Dairy Queen shuts more stores in second wave of mass closures to hit the state this year: 'Sad day'
Dairy Queen fans now have 12 fewer spots to grab the chain's famous upside-down ice cream.
A local manager in Texas has confirmed that six Dairy Queen locations – in Hemphill, Jasper, Kountze, Huntington, Lufkin, and Longview Eastman – locked their doors for the last time yesterday (March 24).
Dairy Queen said that six other Texas locations closed on the same day, but didn't specify where.
This marks the second wave of closures in Texas this year after the shutdown of a further 25 Dairy Queen stores in February.
Dairy Queen, founded in 1940, has around 4,500 locations across the country, more than 500 of which are in the Lone Star State.
Some of the closed locations have been in business for more than half a century.
All 37 – the 12 that shut this week and the 25 last month – were run by the same franchisee, Lone Star DQ.
'The hardest part of this for me is my entire crew and their families,' Becky Setters, who managed the Hemphill location, wrote on Facebook this week. She has been running Dairy Queen franchises for over 30 years
A Dairy Queen franchise owner confirmed that six locations have been permanently shuttered.
Fans jumped into the post's comments section to express their grief over the move.
'This is a sad day,' one customer wrote.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Dairy Queen called the new closures an 'isolated event' and declined to comment on contract terms with the closing franchisee.
'After these closures, know that Texas continues to lead the country in the number of DQ restaurants,' a company spokesperson previously told DailyMail.com.
'Worldwide, there are more than 7,700 DQ restaurants in more than 20 countries.'
The previous 25 closures had a unique spin: customers were allowed to bid on the store's equipment, giving shoppers a chance to buy the brand's famous ice creams.
Dairy Queen has long served its Blizzard-branded treats upside-down to customers to demonstrate the products supreme quality and thickness.
It is not known if the latest grouping of stores will go through a similar auction period.
This is the second grouping of Texas DQ stores that have shut down this year (stock image)
Dairy Queen serves soft-serve ice creams and upside-down Blizzard frozen treats
The chain currently has over 170 Blizzard flavors, including fan-favorite seasonal options.
The ice cream chain is famously owned by billionaire Warren Buffett.
Dairy Queen has been a staple of the American fast food scene since the 1950s, building its image as a quick burger and ice cream-based shop.
Buffett previously praised the company's simple approach to quality and said he made massive investments because of the company's scalable operations and massive footprint.
Meanwhile, the Dairy Queen closures come amid widespread restaurant closures across the US.
Household names such as TGI Friday's, Applebee's and Red Lobster have closed hundreds of locations between them.
Red Lobster also auctioned off restaurant contents last May after shutting 100 loss-making locations.
