Dairy Queen has closed at least 46 locations across the United States since early 2025, the latest being three restaurants in Anchorage, Wasilla and Palmer, Alaska that shut down on June 30 without explanation.
The closures leave just one Dairy Queen remaining in Alaska, in Soldotna. Days earlier, a location in Great Falls, Montana that had operated for 39 years closed on June 13.
The former owner is replacing it with a Mediterranean restaurant called Zesty Eatz.
The bulk of the closures trace back to franchise disputes rather than the chain itself failing.
The largest wave hit Texas in February and March 2025, when franchisee Project Lonestar, which American Dairy Queen terminated after the company failed to remodel its locations, was forced to close 42 Texas restaurants when it could no longer order supplies from the parent corporation.
Dairy Queen has consistently described the closures as "isolated events" tied to individual franchise owners.
The Alaska closures are connected to the same franchise ownership as the Texas ones.
Dairy Queen is not going out of business. The company operates approximately 7,800 restaurants across 20 countries as a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
But 46 closures in 18 months, spread across Texas, Montana, Arizona and now Alaska, tell the story of an industry under pressure, food-away-from-home prices are up 3.5 percent over the past year, consumers are cutting back and franchise operators who couldn't keep up with either renovation requirements or profit margins have been forced out.
If your local Dairy Queen closed recently, it was almost certainly a franchise issue. If it hasn't, enjoy your Blizzard.