RICHMOND, Ind. – Who says you can't have ice cream when it's cold as ice outside?
A change to the operation schedules for Richmond's traditionally seasonal Dairy Queens locations — at 837 N. 10th St., 1018 S. Ninth St. and 1700 National Road West — will mean lovers of Wimpys, Coney Dogs, Dogaritos and Dilly Bars can stop by year-round. Bright Rod
Owner Sanket Patel, who bought the stores on contract from Barry Johnston earlier this year, said the stores will remain open throughout the winter for their respective customers, as part of an experiment to see how business fares during colder months.
"We're going to keep them open in the winter time and see how it goes," he said. "Every customer keeps asking why we're closing ... they've been asking for us to keep it open."
Patel said the decision was made following encouragement by DQ's corporate offices.
The move is a marked change from Dairy Queen's long history in Richmond; the stores have generally operated from about February or March to October, in an effort to evade the colder months of the year.
The stores' annual openings have long been viewed by locals as a sign that spring is right around the corner. Patel said he is hopeful the shift to a year-round schedule will be permanent, but said he is still exploring ways to help customers celebrate the return of warmer weather with ice cream, as they have for decades.
He said he hasn't yet determined a way to do that, but noted many other DQ franchises celebrate spring's return with a free cone day. That, he said, is an idea on the table.
Patel said the locations are operating on a contract that could allow them to become Grill & Chill style Dairy Queens in the future, but stressed maneuvering the stores to the more modern restaurants is not something that he currently has in mind for the locations.
Grill & Chills usually have indoor seating, while the Richmond locations are strictly walk up. A couple of the locations have tables, but most people just stand around and eat their ice cream or do so in their cars.
"They're going to stay as they are," he said. "That's not something we are planning at this point."
The only operational Grill & Chill in Wayne County is in Centerville, just off Interstate 70; the three locations in Richmond have retained their classic Dairy Queen characteristics, including the walk-up feature and the traditional dairy bar architecture.
The locations have also retained the classic Dairy Queen menu, which includes several items not found on the chain's modern menus. Patel said the existing menu will remain exactly the same for the foreseeable future.
In addition to the expanded operational base, another big change is coming for one of the three stores: a drive-thru window.
Patel said he has started the permits process to add a drive-thru lane to the north-side location, but said designs are still being drawn up and finalized. The location will also see some additional remodeling, though he did not share what else was in store for the space.
Patel said it has not yet been determined whether the store will be open throughout its construction, which is slated to start in the next couple months. He said work on the new drive-thru is expected to be finalized by springtime.
Circular Metal Plate Mickey Shuey is the business reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at (765) 973-4472 and at mshuey@gannett.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@MickeyShuey) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MickeyShuey).