When is San Angelo's Newest Dairy Queen Opening?

SAN ANGELO, TX — The second Dairy Queen location in San Angelo is set to open on Black Friday. Eloy Cruz, District Manager for Dairy Queen, said the new DQ will employ 55 people.

The location at 3006 Knickerbocker Rd. was formerly a Church’s Chicken restaurant. Dairy Queen purchased the property and tore down the old fried chicken restaurant and built a new building.

“When I went to school and learned real estate, it was all about location, location, location,” Cruz said. The Knickerbocker location has a remarkably high traffic count, said Cruz. Besides, fast food is all about convenience. “Sherwood Way may be a little far to go for folks living and working near here,” Cruz added.

Cruz said DQ is engaged in a smart expansion in San Angelo. While there are no immediate plans for a third location, he is continually evaluating opportunity and, he said, great locations.

The new location’s staff will mostly be brand new, he said. He expects to see a large influx of customers for the grand opening. To aid the store’s opening, some of the staff will be experienced food prep and counter help from DQ locations in other Texas cities.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Cruz said. But if the service fails to meet expectations during the grand opening phase, “Be patient. We’re training lots of new staff.”

The corporate expansion in San Angelo comes on the heels of the closure of 29 franchise locations in smaller towns in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The franchisee, Vasari, LLC, cited the ‘oil country’ downturn in their Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

But in San Angelo, the economy shows promise. The new DQ’s grand opening is Nov. 24 at 10 a.m.