Texas Loses 38 Dairy Queen Locations

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Steak Fingers, Blizzards, The Dude Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich, Dipped cones, Hunger Buster cheeseburgers, and foods and treats that are part of the Dairy Queen menu in so many states. In Texas, Dairy Queen, also known as The Texas Stop Sign, is a staple in many rural towns and in larger cities.

In the past week, DQ customers in Royse City, Rockwall, and Wylie have discovered their local Texas Stop Sign has become a Road Closed sign.

Lonestardq, also known as Lone Star Treats and Project Lonestar, owned 38 Dairy Queen franchise locations in Texas, including those in Royse City, Rockwall, and Wylie. The franchisee had been embroiled in a legal fight with American Dairy Queen Corporation (headquartered in Wisconsin) since September 2024 when, according to court documents as part of a lawsuit Lonestar filed against ADQ, Lonestar was told it would lose its franchise locations because it failed to remodel them as part of the ADQ brand agreement.

Lonestar, was in talks with a prospective buyer of its franchise locations, according to court documents, but ADQ said that it wouldn’t move forward with the deal because of late royalty payments. Lonestar claims ADQ gave the prospective buyer confidential records, which compromised negotiations. Ultimately, the transaction did not take place, and ADQ then terminated the license for 25 Lonestar locations, including many in East Texas, in January 2025. Weeks later, Lonestar put assets from 24 of the shuttered Dairy Queen locations up for auction. Lonestar filed its lawsuit against ADQ, requesting $4 million for alleged damages related to the dispute.

In the first weeks of April 2025, Lonestar shut down 12 more Dairy Queen locations, effectively terminating all of its Dairy Queen locations in Texas.