On October 23, the Dairy Queen location at Jackson-Keller Road and West Avenue shuttered without warning. A restaurant regular first reported the move on the San Antonio Restaurants Facebook group, posting a photo of a sign on the door.

"We would like to thank all our Loyal Guest and Customer's for the Continued Support through the years," the note read. "After 20+years The Decision was made to close."

It was born in Illinois and is headquartered in Minnesota, but Texas has always embraced Dairy Queen as fully as homecoming mums and bluebonnets. But, like the state itself, the company is changing. No longer a hub of civic life, the fast food chain's franchisers have slowly abandoned rural areas and low-opportunity neighborhoods. The shiny new face of DQ Country is increasingly in the 'burbs.

The closure comes as many of Dairy Queen's older locations continue to underperform. In 2023, a Southside location at 9222 S. Zarzamora shuttered after 45 years. Several longtime locations were swept from the Panhandle in 2018 after franchisee Vasari LLC filed bankruptcy.

Although the brand is undoubtedly nostalgic for native Texans, many of the Facebook group's commenters were unmoved, citing poor service and dirty baskets.

"Close all of them down," wrote one user. "They're way too slow. Super slow. Take a whole century to make one darn chili cheese dog."

Despite that wish, the chain isn't going anywhere — just shifting its focus as demographics change. Texas still has almost 600 Dairy Queen locations and more than a dozen within city limits. Although they serve Dilly Bars and Blizzards, the newer stores are hardly distinguishable from other fast food chains. Whether the chain remains so closely tied to Texas identity is yet to be seen.