Dairy Queen shuts its doors

Closure even surprises Dairy Queen's Pacific Northwest Office.

“There will be no more blizzards in Oak Harbor. Quite a few people were surprised, and some ice cream lovers were no doubt bitterly disappointed, when the Oak Harbor Dairy Queen unexpectedly closed its doors Wednesday night.A sign quietly appeared on the door announcing that the Barrington Drive fast food restaurant and ice cream parlor is closed, apparently permanently.Shyrrel Burge at the Dairy Queen Pacific Northwest Office – the franchising office for several western states – said she was surprised to learn Friday afternoon that the Oak Harbor chain restaurant had gone out of business.She said the office received no word of the closure from the owner, who lives in Canada. We don’t know what’s going on, she said. We’re surprised.The Oak Harbor Dairy Queen’s business license is filed under the company name Pust Foods, Inc. The owners are listed as Jack and Lenea Heinemann.According to the Oak Harbor planning department, the store manager called earlier this week and cancelled the business’ garbage pick up, water and other city services. Oak Harbor resident Arnold Freund, who owns the land that’s leased to the Dairy Queen, said he also hadn’t heard anything about the business closing until a friend noticed the sign on the door.International Dairy Queen is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. There are are more than 5,790 Dairy Queen franchise businesses in the US, according to corporate Web site.Of course, North Whidbey ice cream lovers can still indulge themselves at Baskin-Robbins on Highway 20 in Oak Harbor, the Dairy Valley Milk Drive-In on NE Kettle Street or in Coupeville at the Hole in the Wall on Front Street. “