After months of construction, the brand new Dairy Queen store in Dell Rapids opened on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30th.  The construction of the new building took just under seven months.  Demolition of the old building began on November 5th, 2015.

Even though the new store matches most of the other Dairy Queens in the area, a piece of the old Dell Rapids Dairy Queen still found it’s way in the new building.  The old ice cream cone neon sign is mounted on the wall just inside the front entrance doors.

The opening of the new store was a great success as the store was full of people all day long.

The hours for the Dell Rapids Dairy Queen are 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day.

The Dell Rapids Dairy Queen will be under new ownership on Tuesday, April 1st.  Owner Charlie Pleskac has sold the Dairy Queen to Dan Hiserote.  Hiserote owns multiple Dairy Queens in the northwest Iowa area.  Steve Hill, Hiserote’s concept manager, has said that upgrades to the Dell Rapids Dairy Queen may take place.  Pleskac said that the new owner has indicated a desire to try to keep DQ Days and the Miracle Treat Days alive that Pleskac has done over the past five years of ownership.

The decision to sell the Dairy Queen came down to family needs.

Currently the Dell Rapids Dairy Queen employs 15 staff, and all staff will keep their positions.

Charlie and Rita Pleskac share this letter with the community:

“My wife and I want to extend our many thanks and gratitude to the community of Dell Rapids and all of our DQ patrons over the last five years.  Five years ago we purchased the Dells DQ and moved up here as newlyweds.  We could not have asked for or dreamed of being welcomed and supported as Dell Rapids made us feel.  The community welcomed us as one of their own and provided an incredible amount of support.  For that, we are forever grateful.

When we moved here five years ago, we did not plan on moving or selling our business.  Dells was our home.  Wee bought a house here, had two kids here, enjoyed living here.  As with life, the unexpected seems to always happen.  Our unexpected was the absence of family around us and the effect it would have on us and our kids.  We became a family who was traveling four hours to see family every other weekend; arriving late Friday night only to leave early Sunday afternoon.  It became evident to use that we wanted our family closer to family.  My wife and I are very close with our families and this is the reason we have decided to relocate back closer to home.

Dell Rapids is a wonderful place to have been a resident, a business owner, and a member of the community.  It is with a torn heart that we made our decision knowing the community and many great people we will be leaving behind.  Family is one of the most important aspects in live and in our heart we know that we are doing what is best for our family.

We want to again extend a huge ‘Thank You’ to Dell Rapids as a community, all of our patrons at DQ over the past five years, and all of our friends here in town.

Sincerely,
Charlie and Rita Pleskac”

Pleskac will continue to be owner of two other Dairy Queens, one in Lincoln, Nebraska and the other in Ogallala, Nebraska.  Pleskac also resigned his position on the Dell Rapids Planning and Zoning Committee.