Dozens of Dairy Queen restaurants across Texas are closing, taking a critical community space with them.
“A wave of Dairy Queen closures across Texas this year have hit small towns especially hard,” writes Jaime Adame in a piece for The Daily Yonder that explores the chain’s role as a “third places” in many rural Texas towns. “The closures come amid an ongoing legal dispute. The restaurants’ ownership, under the name Project Lonestar, Inc. and backed by a Los Angeles-based franchisee, alleged the chain’s corporate leadership effectively tanked attempts to sell off some of the restaurants and keep their doors open.”
Close to half of the 30 Texas locations that shut down were in towns with populations of under 3,000 people. The restaurants often served as a community anchor, an affordable, all-ages “third place” to gather and socialize. “Rural areas are more likely to struggle at providing such “third places,” according to Danielle Rhubart, a researcher at Penn State University who studies rural health and well-being.”
The article highlights personal stories of the connections made and strengthened at local Dairy Queens. When they shutter, some communities are left with few other places to go. In some cases, former Dairy Queen buildings have been repurposed into new restaurants, but small communities can have a hard time attracting businesses.
FULL STORY: ‘Neither Work Nor Home’: Dairy Queens as Community Hubs in Rural Texas
Mourning the Loss of the Dairy Queen in Rural Texas
As populations shrink, small towns are losing an important place to get together,,
Growth in Small Utah Towns Prompts Road Safety Concerns
As small towns rapidly gain population, local infrastructure will have to adjust to keep up with more pedestrians and car traffic.
Iowa Towns Embrace a ‘Shrink Smart’ Approach
Population loss doesn’t have to be a harbinger of doom. Some rural communities are taking small but impactful steps to improve quality of life for their remaining residents.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t
Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.
Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)