Did You Know Dairy Queen’s Dilly Bar Was Invented Here In MN?

The Dairy Queen Dilly Bar was invented in Minnesota. In Moorhead, Minnesota, to be exact. And it was invented by a guy that kinda broke a lot of Dairy Queen rules.

I discovered this fact accidentally when Phyllis Litherland passed away in 2018. Phyllis, and her husband Bob, opened the Moorhead Dairy Queen in 1949, and the story of the Dilly Bar goes back to 1955...

(Duluth News Tribune) "A couple of brothers who supplied ice cream mix stopped by. Somebody poured a swirl of ice cream on paper, stuck a stick in it and dipped it into chocolate...although most Dairy Queens today buy their Dilly Bars from a supplier to company specifications, the DeLeons continued the tradition of making them fresh in the store."

If you're ever in Moorhead, it's worth a visit. Not only can you pose with the World's Largest Dilly bar (12 foot tall).

You can also get some Dairy Queen Treats you haven't seen at a modern DQ in forever, like Monkey Tails, Mr. Malties, and more. Visiting the Moorhead DQ is visiting history, and indulging in a pile of nostalgia. Plus, they open March 1 of every year (snow or shine, and yes, I've stood in that line, there were were 20 people ahead of me). 

How do they get to sell the nostalgic treats from the old days? Because the Moorhead DQ is still operating under the 70-plus-year-old franchise agreement. They even pay less than almost all the other DQ's in the nation for food from the warehouses.(source).

Listen to James Rabe 6a to 10a on Y-105 FM, and 2p to 6p on 103.9 The Doc.

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