain Braum's to Dairy Queen anyway. Read more: The Vanilla Ice Cream That Uses The Best Ingredients Hands Down Financial woes have plagued the food sector for months now, with the likes of Hooters and Bar Louie filing for bankruptcy in March, along with other fast food chains like Wendy's closing stores in 2024. However, Dairy Queen's recent restaurant closures in the Lone Star State aren't necessarily indicative of a chain-wide issue; rather, they stem from a single franchisee, who owns the locations under the name Project Lonestar and apparently refused to make the renovations requested by the parent company, Dairy Queen. Rather than invest the no-doubt thousands of dollars needed to bring the restaurants up to scratch, the franchisee opted instead to close the locations and attempt to sell them. While there was an interested buyer, parent company DQ stepped in and refused to allow the restaurants to change hands, and the sale did not go through. However, the franchisee did sell the contents of the restaurants on Local Auctions, an online marketplace for auctions, including Dairy Queen's signature Blizzard machines. Imagine having one of those at home — you could whip up a Cookie Jar Blizzard, one of those secret fast food menu items everyone should try, whenever the craving hit! Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we're helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. Read the original article on Food Republic.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
George Strait Surprises Dairy Queen Worker in Viral Video
The King of Country needs sweet treats too — in a new viral video, a Dairy Queen worker named Becky Gonzalez posted a photo of herself with George Strait ordering at the drive-thru of her DQ in Boerne, Texas, which is a small city in the suburbs of San Antonio. The short video is captioned "The King George Strait stopped at DQ Today." Gonzalez set the video to Strait's hit "You Look So Good in Love" and she used the hashtags #thekingofcountry, #shookmyhand and #notwashingit. Fans took to the comments to express their delight that Strait hits the DQ drive-thru just like everybody else. "Imagine his voice coming over the speaker placing an order 😳 😍," wrote one fan. Another added, "Imagine his voice coming over the speaker placing an order 😳 😍." "Imagine his voice coming over the speaker placing an order 😳 😍," wrote a third fan. Another fan chimed in with a joke about having "the KING at the Dairy QUEEN," to which Gonzalez replied, "Yessss." In a follow-up video talking about how crazy it was for her video to go viral — it has over 400,000 views as of this writing — Gonzalez said Strait could not have been nicer. "He's a really cool guy. He was ready to talk, we asked him a few things, he smiled, we shook hands and he was ready to take that selfie as you can tell in that picture, look at that smile! He's all happy," said Gonzalez. According to KNUE 101.5, Strait owns The Less Ranch in Boerne, which is a 2200-acre property featuring lakes, fields and even a cave with a natural spring inside. Strait also used to have a 12-acre hilltop property with a 7300-square-foot mansion. The property is located inside the Dominion Country Club outside of San Antonio, but The Real Deal reported in 2022 that Strait sold the property for $7 million after being on the market since 2017. Strait has definitely earned his title of "The King of Country." He has sold over 120 million albums and has 60 No. 1 hits, according to Texas Monthly.
Otago Daily Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Promo bodies move closer
Mat Woods is now chief executive of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wanaka Tourism. PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Queenstown and Wanaka regional tourism organisations (RTOs) are working together more than ever, creating, it's claimed, both efficiencies and more marketing clout. The cooperation even extends to their leadership, where Destination Queenstown's (DQ) chief executive Mat Woods is now also chief exec of Lake Wanaka Tourism (LWT). He took that dual role when LWT's head of destination stepped down in March. And, as of July 1, DQ and LWT will also operate with the same annual plan. Woods says better cooperation between the RTOs — which exist, unusually, within the same Queenstown Lakes District Council boundaries — has been discussed for 10-plus years. Then, during Covid, both organisations, together with council, produced a destination management plan. Following that, DQ and LWT last year entered a shared services agreement where data insights, HR and admin and trade and business events marketing are now shared between the two. Woods: "And it makes sense because when you think about when the trade team goes to America, why would you send someone from Queenstown and someone from Wanaka, when we could actually send one person to talk about both regions?" Now, DQ and LWT have adopted a fully shared services partnership, which also embraces all their marketing, media and communications activity. "We still have two offices, but it's one lot of staff," Woods says. "There's 31 RTOs in the whole of New Zealand, and we do know the current Minister of Tourism has said that's too many. So we're ... showing how you can work together." Wood says as operational efficiencies are being made, "there is more to be able to spend on marketing, promotion and member capability". DQ and LWT are keeping separate offices and boards — "we want to ensure we retain the two distinctive brands", Woods says.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Country Music Legend Shocks Dairy Queen Worker in Drive-Thru in Viral Photo
Country music legend shocked an unsuspecting Dairy Queen worker when he rolled into the drive-thru and posed for a now-viral photo. On April 12, was working the drive-thru at DQ restaurant in Cotulla, Texas— about an hour south of San Antonio—when the "Check Yes or No" singer suddenly appeared at 12:40 p.m., MYSA reported. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Strait, 72, even agreed to take a picture with Gonzalez before he left with his meal. And the thrilled fan shared her snap of the chance meeting in a TikTok video that has since attracted more than 388,000 views. "The King George Strait stopped at DQ today 😍❤️😍," she captioned the update, with "You Look So Good in Love" playing in the background. In the comments, TikTok users had a difficult time wrapping their heads around Gonzalez's experience. "Imagine his voice coming over thespeaker placing an order 😳 😍," one person wrote. Another declared, "I would DIE. Right there, on the spot. Deceased. #KingGeorge." Someone else wondered, "How is it possible that this man only looks more handsome with age?" To that, Gonzalez replied, "He is so handsome and so friendly. I asked him a few questions before I went in for the can we take a selfie 🤣." Meanwhile, a different TikTok user shared, "George Strait has always been very humble and down to earth that's why he always stays #1. We love you Mr. Strait!!" "When I posted this picture of the King of Country Music, I never thought it was going to go viral," Gonzalez said in a follow-up TikTok video. "He's a really cool guy. He was ready to talk." She continued, "We asked him a few things. He smiled. We shook hands. He was ready to take that selfie, as you can tell in the picture. Look at that smile!" Next:
USA Today
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
WWE SmackDown takeaways: Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill coexist
WWE SmackDown takeaways: Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill coexist – for now Check out the top takeaways from WWE SmackDown on May 2, which took place at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. WWE Friday Night SmackDown on May 2 took place at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, and featured a tag team match between Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton against Naomi and Nia Jax. This week's show continued to build towards Backlash, and you guessed it, John Cena was not present. He'll be there next week, though. In the ring, Fraxiom picked up a win over Pretty Deadly, and Rey Fenix pinned Santos Escobar. Keeping it real as always, this week's show didn't quite hit on all cylinders. Maybe it was the vibe of watching after hearing about all of the surprising talent releases. Perhaps it was too midcard-heavy. Maybe last week's TLC banger was just a tough act to follow. Either way, something was off. Check out the top takeaways from this episode: Jacob Fatu to defend US title in fatal 4-way vs. Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, LA Knight Solo Sikoa just can't help but make things harder on Jacob Fatu. The opening match of the show was between Damian Priest and LA Knight. Naturally, Sikoa decided to get involved to cause a disqualification. It was the second time in as many weeks that Sikoa ruined the end of a match in the US title picture. Later in the show, SmackDown GM Nick Aldis decided that since Fatu's potential opponents haven't been given a fair shake thanks to Sikoa, Fatu would face Priest and Knight in a triple threat at Backlash. Sikoa interjected to remind Aldis that McIntyre already won a No. 1 contender match (by DQ), and that it should just be McIntyre vs. Fatu instead. Aldis thanked Sikoa for the reminder and decided to insert McInytre into the triple threat, making it a fatal 4-way instead. Fatu clearly didn't appreciate Sikoa's actions making things even harder for him, but said he's still "all gas, no brakes with it" and took it in stride. Randy Orton sends an intense message to John Cena Randy Orton took the mic to cut a damn good promo on John Cena, building toward their title match in the main event of Backlash. Orton said Cena took full advantage of the "PG era" by embracing the role of a babyface "cartoon character." He picked at some of the lines Cena said last week, including about raising the WWE Universe's kids. After getting a few jokes out of the way, Orton took a more serious tone when he addressed Cena's comments about erasing Orton's entire family legacy from wrestling. Orton addressed Cena dubbing himself "The Last Real Champion" and flipped it nicely. "Nah, nah, nah – John, you are the latest legend I have to put down." Much like Cody Rhodes had to do in the build to WrestleMania, Cena's opponents are carrying the load on solo missions when Cena isn't present. While on the surface, that can easily be interpreted as a bad thing, it has also allowed room for a few fantastic promos without interruption. Maybe some of the Superstars in the back and on NXT can take notes from these so they don't end up on the chopping block like many did earlier on Friday. Aleister Black picks up his first win since return After attacking The Miz last week, Aleister Black was placed in a match against the "A-lister." The Miz, with his tag team partner Carmelo Hayes watching from ringside, worked a longer-than-expected match against Black. Naturally, Black carried the match with his flashy, martial arts-style approach. He also hit a slick reversal out of The Miz's finisher. Hayes jumped on the apron for a temporary distraction to stop Black from landing his finisher a moment later. It didn't matter, though, because Black still connected with a Black Mass to end it. After the match, Black and Hayes stared each other down. Black was always winning this match, unless Hayes got involved. I'm glad he didn't because now it seems like we'll get a match between Black and Hayes. However, once that one happens, don't be surprised if The Miz gets more involved, causing a DQ, forcing Black and Hayes to run it back more than once. Remember when Hayes and Andrade went to a Game 7? It's the NBA playoffs. Run that same play with Black and Hayes, WWE. Zelina Vega retains women's US title Zelina Vega put her newly acquired women's US title on the line against one of Chelsea Green's Secret Hervice members, Piper Niven. The match was decent, with the obvious story being told of Vega having to overcome the size of Niven. The back-and-forth affair led to Vega getting Niven in position for a 619, which was interrupted when Green jumped onto the apron. Niven's attempt to hit Vega from behind failed as she ducked, knocking Green to the floor. Vega hit a rollup to secure a victory. There's not much to say about this one other than it was a title match on a weekly show. Green's team is in shambles after the leader lost the US title, and her biggest bodyguard couldn't get it back. Jade Cargill and Tiffany Stratton work together, for now Last week, Naomi, Jade Cargill, Nia Jax and Tiffany Stratton got in a brawl, which led everyone to believe there was going to be a tag match set up that night. Nope. Instead, they ran the same play back this week, starting with a promo by Jax. Eventually all four parties were in the ring together again, and this time, Nick Aldis made the tag match between Cargill and Stratton against Jax and Naomi. Before the match took place, Cargill let Stratton know that she wants her title. She said she has a No. 1 contender match against Jax next week, but tonight she would handle business alongside Stratton. Fast forward to the main event of the show, and sure enough, Cargill was able to co-exist with Stratton, despite their tensions over the title. Jax and Naomi put up a good fight, but the match would come to a screeching halt when Cargill stopped Jax on the middle rope, countering into a powerbomb. After the match, Cargill yanked Stratton's title from the referee to give it a very close look. She handed it to Stratton, but didn't let go, keeping the tease going. Naomi had enough of it and attacked Cargill from behind, knocking Stratton out of the ring in the process. Naomi then grabbed the title and stood tall with it as the show came to an end. It seems this road will eventually lead to Stratton vs. Cargill for the title; it's just a matter of figuring out how we get there with two other parties also wanting their shot.
