If you read my stuff on Houston (you should) there's a lot of stuff on there that have fallen victim to TxDOT's highway expansion plans. In addition to covering some of Northwest Freeway's lost businesses, there's also a big section on Katy Freeway, which had some major clearances, like a whole strip where five restaurants (including McDonald's, Whataburger, and Denny's), La Quinta Inn, the entire REI parking lot, and an independent car dealership just got wiped off the map (and that's just one section). While Highway 6's expansion has generous ROW for TxDOT to work with, a few businesses on Highway 21 aren't so lucky. One of those is Dairy Queen at 3003 Highway 21 East1, which closed January 27, 2026.
This particular Dairy Queen opened in 1977 (judging by the one-year anniversary) as the 6th Dairy Queen in the area2 and other than that there's not much I can say about it with other than update in the early-to-mid 2010s. Of course, Smith Dairy Queens, the current area franchisee, is not going to replace it, of course, blaming medians but while Wendy's, McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Whataburger, and others have since expanded out locally to varying degrees of success (medians or not), Dairy Queen hasn't.
All pictures were taken by the author, January 2026.
1. For years, up until at least the mid-1990s, the address was erreoneously written as "3000 East Highway 21". It was never on that side of the street.
2. The five others were the ones that still exist today (minor relocations excluded), with the exception of a store near what is now William Joel Bryan Parkway and North Parker Avenue.
Editor's Note: Several more posts have gotten major upgrades. Walton Shopping Center replaces the Primo Pizza article and the old "Eastgate" article while FedMart has been fully rewritten.
