OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Lovers of soft-serve, Blizzards and chicken tenders that come with a little bitty cup of gravy, rejoice: A new Dairy Queen will open in West Ocala on Aug. 24, 2026.
The new location, owned by prominent North Central Florida businessman Pradip Patel, will be at 4001 NW Blichton Road, just west of I-75.
This will make, by our count, the second DQ franchise to grace the immediate Ocala area; the other Dairy Queen still serving the city is located at 5240 E. Silver Springs Blvd, #40 in Silver Springs. Another location, at 4430 W. HWY 326, closed in November 2024 and plans to reopen were reportedly scuttled when this new Blichton Road location got rolling.
Founded in Joliet, IL in 1940, DQ predates fast-food burger giant McDonald’s by a good eight years. (And since they made their mark with ice cream, their machines are generally, you know, working.)