After the closing of MaggieMoo’s ice cream shop in Preakness Shopping Center approximately a year ago, Dairy Queen has stepped in and officially opened a store in the same location on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

Dairy Queen (DQ) is an ice cream store founded in 1940 in Illinois, and has since expanded across the nation. The shop sells soft serve, hard ice cream, blizzards, and other drinks including smoothies and the Orange Julius. DQ opened on the first day of Spring, which also marked free cone day: a day where customers were able to enjoy a free small cone with soft serve.

“There’s a lot of variety with the ice cream flavors, and it’s affordable,” said sophomore Laiann Hamdan, DQ employee. Sophomore Lia Cardinale, Hamdan’s coworker, added that, “the blizzards are a must-have.”

Contrary to other Dairy Queens, the new store in Preakness only sells ice cream products and drinks, in contrast to hot foods like hamburgers and chicken nuggets sold in other venues. However, the store welcomes people of all ages and its popularity is still on the rise.

“I went to Dairy Queen with my friends and ended up staying for two hours because the environment and ice cream is so great,” said junior Isabelle Wilders when asked by the Patriot Press about the quality of the new venue. It really is a great addition to the Preakness Shopping Center!