During the summer, the Iowa heat and sun brings many people to extreme dehydration so what do they do? Eat ice cream of course! In Iowa City, the main ice cream places are Dane’s Dairy and Dairy Queen. Danes is a single shop in Iowa City while Dairy Queen is a corporate chain of fast food restaurants all across the USA. So the question is… which one is better for the hot summer weather that is fast approaching?

Summer brings many opportunities for outside fun which includes the warm sun that shines for 16 hours a day. First we need to look at what each store has to offer. Danes Dairy, a local store in Iowa City has all types of ice creams available. From ice cream cones to slushies. Justin Thomas ’19 says, “My favorite item at Dane’s is the regular chocolate cone.” While Dane’s only offers multiple times of ice cream, Dairy Queen offers both ice cream and other foods like sandwiches and fries. According to Jacob Fisher ’18, the best item to buy at Dairy Queen is the Cookie Dough Blizzard. When looking at what each place offers, Dairy Queen is in the lead.

Next up is the working environment and business. Danes Dairy is a local business while Dairy Queen is a multinational food chain. Supporting a local business would bring money back into the community while buying from a national corporation would not help. According to Thomas and Fisher the working environment in both is really good and they are treated well. “I’ve accepted I’ll probably never find a better work environment, everyone is so friendly and they’re good with my changing schedule,” says Justin.
In this category, both Dairy Queen and Dane’s Dairy have a good working environment but supporting Dane’s, supports our community.

Even though it is just ice cream, danger still lurks in the shadows. Both Thomas and Fisher have lived through some crazy things at work. “The craziest thing that has happened to me would be almost getting my finger cut off when using the mixer. I was mixing a Blizzard when I realized there was a hole in the cup where I could have lost a finger,” says Fisher. Thomas’s craziest work story was when a few guys broke a horse statue in the backyard of the Dane’s store, “A group of guys tried to fit as many people as possible on the back of the horse and the legs just snapped off!” says Justin. Both Dane’s Dairy and Dairy Queen employee’s have crazy work stories to share so if you are looking for a crazy work environment, do not pass up an ice cream store.

Despite these two stores being the most popular ice cream stores, the employees do not see much competition between the two. Fisher say, “No there is no competition between us and Dane’s Dairy.” Thomas thinks there might be some competition but as an employee he does not see it happening. So there is not competition between the two amazingly delicious ice cream stores in Iowa.

As the warm summer months approach, what store will you pick to cool your mouth? Dairy Queen has more food options to choose from but supporting Dane’s Dairy will help support the community as well. Make your decision and visit Dane’s or Dairy Queen before you reach extreme dehydration!