TavernierDQ, LLC
Tavernier,
Dairy Queen Brazier Restaurant
92661 Overseas Hwy
Tavernier, FL 33030
Robert and Scott Stoky
Franchisees
The Dairy Queen
History Page
Ice cream manufacturers make ice cream by starting with a mix which is composed
of butterfat, milk solids, sweetener, and stabilizer. It is then frozen down to
around 23º F which produces a semi-hard "soft frozen" product. The
"soft frozen" product is dispensed into 3 gallon tubs and placed in a
deep freeze at -10º F, and then delivered to their customers - the ice cream
shop. When the ice cream shop is ready to serve it, the "rock hard"
ice cream is placed in a dipping cabinet and warmed to 5º F before selling it
to the public.
Ice cream manufacturers have always known that ice cream tasted best when it
was "soft frozen" at approximately 23º F. When ice cream was served
at near 0º F, it would numb the taste buds, making the product less flavorful.
Ice cream manufacturers also knew that if there was ever going to be a way to
serve a "soft frozen" product to the public, a new kind of freezer
would have to be invented.
In 1938, near Moline, IL, two ice cream manufacturers, J.F. "Grandpa"
McCullough and his son, Alex, decided to find out how the public would react to
a "soft frozen" ice cream product.
The McCulloughs enlisted the help of one of their
customers - Sherb Noble who owned an ice cream retail
shop in
The solution to their freezer problem came when "Grandpa" McCullough
saw an ad in the Chicago-Tribune which advertised a "continuous freezer
that dispensed frozen custard". The ad was placed by Harry M. Oltz of
The McColloughs obtained the manufacturing rights to
the Oltz patent. However, the Oltz
Freezer was crude and difficult to operate because it used ice and salt to
freeze the ice cream chamber. The McCulloughs knew
that a freezer needed to be built which would incorporate mechanical refrigeration.
So, in the fall of 1939, the McCulloughs proceeded to
have a prototype freezer built that would incorporate mechanical refrigeration.
In January 1940, the prototype freezer was ready and was installed in
"Grandpa" McCullough's basement for testing. It was during this time
that "Grandpa" McCullough discovered that "soft frozen" ice
cream dispensed by this new freezer tasted best when it had only 5 percent
butterfat rather than the standard 10 percent or more butterfat used for
regular ice cream. In fact, this newly developed "soft frozen"
product was not ice cream at all, but rather ice milk. The experiments also
concluded that the new "soft frozen" ice milk would taste creamier,
smoother, and would hold its shape best when served at 18º F.
By Spring of 1940, the McCulloughs
had finished their testing and then ordered four freezers to be built to their
new specifications. The first two machines were finished in May 1940 and were
slated to go to Sherb Noble who had found a location
in Joliet, IL, to start the new business which would serve the new "soft
frozen" ice milk. The store was jointly owned by the McCulloughs
and Noble but the new business could not open its doors until it had a name.
Since "Grandpa" McCullough had always referred to the cow as the
"Queen of the Dairy Business," and consequently, referred to his
"soft frozen" product as the "Queen of Dairy Products," it
was decided to call the store and the product Dairy Queen. The
Joliet store opened on June 22, 1940. The second store opened in Moline, IL, on
April 1, 1941 and a week later, the third store (Sherb
Noble's second) opened in Aurora, IL. World War II sharply curtailed the
expansion of Dairy Queen. In fact, at the end of the war in 1945,
there were only eight Dairy Queen stores
in operation.
Today, there are over 5,600 Dairy Queen stores
throughout the world. In addition to Dairy Queen soft-serve
products, some Dairy Queen stores also offer the "Brazier"
line of hot foods. However, Dairy Queen is still the largest
seller of "soft frozen" dessert products in the world.
Dairy Queen Soft Serve
Dairy Queen ice cream is made from whole milk, cream, milk
solids, sugar, vanilla, and a natural stabilizer. It is pasteurized and
homogenized. It comes to the store in a liquid form and is pumped into the
machine where it is frozen down to 18º F for serving. Dairy Queen
mix contains only 5% butterfat (the same as it has
been since 1940) while ice cream and frozen custard are 10% or more. So, DQ soft
serve has fewer calories.
MAJOR MILESTONES IN Dairy Queen
HISTORY
Visits to the local "Dairy Queen" store are part of
just about everyone's childhood.
How many of these developments do you remember?
1938: "Dairy Queen" soft serve developed by J. F. Mc Cullough
1940: First store opening in Joliet, Illinois
1947: System grows to 100 stores
1949: Shakes and malts added to the line of cones, sundaes and take home pints
1950: System grows to 1466 stores
1951: Banana Split introduced
1955: "Dilly" Bar introduced as the system grows to
2600 stores
1957: First "Brazier" store opened in Georgia
1959: "Dairy Queen" red ellipse logo developed
1961: "Mr. Misty" drink introduced
1968: "Brazier" hot food line officially adopted by the
system
1971: "Peanut Buster Parfait" introduced
1979: "Full Meal Deal" introduced
1981: "Dairy Queen" Frozen Cakes introduced
1985: "Blizzard" Flavor Treat introduced
1987: First "Treat Center" store opens, which combines
"Dairy Queen", "Karmelkorn"
and "Orange Julius" menus
1989: System grows to 5200 stores
1990: "Dairy Queen" Non-fat Frozen Yogurt introduced
1995: "DQ Treatzza Pizza"
introduced
1996: "Value-Meal Plus It" concept introduced to replace
"Full-Meal Deal"
Check Back Often for more D.Q. History in the making!
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