DQ does something different in Dixon

DIXON – It was a soft, but not necessarily quiet, reopening for Dixon's Dairy Queen this week.

The new Dairy Queen Grill and Chill, built on the same site at Galena Avenue and Lowell Park Road where the old restaurant was demolished in December, had a "soft" opening Tuesday – it opened for business without announcements or a grand opening.

Yet, the restaurant was nearly full Tuesday, even after lunchtime.

"If you're not prepared, it sets a bad first impression," co-owner Steve Vock said of the word-of-mouth opening.

The DQ has gone from employing 12 people to 61, several new to the fast-food business. A grand opening will wait until new workers can handle lots of customers.

The old DQ had two walk-up windows and a drive-up. It had only soft-serve products, hot dogs and barbecue pork sandwiches.

The new 64-seat, full-service restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, two flat-screen TVs, and plans for free Wi-Fi. It's open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.

It also has a fuller menu – burgers, chicken strips, quesadillas, salads, french fries, onion rings, Orange Julius smoothies, orange juice and milk.

It's a "new concept" DQ, Vock said.

"We actually take the trays to the table," he said. "We refill drinks. We do a lot of things that fast-food restaurants don't do."

Vock, a Sterling native, went into business 10 years ago with his brother-in-law and co-owner, Jeff Boothe, a Polo native.

They built and began operating the Dairy Queen Brazier in Rochelle in 2000. In 2002, they bought the 46-year-old Dairy Queen in Dixon.

Vock's daughter, Brittany, is one of the managers at the new restaurant.

Boothe said city officials were happy they wanted to develop the property, which included removing an old miniature golf course behind the restaurant.

"It dresses up the whole entrance to this corridor," Boothe said of the new restaurant, which is across the street from the Shopko/County Market shopping center, and on the way to Lowell Park.