There’s nothing quite like ice cream on a hot sunny day. Residents and tourists have been visiting Lake Nebagamon for decades, enjoying ice cream throughout the Summer. But now, Lake Nebagamon residents are trying to save their Dairy Queen, from changes to their local hot spot.

The Lake Nebagamon Dairy Queen isn’t open year-round. Residents like Cassie Harvey says there’s just something special about it, because its been around for generations.

“The Dairy Queen has its legacy here and I’d love for that to stay like that. As a kid, I’d walk down from my grandma’s house down to the Dairy Queen. I was supposed to get lunch, but I’d usually get ice cream,” Harvey said. “Now I do the same thing with my kids. We go visit grandma and then we go down to the beach, swim, Dairy Queen and we go home every time.”

According to residents if this Dairy Queen were open year-round, there wouldn’t be enough profits for it to stay open. But members of the Lake Nebagamon community have started a grassroots effort to save their Dairy Queen to remain as is. One resident, Jim Koretz, says he spoke with the American Dairy Queen Corporation. He says they want to modernize how Dairy Queen grill and chill locations look and operate.

“This Dairy Queen does not fit their make and model of what they’re trying to do with their thousands of other stores,” Koretz said. “Making a hard and fast policy of having transfers of ownership be required to be open 12 months just doesn’t work here in Lake Nebagamon. While there could be another ice cream store here, I’m sure it would be very successful. But there’s something special about Dairy Queen. I wish that Dairy Queen International felt as strongly as we do.”

WDIO News did reach out to the American Dairy Queen Corporation to comment about the concerns from residents. They released a statement saying, “The DQ restaurant in Lake Nebagamon is temporarily closed for the season. Contracts between American Dairy Queen Corporation and franchise owners are confidential. We can share that we look forward to the location opening next season.”

The Lake Nebagamon Dairy Queen’s Facebook page people are sharing their summer memories eating ice cream on a hot day. But also sharing ideas on how the Lake Nebagamon Dairy Queen can continue into the future. For other stories in northwest Wisconsin you can read more here.