CONGRATS TO THE QUEEN

Famous franchise company celebrates 75 years of success

Summer without a Dairy Queen cone would be like sand without the surf. There's something so endearing about licking a soft serve cone, all cold sweetness with that perfect curl on the top.

Next time you’re ordering a cone, or a split or a sundae or a Blizzard, don’t forget to wish this iconic dessert a Happy Birthday — Dairy Queen turns 75 this year.

The Dairy Queen phenomena dates back to Aug. 4, 1938 when John Fremont McCullough and his son Alex had been experimenting with a soft frozen dairy product. They contacted a good friend, Sherb Noble, who agreed to offer the treat at his walk-in ice cream store. Within two hours, Noble had dished out more than 1,600 servings of the new dessert.

There was no looking back. In 1941, there were only ten Dairy Queen stores — the number rose to 100 stores in 1947, growing to 2,600 in 1955. Today, the DQ system has over 6,000 restaurants in the U.S., Canada and 20 other countries, under the International Dairy Queen (IDA) umbrella. (IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by legendary investor and CEO Warren Buffett.)

And the first Dairy Queen to open in Canada was in 1953 — in Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Throughout the years the menu has evolved to include Blizzard treats, DQ cakes, fruit smoothies and, depending on the location, burgers, wraps, fries and cold soft drinks. And yes, the simple, softserve cone that started it all.

“Dairy Queen has been a beloved brand among Canadians for over 75 years, and we're proud to be a part of so many birthday celebrations, post-game dinners and summertime events,” says Peter White, executive vice president of Dairy Queen Canada.

The company has plenty of events planned for this special milestone birthday. “To mark our “Fanniversary”, we’re celebrating the people across Canada — serving up the best Blizzard flavours from past, present and future to introducing a new product line that fans are sure to love.”

That includes oven-fresh sandwiches, snack melts and hot desserts a la mode. And the introduction of the new Jurassic Smash Blizzard, as part of its partnership with Universal Pictures for

Jurassic World.

Something to lick about next time you enjoy a soft serve cone.