Dairy Queen Franchisees Close 46 Locations Since Early 2025, Most Tied to One Texas Operator

com reported. Three stores in Anchorage, Wasilla and Palmer, Alaska, shut on June 30, 2026, leaving the state with one remaining outlet in Soldotna. A Dairy Queen official said the franchise owner of the three Alaska stores had recently closed them without disclosing the owner's name or the reason.

Pete Ischi, co-owner of the Soldotna location, called the shutdowns shocking and said his family declined an offer to take over the sites. He noted that operators in Alaska pay freight costs to receive supplies. A Dairy Queen in Great Falls, Montana, closed on June 13, 2026, after nearly 40 years.

Owner Steve Galloway plans to convert the building into a Mediterranean restaurant called Zesty Eatz. Galloway said the goal is to bring something fresh and exciting to Great Falls. The largest share of closures occurred in Texas.

Franchisee Project Lonestar shut roughly 30 locations there in February 2025 and 12 more in March 2025. American Dairy Queen Corp. terminated the agreements after the franchisee failed to remodel the stores, washingtontimes.com reported.

Project Lonestar filed a lawsuit alleging the parent company directed a supplier to halt all shipments of Dairy Queen products. A Dairy Queen spokesperson described the Texas closures as an isolated event tied to one franchise owner. The affected operators have not filed for bankruptcy.

Prices for food away from home rose 3.5 percent over the 12 months ending in May 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dairy Queen was founded in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940. The chain introduced malts and shakes in 1949 and the Blizzard in 1985.

International Dairy Queen, the Minneapolis-based parent owned by Berkshire Hathaway, operates more than 7,800 restaurants in more than 20 countries.