Dairy Queen may not be a Texas based company but they sure seem to think they are and these menu items that are only available at Texas DQ's prove it.

Dairy Queen was founded in 1940 in Illinois. Rolly Klose opened the first Texas location 7 years later which was so soon after the original that many assumed his was first.

An almost 80 year history ... and the fact that Texas has the most DQ locations ... is why many think of it as a Texas based business. The oldest DQ still in operation opened in Texas in 1950.

Rolly also made sure that first restaurant and all the Texas locations that followed had a special, Texas edge to 'em that exists to this day by corporate rule. That included specialty items meant to separate them from competitors like Whataburger.

What's On The Dairy Queen Texas Menu?

Once Dairy Queen franchising began expanding in Texas, the locations began differentiating themselves from locations in other states by adding Texas-specific menu items such as a Steak Finger Basket, Fried jalapeños, and the Belt-Buster Burger (and other trademarked “Buster” burger types).

You can still order mostly-in-Texas menu items such as a Chicken-Fried Steak Sandwich, Chicken & Dumplings, Tacos, and a side of Texas Toast (of course) at Texas Dairy Queens. In 2024, a new sauce was even added to menus known as the “DQ Texas Sauce.” - southernliving.com

When Rolly gave control of Texas franchises back to Dairy Queens' corporate peeps, Texas owners created the Texas Dairy Queen Operators’ Council to make sure they got to keep the Texas menu exclusively in Texas.

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Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins

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