Minnesota’s Oldest Dairy Queen Is Looking For New Owners

Dairy Queen has been a (maybe the) staple of a Minnesota summer since its first location opened in the state in 1947. That store, which is located at the Lexington Plaza Shopping Center in Roseville, is currently closed and looking for new owners according to the Roseville Reader.

According to the Readers' post, the store closed last Thursday. The Lexington Plaza owner says that they hope they can find a current Dairy Queen franchisee to take over the location, calling it a 'lovely use' for the building and saying they have enjoyed having the restaurant as a tenant.

In 2010 the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota named this Dairy Queen location as an 'Endangered Historic Place,' according to an article from the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

The franchise's owner at the time, Jack DeCrans, called the building 'extremely undersized' and added that he was considering demolishing the building and building a new one, which obviously never came to pass.

The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota cited the building's "soaring, angled glass panes" and its "large, distinctive neon sign," according to the Pioneer Press writeup from 2010.

For now, the Roseville location is in limbo as the search continues to find new ownership. The complex's owner says that one of the hurdles to quickly finding a new owner is corporate Dairy Queen's preference that the new owners are existing franchisees.

Interestingly, there was another Dairy Queen in Rochester that also opened in 1947 and claimed to be the oldest in Minnesota, but that location closed, perhaps permanently, in 2024.

You can read the full post from the Roseville Reader at this link.