DQ News

9 Dairy Queen restaurants around Dallas-Fort Worth abruptly close

A few less Blizzards in the world.

Nine locations of Dairy Queen have closed across Dallas-Fort Worth, including restaurants in Euless, Fort Worth, Hurst, Keller, Roanoke, and Grand Prairie.

All of the locations were owned by franchisee Lickety Split Food Services, who posted letters on the restaurants' front doors, stating that they were shutting down their entire DQ portfolio.

That included three locations in Fort Worth, two in Grand Prairie, and one each in Euless, Hurst, Keller, and Roanoke. The street addresses can be seen here.

"It is with deep regret that we have discontinued operating our Dairy Queen restaurants," the letter said. "Nothing gave us greater joy than to serve you DQ's amazing treats and eats. Thank you for the wonderful season we shared."

Lickety Split Food Services was owned by Tarrant County resident Michael Clarke, an ambitious innovator noted for his flashy, DQ-red 1956 Ford F100. Clarke installed state-of-the-art kitchens with sophisticated appliances at his locations, and was the first DQ franchisee to install self-serve kiosks.

But Lickety Split was also the subject of a lawsuit in 2017 when a diner claimed that a burger he ordered at the Fort Worth location at 6700 Bridge Rd. was moldy and made him sick.

Comments on Facebook indicated that employees were not informed ahead of time and some showed up at their place of employment to find it closed.

Beyond the "deep regret," the posted notice seemed to engage in a small bit of bragging: "Fun numbers: 9 DQ locations opened 2013-2016. 6 years and 7 months in business. 7,500,000+ customers served. 4,250,000 Blizzards flipped. Special thank you to our amazing team members who worked hard to make your DQ experience better than you remember. With gratitude, Lickety Split Food Services, LLC."

The closures leave approximately 40 locations around Dallas-Fort Worth for Hungr-Buster burgers, Country Baskets, Blizzards, Dilly Bars, and soft-serve ice cream cones.

closings

Celebrity wedding

Whataburger pops up at MLB star Bobby Witt's wedding to Colleyville bride

Photo by Lyndi Stücky for People Magazine

Bobby Witt, Jr. and Maggie Black were sweethearts at Colleyville Heritage High School.

Kansas City Royals slugger and former Colleyville Heritage standout Bobby Witt, Jr. married high school sweetheart Maggie Black in Dallas on Saturday, December 14. And the bride wore white, and the guests ate Whataburger.

Among the many fun and fabulous wedding details — reported exclusively by People magazine — was a Whataburger pop-up restaurant constructed for an epic reception after-party.

When the ceremony at the Thompson Hotel ended, the magazine says, more than 100 people secretly created a replica Whataburger restaurant in the venue, complete with tables, booths, an ordering counter, drinks and condiments station, the newlyweds' favorite menu items, and actual Whataburger employees to serve everyone.

Watch a fun video of it here:

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The pop-up was dubbed, appropriately, "Witt-a-burger."

"The couple has a sentimental connection to the burger joint, as they used to hang out at their local Whataburger after baseball and football games while dating in high school," People says.

Witt is a Whataburger brand ambassador.

Bobby Witt Jr., Maggie Black, Whataburger wedding One of the wedding photographers posted a cute Whatabuger pic and lovely tribute to the couple.Instagram/Britney Tarno

Witt, 24, graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School in 2019 and now plays shortstop for the Kansas City Royals; Black is a personal trainer. Witt's father, Bobby Witt Sr., was a star pitcher for the Texas Rangers in the 1980s and '90s.

The 300-person wedding guest list reportedly included the entire Royals team, as well as MLB all-stars Andrew Benintendi, Whit Merrifield, Cole Ragans, and Rusty Greer.

"The couple — who first met and began dating in high school after a smitten Witt asked Black’s best friend for her schedule so he could transfer into her physics class — says their winter wedding was 'a long time coming,'" People says.

“We had been boyfriend and girlfriend for so long that it’s exciting for both of us to now get to call each other husband and wife,” Black tells the magazine. “We are just super excited to finally be married.”

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For the ceremony, they (with the help of Leslie Ochs of Alice and Apricot Weddings) transformed the downtown Dallas hotel ballroom into an intimate chapel, complete with custom stained-glass windows by Vim + Venture.

“There were so many fun details throughout the design that incorporated Bobby’s love for baseball and Maggie’s personality with the warm and classy atmosphere," Ochs tells the magazine.

To read the whole story about Witt and Black's wedding, head over to People magazine.

bobby witt jr celebrities colleyville heritage december 14 kansas city royals maggie black people magazine sports texas rangers whataburger weddings