The wait is finally over.
After closing for over two months for repairs, the Dairy Queen in Blooming Prairie began serving its full menu last week. While service is currently limited to drive-thru and outdoor dining, Jamie Klemmensen, who owns the restaurant with her husband Jay, hopes to offer the complete DQ experience soon, indoor dining included.
Dairy Queen began serving ice cream again June 5. Customers packed the drive-thru, many of them with the same question on their minds.
“People were thrilled to have ice cream, but they were eager for food. They kept asking when we were going to have chicken strips,” said Klemmensen.
Last Friday, the Klemmensens quietly reopened the grill without making any announcements. That first night gave them an opportunity to get back in the groove and ensure everything was working properly before ringing the dinner bell. Satisfied, they announced the grill was open for business the following day. Klemmensen said it only took about two hours for word to spread, and business has been steady ever since.
Dairy Queen closed its doors in March after incurring heavy smoke damage due to a fire at a nearby business. While the fire never spread to DQ, the building was bathed in so much smoke that many of the fixtures inside, from furniture to ice cream machines, were irreparably damaged. While the fire forced the Klemmensens to close during the top sales months of the year, it gave them an opportunity to implement updates they’d been eying since they purchased the building in 2022. Prior to the fire, the building hadn’t changed significantly in the past 50 years.
Klemmensen said they ultimately decided to go above and beyond the remodeling Dairy Queen corporate requires of franchisees, and the location should be up to date for the next 10 years.
Work on the lobby has continued as the restaurant operates, with a partition separating the construction site from the kitchen. Klemmensen said working around the construction has been a challenge, but she also finds the level of activity in the building energizing.
She hopes to welcome customers for indoor dining sometime in August. Most of the fixtures have been delivered and are just awaiting installation. Until then, they’re serving guests on the patio, where customers wait for their order number to be called for pick up. Klemmensen prefers the personal touch of bringing their food out to them, a practice she looks forward to resuming once the dining room is open. She especially misses the opportunity to chat with guests at their tables.
Still, she’s enjoying a summer that’s almost back to normal — even the adrenaline rush that comes from serving a steady stream of customers.
“We all work our best and have the most fun when it’s super busy. The employees are excited to be open. It makes their shifts go by really fast,” said Klemmensen.
While weekend business is slower during summer months compared to the school year, Klemmensen said DQ typically sees bigger lunch orders due to out-of-school kids accompanying their parents.
A subset of customers may notice one item missing from the menu since the restaurant reopened. DQ introduced parmesan garlic chicken strips to the menu in early 2024, but the item was discontinued while they were closed. While it wasn’t for everyone, Klemmensen said the new menu item attracted a small but passionate following. Giving parmesan garlic lovers a measure of hope, she said the item could be making a comeback in the future.
However, one absent item hasn’t dampened their customers’ enthusiasm.
“We have a really good supportive community in Blooming Prairie. This makes it all more worthwhile having a business here,” said Klemmensen.
Local News
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