People searching ice cream near me in Texas saw fewer Dairy Queen options after the chain cut 42 locations between February and March. The closures followed a franchise-rights dispute tied to Project Lonestar, and they came alongside recent shutdowns in Alaska and Great Falls, Montana.
Texas Dairy Queen and Project Lonestar
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Dairy Queen's U.S. parent company revoked the franchise rights of Texas-based operator Project Lonestar after it failed to complete required building remodels. Once that happened, the operator was blocked from ordering official Dairy Queen inventory, which forced the immediate closure of 42 Texas locations between February and March.
That sequence matters for customers because the stores did not simply fade out over time. The loss of inventory access ended operations quickly, changing what local customers could find in a familiar brand network that spans roughly 7,800 locations in more than 20 countries.
Alaska and Great Falls closures
The Texas action was not the only local disruption. In late June, a single franchisee in Alaska closed three locations in Anchorage, Wasilla and Palmer, leaving just one Dairy Queen operating in the state, in Soldotna.
Weeks earlier, a Dairy Queen franchisee in Great Falls, Montana, shut down his restaurant after 39 years in business. He said he was converting the location into a Mediterranean restaurant to bring "something fresh and exciting" to the area.
Growth plans in Puerto Rico
Dairy Queen is also moving in the opposite direction elsewhere. In a recent press release, the company said it plans to open 20 DQ Grill & Chill restaurants in Puerto Rico, even as it shutters dozens of stores in Texas and Alaska. That split leaves franchisees and local communities facing a sharper question than a routine menu change: which locations get renewed, which get closed, and how quickly the footprint shifts from one market to another.
Dairy Queen, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway with international headquarters in Minneapolis, has not laid out any further closure schedule in the facts reported Friday. For customers looking for a nearby store, the practical step is to check whether the closest DQ still appears in the local network before making the trip, because the brand's recent moves have been driven by franchise rights, inventory access and redevelopment plans rather than a single national shutdown date.
