Dairy Queen launches Holiday Cookie Swap Blizzard Treat Collection. Dairy Queen has announced its Holiday Cookie Swap Blizzard Treat Collection arriving November 2, featuring the new Peanut Butter Blossom and returning Peppermint Bark. As fast-food dessert menus transition toward winter cheer, Dairy Queen is tapping into a classic seasonal party staple. Dairy Queen officially announced the debut of its Holiday Cookie Swap Blizzard Treat Collection. Inspired by homemade cookie platters, the limited-time lineup pairs a brand-new bakery-inspired innovation with the return of a festive favorite. The seasonal treats will officially arrive at participating domestic restaurants nationwide on Monday, November 2, 2026, and remain on menus through Sunday, January 3, 2027. Peanut Butter Blossom and Peppermint Bark lead the winter menu. The collection centers on two distinctive holiday flavor profiles, combining rich confectionary mix-ins with Dairy Queen's signature soft serve: * Peanut Butter Blossom: Modeled after the traditional peanut butter cookie topped with a chocolate kiss, this new creation combines genuine Hershey's Mini Kisses, soft cookie pieces, and rich peanut butter topping thoroughly blended into classic vanilla soft serve. * Peppermint Bark Blizzard: Back for its second consecutive winter season, this cool seasonal favorite blends crunchy crushed peppermint candy cane pieces alongside layered flakes of milk and white chocolate into soft serve. The collection serves as a direct handoff from Dairy Queen's autumn and Halloween promotions, giving ice cream lovers an easy way to satisfy winter cravings without baking at home. Value upgrades and Friendsgiving Cupcake bundles for the holidays. Alongside the seasonal frozen treats, Dairy Queen is introducing a pair of limited-time seasonal promotions through its DQ Rewards mobile app: * Two Dollar Blizzard Meal Upgrade: Customers who purchase an $8 Meal Deal - which includes fries, a fountain drink, a sundae, and a choice of Chicken Strips or an Original Cheeseburger - can upgrade their sundae to any Blizzard, including the new holiday flavors, for an additional $2. * Friendsgiving Cupcake Special: Aimed at holiday entertaining and family gatherings, rewards members can purchase two DQ cupcakes for $6 from November 2 through November 29, 2026. Both seasonal Blizzard creations will be available across standard Mini, Small, Medium, and Large sizes while supplies last.

Virginia Beach Dairy Queen ends decades-long run as city converts site to police substation. October 19, 2026 A longtime Virginia Beach oceanfront Dairy Queen will close for good next October so the city can turn the property into a police substation aimed at boosting safety in a busy tourist zone. The popular soft-serve shop at 17th Street and Atlantic Avenue has drawn ice cream fans for more than 30 years. Owner Richard Maddox, a former city councilman, confirmed the permanent shutdown and the handoff of the building to police afterward. The Sun reported that the move is part of city plans to expand police presence along the resort strip, where officials say crime and disorder have been a recurring headache. Maddox sold the property to Virginia Beach in December 2022 as part of a $12.8 million deal. That package also covered a stage larger than 900 square feet and a lawn across from the city's 17th Street park. He kept running the restaurant under a rent deal that sends the city $100,000 a year until the lights go out. He put the end of the run in plain terms when he spoke with local outlet WAVY. "All good things must come to an end," Maddox said. Family roots stretch back to 1949. The Maddox name has been tied to Dairy Queen at the Virginia Beach oceanfront for generations. Richard's father, John Maddox, opened the resort's first Dairy Queen on 27th Street in 1949. The 17th Street location later earned recognition as one of the chain's highest-grossing shops in the United States, known for its Blizzards and steady tourist traffic. That long family run is now winding down. Once the restaurant closes next October, the building goes to the police department for use as a substation. City wants more police visibility on the boardwalk. Virginia Beach already runs an oceanfront substation on Atlantic Avenue. The city pays $60,000 a year to rent that space. Officials say the Dairy Queen site will give officers more room and a more visible footprint right in the heart of the resort area. Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson backed the shift and tied it directly to safety. "It'll be a nice presence for our police that keeps everyone nice and safe down at the oceanfront." Wilson also pointed to trouble at the park next door. "It'll also be good for the park next door. We've had some problems there," she said, adding, "I think it's going to help with that as well." No detailed crime numbers were released with the announcement. The stated goal is straightforward: put more officers where visitors and residents gather, and give police a permanent base instead of leased space. Safety trade-off at a busy tourist corner. Tourist strips live or die on whether families feel comfortable walking at night. Virginia Beach leaders are choosing a police footprint over another season of soft-serve at a high-traffic corner. Maddox kept the shop open for years after the sale, paying six figures in rent while the city locked in the long-term plan. The timeline is set. The restaurant operates until next October. Then the building changes hands, and the oceanfront gains a new substation instead of another ice cream counter. Locals who grew up on Blizzards at 17th and Atlantic will miss the place. A safer boardwalk is the trade the city is making, and that is the kind of priority that keeps a resort town workable for the people who live and work there year-round.