The Oldest Operating Dairy Queen In Illinois Has Been Serving Mouthwatering Ice Cream For More Than 75 Years

Illinois’ oldest operating Dairy Queen is a direct descendant of the world’s first DQ store, and it’s still serving up delicious soft-serve and other cool treats to this very day.

Sherb’s Ice Cream Store in Kankakee was the first establishment to sell soft-serve ice cream when it introduced the product in 1938.

Sherwood "Sherb" Noble’s invention was first sold as "all you can eat" for 10¢. Unsurprisingly, it was a smashing success as customers clamored for a cup or cone of the creamy concoction.

Two years later, in 1940, Noble and his business partners opened the world’s first Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois.

Meanwhile, Noble continued to operate his Sherb’s locations in Kankakee, as he and his partners opened a second Dairy Queen in Aurora.

Business expansion was interrupted by World War II, but Kankakee’s first Dairy Queen location eventually opened in 1947.

The Station St. location in Kankakee is the oldest operating Dairy Queen in Illinois.

Noble opened this location in 1947. A direct descendant of the original Joliet Dairy Queen, the Kankakee store was among the first handful of DQs in the world.

The Noble family still owns and operates nine Dairy Queen locations in Kankakee and the neighboring area.

The family celebrated the 80th anniversary of Sherb Noble's invention of soft-serve with a sale.

They offered customers "all you can eat" soft-serve for 10¢ at each of their Dairy Queen locations. Like the original, it was a smashing success, with folks lining up to take part in the celebration.

The history of Dairy Queen is inextricably intertwined with that of Illinois. Do you have a go-to DQ? Have you visited one of the oldest operating DQs in the Land of Lincoln?

Another of the state's oldest operating Dairy Queens is located in nearby Bourbonnais, and it's a great place to grab a treat after exploring the caves at Perry Farm Park.