From Kankakee to Joliet

In 1938, Sherb Noble ran an ice cream store in Kankakee called Sherb’s. His supplier and friend, John McCullough, along with his son, Alex, came up with a softer ice cream and offered it to Noble. He tested the soft-serve as a 10-cent all-you-can-eat special. His entire stock, 1,600 servings, ran out in under two hours.

Two years later, Noble and the McCulloughs opened the original store in Joliet, Illinois (above). McCullough had referred to the cow as the queen of the dairy business, so Noble named his new store “Dairy Queen.” It was a huge success, and Noble saw the opportunity to open franchises. The location closed mid-century but the building is a city-designated landmark. There were 2,600 across the country by 1955. Today there are over 7,000 locations in more than 20 countries.