Staff writer
The rumors are founded, but that doesn’t mean they’re true. A Dairy Queen is not imminent in Marion. But it could be, if “the right person” would come forward to operate it.
At a Marion Economic Development Inc. meeting Thursday, high school representative Jacob Baldwin broached the topic that’s been the subject of rumors for months: Is Marion getting a Dairy Queen?
“There’s conversations about the Dairy Queen all the time,” he said. “People don’t know if it’s real or fake. People just make things up to hear themselves talk sometimes.”
He got a fairly direct answer from Mayor Todd Heitschmidt.
“If we can find the right individual, family, we have one or two possible investors, who are already Dairy Queen owners, that are willing to step up and help new franchisees,” Heitschmidt said.
Economic Development Director Terry Jones said he had discussions with Dairy Queen’s corporate offices months ago, but those discussions were stopped when Jones couldn’t find a potential franchise operator.
“They said, ‘that sounds great, but we won’t talk to you any further until you’ve got that person,’” Jones said.
Jones said after the conversations with their corporate offices fell through, the issue went to “the back burner,” and it wasn’t until months later that rumors began circulating about the fast food chain’s potential entry into the Marion market.
“I just need somebody to be the franchisee, basically,” Jones said.