(Nick Ulanowski/H-F Chronicle)
Dairy Queen on Ridge Road in Homewood offered free ice cream cones on Thursday, March 14. This annual deal has become a tradition offered on the first day of the new season the Homewood Dairy Queen is open.
A small scoop of vanilla ice cream on a cone was available for free. If a customer wanted a topping, it was 50 cents.
Throughout the afternoon and evening, a steady stream of customers lined up to enjoy their first Dairy Queen ice cream this season. Some customers took advantage of the free cones while others ordered their ice cream of choice.
“This is one of the original looking Dairy Queens,” Hazel Crest resident Steven Allen said. “It’s kind of like a piece of history.”
Allen ordered a camel fudge cheesecake Blizzard and a strawberry sundae for him and his wife who was waiting in the car. Allen said that they had passed Dairy Queen on the way to Portillo’s for dinner. His wife pointed out that Dairy Queen was open, so they returned afterward.
“I saw the countdown,” Allen said, referring to the daily countdown until opening that Dairy Queen displayed on the building. “It was like on day three and I was like, ‘okay, well, I’ll be back. I’ll remember,’ but then I didn’t. It was a lucky accident that it was open today.”
Homewood resident Annette Bannon said she went for a walk in the neighborhood before stopping by Dairy Queen. She said she knew it was opening day and that free ice cream cones were offered. She was originally going to get the free ice cream like previous years, but after arriving she decided to order a larger portion of ice cream.
Bannon said she felt great about Dairy Queen re-opening because “it’s a sign of summer.”