{"id":375097,"date":"2026-08-18T23:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/375097\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T23:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:58:15","slug":"campbells-dairyland-gets-new-owners-keeps-its-brandon-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/375097\/","title":{"rendered":"Campbell\u2019s Dairyland Gets New Owners, Keeps Its Brandon Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For more than three decades, Campbell\u2019s Dairyland has been a gathering place for Brandon families looking for a good meal, a milkshake, an ice cream cone and a little taste of nostalgia. <\/p>\n

Now, the restaurant at 200 S. Parsons Ave., has a new owner, but customers can expect much of what they love to remain exactly the same. <\/p>\n

Dairy Joy, a family-owned Florida ice cream business with roots dating back to 1958, has acquired Campbell\u2019s Dairyland and is bringing the Brandon restaurant into its family of businesses. The new owners, Chris and Karrie Mueller, are not changing the Campbell\u2019s Dairyland name or the restaurant\u2019s identity. <\/p>\n

Instead, the Muellers, who also own South Tampa\u2019s Xtreme Juice and Dairy Joy locations, plan to build on the legacy that has made Campbell\u2019s Dairyland a longtime community favorite. <\/p>\n

\"\"The Mueller family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to bring Campbell\u2019s into the Dairy Joy family,\u201d the Muellers said. \u201cWe want to preserve what people love about Campbell\u2019s Dairyland and continue its tradition in the community.\u201d <\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s Dairyland has a history nearly as rich as its menu. Founder Boyd Campbell began by selling chili dogs at local events, using a five-generation-old family chili recipe. In 1985, Boyd and his wife, Pam Campbell, purchased an ice cream business formerly known as Dairy Isle and began serving chili dogs alongside ice cream. <\/p>\n

The business became Campbell\u2019s Dairyland in 1993. In 1998, the Campbells sold the restaurant to their daughters, Jill Paules and Leesa Lee, who continued the family business with their husbands, Jay Paules and James Lee. James died in 2025. <\/p>\n

\"\"From left to right: Jay Paules, Jill Paules, Leesa Lee and James Lee.<\/p>\n

The restaurant faced one of its biggest challenges in November 2002, when a fire caused approximately $250,000 in damage. The Osprey Observer covered the fire and the restaurant\u2019s eventual return to the community. <\/p>\n

After eight months and eight days, Campbell\u2019s Dairyland reopened. Jay recalled one young customer whose words brought him to tears. <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the very first customers that I got to take their order was a mother and two young children, a boy and a girl, \u2026 and the little boy was the younger of the two, and after I took their order, he looks at me very sincerely and says, \u2018Thank you for opening back up!\u2019 I ain\u2019t going to lie, I shed a tear,\u201d Jay said. <\/p>\n

That connection with generations of customers remains one of Campbell\u2019s Dairyland\u2019s greatest strengths. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really neat is, I\u2019ve been here for 30 years,\u201d Jay said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen people that I took their order from when they were little kids coming in with their parents, and now they\u2019re coming in here with their own kids \u2014 they\u2019re parents themselves, so I\u2019m seeing these second generations with my own eyes, and it\u2019s really gratifying and humbling to see.\u201d <\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s Dairyland is known for sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, salads, seafood, battered vegetables and more than 30 milkshake flavors, along with its extensive ice cream menu. The restaurant also features indoor and outdoor seating, a drive-thru and a small outdoor play area. <\/p>\n

Dairy Joy has been serving generations of Florida families since 1958 and currently operates locations in South Tampa, Seminole and Jacksonville. The Muellers have three children and have made preserving the nostalgic character of Dairy Joy a priority. <\/p>\n

The acquisition gives the Muellers an opportunity to add another beloved local tradition to their growing family of businesses while keeping Campbell\u2019s Dairyland firmly rooted in Brandon. <\/p>\n

For longtime customers, the message is simple: Campbell\u2019s Dairyland is still Campbell\u2019s Dairyland \u2014 just with Dairy Joy helping carry its story into the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For more than three decades, Campbell\u2019s Dairyland has been a gathering place for Brandon families looking for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-375097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}