The Story
|
Dairy Queen on S. Commercial StreetIn 1950, the construction on the 450 Commercial St. location was finished, but the newly named Dairy Queen did not relocate to Commercial Street until 1957. The first owner of the building was Albert Matthias, who later gave the store to his children Leonard and Jeanette in 1958.
Fun Fact: Leonard was a mechanic by trade |
|
Jim ReiserJim bought the store from his father, Archie, in 1980. He was only 24 years old when he was offered ownership of the store. Although he attained ownership of the store in 1980, he began working at Dairy Queen when he was 12 years old as a novelty prep person. He left the store when he was 18 to become refrigeration certified and take management courses, but he always knew that owning Dairy Queen was his dream job. To this day, he continues the Reiser legacy of owning the store, a tradition that has been carried out for 49 years.
Learn more about the history of Dairy Queen and their history with the Galloway Company through the Neenah Historical Society's presentation on their YouTube Channel here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uJR3eeR0gA&t=217s |
Lane, Jane. E-mail interview. 20 May 2017.
Reiser, Jim. Telephone interview. 23 May 2017.
Pictures from Downtown Neenah DQ website: http://neenahdairyqueendowntown.com/ and from Jim Reiser's archives
Information from Jim Reiser and Ted Galloway
Reiser, Jim. Telephone interview. 23 May 2017.
Pictures from Downtown Neenah DQ website: http://neenahdairyqueendowntown.com/ and from Jim Reiser's archives
Information from Jim Reiser and Ted Galloway