Downtown Dairy Queen has closed effective immediately. No problem with the business as it was finacially sound. After disagreements with the franchisee,Joe Waicukauski, on the way the store should be the national company decided not to renew the franchise agreement. From what I understand, for a number of years, the national company had been pushing Waichkauski to expand the selection to burgers, fries and other hot foods and to add a drive through, following the Chill & Grill model at most other DQs. This would increase sales, and hence the size of the franchise fees paid to the company.
As long as Waichkauski held the DQ franchise for the Carbondale area, no store using the Chill & Grill model could open up in the community. Now Dairy Queen is free to accept franchisees that it feels will generate more revenue for the company.
The company forced a similarly operated DQ in Morton Ill. to close earlier this year, after 72 years in operation. Other walk up operations in Illinois and Florida have closed this year as well.
Carbondale did have a Chill & Grill format DQ at one time. Located on the west side of town, it closed down well over a decade ago, with a used car dealership most recently occupying the building. If someone was to put in a DQ franchise like the national company wants, it would most likely locate on the more heavily trafficed east side of town.
Here is a link to more background on the closure.
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