ITHACA, N.Y.—The fast food chain Dairy Queen is bringing its iconic soft serve to Ithaca. Or rather, it’s returning.
The new Dairy Queen Grill and Chill is slated for the former Tim Horton’s and Cold Stone Creamery at 407 Elmira Road, next to the recently-built KFC. No official opening date has been posted.
The building was purpose-built for those two chains,but Tim Horton’s shut the location down in 2015 after only four years of operation as a part of their failed regional venture into Upstate New York.
Dairy Queen used to have a location in Ithaca where what is now Pudgie’s Pizza on Old Elmira Road is. The building still sports the old-style Dairy Queen design with its red mansard roof.
Dairy Queen locations have been expanding through franchisees across Upstate New York over the last few years, where locations had been few and far between. At present, there are 38 across the state, out of about 4,500 nationwide. Recent additions include locations in Big Flats outside Elmira, and additional locations around suburban Syracuse and Rochester.
The Patel family of Corning purchased the 2,542 square-foot Tim Horton’s property through an LLC in January 2016 for $640,000, and the mortgage was paid off in 2023.The Dairy Queen proposal has been floating around for years. (The original draft of this article was first written in December 2021.)
Their primary business is building and operating chain hotels, with about 70 locations across New York and Pennsylvania. A separate LLC at the same Corning address, established in January of this year, is listed as the franchisee for the Dairy Queen; a check of online filings notes that Arun “Andy” Patel is listed as the manager for both LLCs.
According to the construction loan filing, Chemung Canal Trust Company loaned the Patels $1 million for the project, of which about $766,000 is for the renovation itself. Along with the exterior and interior updates, the location will feature a drive-thru and a small outdoor seating area at the front of the restaurant.
The new Dairy Queen is nearly complete from the outside, with interior furniture installation and finish work ongoing. A visit this weekend showed the electronic menu signs were already turned on. Positions are being advertised online.
More stories like this