Restaurateur Tim Hughes, who was born and raised in Roseville, said he’s inked a deal to take over the small 1947 structure with a walk-up window, outdoor seating and neon lights along Lexington Avenue, north of Larpenteur Avenue.
With that comes both good news and perhaps bad news for fans of the longstanding spot: It will be an ice cream shop, but not a Dairy Queen as Hughes had hoped.
“I reached out to DQ and they’re uninterested” in reopening it as a Dairy Queen, he said. “I know people are going to be heartbroken that it’s not going to be a DQ anymore, but if you talk to my staff and customers, we care and we treat customers right and I want to do it for the community.”
Fans had been holding out hope that the Roseville location, one of the first Minnesota Dairy Queens built by the Illinois-based chain, would be resurrected under new owners since learning that [the 2024 season](https://www.startribune.com/rosevilles-iconic-dairy-queen-is-closed-as-fans-hold-out-hope-for-a-summer-comeback/601243753) was its last.
But Hughes said that if it can’t be a Dairy Queen, he’s setting his sights on the next best thing — an independently run operation called Dairy Cream with a menu that’s an ode to the space’s greatest hits.
“I’d like to do a soft serve just like they had — cups and cones, malts and shakes. We’re going to do hot dogs and chili dogs,” Hughes said. “I want it to be a vintage ice cream shop. I want it to feel like you’re stepping back in time when you go in and visit.”
Hughes is aiming for a June 1 rollout. In the meantime, he hopes to join forces with local and state historical societies to update the bones while preserving the traits that landed the iconic building — with retro fittings that include old-school signage and sloped windows — on the Minnesota Preservation Alliance’s most endangered buildings list in 2010.