Local Dairy Queen has new owners

By ELLEN KOLMAN - Staff Writer - ekolman@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

March 10, 2008 09:05 pm

— ASHTABULA — Fellow ice cream sundae fans rejoice: The Dairy Queen is open.
The Dairy Queen, located at 1550 W. Prospect Road, is not only open for business, but also boasts new owners, as well as new tempting dairy delights.
The new owners are Mike and Janet Discher and Todd and Kathy Wilms, all of Ashtabula.
“Judy and Jerry Glauss owned this Dairy Queen for 27 years, and I always told Jerry that when he got ready to sell, I wanted to buy it,” said Todd Wilms.
“We are so grateful to Judy and Jerry for teaching us everything, and they will be here at least for the first month helping us out.”
Not only are Mike Discher and Todd Wilms ice cream entrepreneurs, but also full-time firefighters with the Ashtabula City Fire Department.
“Because of our schedules and finances, I could not have run this business alone. So I asked Mike if he wanted to come on board. He discussed it with his wife and said OK,” Wilms said.
“Our kids think it is the coolest thing in the world, that their parents own the Dairy Queen,” said Discher.
Wilms and Discher have spent the last seven weeks learning the ins and outs of owning a Dairy Queen franchise.
“There is so much knowledge involved in running a business like this,. It is a whole lot more than just serving ice cream,” Discher said. “We are very fortunate that we are surrounded by knowledgeable people. Even our 16-year-old girls (employees), know more than we do — they just came in and went to work — they are all excellent.”
One of these employees, Lauren Orrenmaa, 17, of Ashtabula Township, who is starting her third year, said she is very happy to be back at work.
“I just really like the job itself,” she said. “The owners are all very nice to work for, and I enjoy the customers. It’s fun.”
So what new dairy delights can ice cream connoisseurs expect this season?
“Dairy Queen Cupcakes; these are typical DQ cakes, only in a single-serving size,” Wilms said.
Blizzard fans listen up: There are now Blizzard Cakes! These are DQ cakes filled with your favorite blizzard. The cakes ‘ready made’ come in three flavors: mint Oreo, peanut butter and Oreo.
“These will be featured as flavor of the month, just like blizzards have been. March is mint Oreo, and April will be tin roof brownie,” said Discher.
“We always do special orders. All of our cakes are hand-made here,” he said.
Look for the new Dilly Bar flavors also. They are mint chocolate and cherry.
Besides “cool treats,” the Dairy Queen also has lots of “hot eats,” like chili dogs, which happen to be Discher’s personal favorite.
“Our chili is terrific. While I’m not eating very much of the ice cream, I have eaten plenty of the chili dogs,” he said.
This Dairy Queen is Spic and Span sparkling clean, and Wilms and Discher are adamant about keeping it that way.
“We take apart and sanitize all the machines every night,” Wilms said. “We take a lot of pride in being a spotless facility.”
Why would two firefighters want to own an ice cream business?
“Mike and I wanted something new and different,” Wilms said. “We work every day all day, and we thought this would be fun for all of us.”
Discher and Wilms plan to extend the Dairy Queen’s season to the end of October.
“We heard from so many people to keep it open longer, so we plan to only be closed from November through January,” said Wilms.
The Dairy Queen hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and in the summer the DQ will be open until 10 p.m. Call for your cake orders (440 997-5757). The Dairy Queen now accepts credit and debit cards.

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