Where’s The Utica Dairy Queen That Was Promised Last Year?

Growing up in the Midwest, I can tell you that going to Dairy Queen was like a field trip no matter how many times we rode our bikes there after blowing all of our quarters at the arcade down the street. You may remember that two years ago, Dairy Queen made the announcement that they wanted to bring a store (or three) to Utica area by late 2017 early 2018 and here we are fast approaching the end of 2018 with no construction or additional announcements anywhere in sight.

Like other fast food franchises lately, they were looking to rebrand themselves, as all of us bike-riding arcade gamers are thirty years older now with hover-board-riding Fortnite players of our own. The concept was called 'Grill and Chill' and was going for more of a hip, relaxed cafe feel rather than the trademark hustle and bustle that they and their competitors had become known for.

But fret not, if you're really jonesin for a blizzard or whatever floats your ice cream banana boat, the closest location is in Cicero, and then Albany and Rochester after that if you happen to be traveling on the Thruway somewhere.