Business & Tech

Tuesday is Free Ice Cream Day at Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen celebrates its 76th year with a free vanilla cone for customers as it raises money for Beaumont Children's Hospital.

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Beth Dalbey, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

ROYAL OAK, MI – Dairy Queen will celebrate its 76th anniversary on Tuesday, March 15, with Free Cone Day β€” all customers will receive a free small vanilla soft-serve ice cream cone.

Guests are encouraged to make a donation to Beaumont Children’s Hospital in Royal Oak. All of the money raised will remain in Michigan.

To find a participating location,click here.

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Founded in Joliet, IL, Dairy Queen is now America’s largest ice-cream chain, with 5,900 locations in 49 states and a dozen other countries.

Soft-serve ice cream was developed in Illinois by a friend of Noble’s, a gent named John Fremont β€œGrandpa” McCullough, along with his son Bradley, in 1938. They sold the frozen treat at a store Noble owned in North Dakota, and on the first day sold 1,600 servings. They opened the first Dairy Queen two years later in Joliet.

Find out what's happening in Royal Oakfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The company is headquartered today in Edina, MN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. (That Warren Buffett is one smart operator.)

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