The wait is finally over for Dairy Queen fans.
The store’s owner and operating company, Fourteen Foods, said the store’s new staff has been put in place, and the building will open to the public on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Teardown of the old Dairy Queen, which was badly damaged by fire in January 2019, was done in July. Utility work on the site was done the final week of June and the demolition of the old restaurant started Monday, July 1. The razing of the old restaurant was more practical than a remodel or renovation, a spokesperson from the organization – which owns dozens of DQ restaurants around the state – said.
St. Michael Community Development Director Marc Weigle told the city’s planning commission in May that the company was looking to tear down the existing building and acquire some of the additional property on the site to construct a new store. Formal plans were then brought to the city at the P&Z meeting in June, clearing the way for July 1 work.
Fourteen Foods has said the interior of the new store will function much like its Monticello or Rogers locations, with quick-serve counters, a larger serving area and updated seating.