Dairy Queen
Holbrook, AZ
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

Here’s the vintage neon sign outside Dairy Queen along Route 66 in Holbrook. A glowing hamburger sits beneath a soft-serve cone, covering both halves of the Dairy Queen menu in one colorful roadside display. The sign has been lighting the way for hungry and overheated travelers since 1958.

Located just off Interstate 40, this Dairy Queen stays especially busy during the hot Arizona summers. The restaurant itself has been modernized into a Grill & Chill, but the old red and blue neon marquee still gives the property plenty of Route 66 character.

A pair of old Dairy Queen entrance and exit cones from the property found a new home. The smaller signs were donated for preservation and are now displayed at the Casa Grande Neon Sign Park.

UPDATE : This Dairy Queen is still in business and features its vintage roadside sign. Back in 2016, the sign was endangered when the Dairy Queen Corporation wanted this Holbrook franchise owner to replace the neon sign with a plastic sign advertising the slogan grill and chill. Ultimately, the sign was saved. Soon afterwards the sign was saved due to a petition. 06-23

UPDATE: The Holbrook Dairy Queen remains open at 1004 Navajo Boulevard, and the restored 1958 neon sign continues glowing in its original location. Thanks to the community effort, travelers can still spot the hamburger, ice cream cone, and old neon instead of another plastic Grill & Chill box. 08-26

Dairy Queen
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan

Here’s one of the familiar plastic “lips” signs outside Dairy Queen along Central Avenue in Phoenix. It may not have the flash of an old neon marquee, but that red and blue shape has pointed plenty of travelers toward soft-serve cones and Blizzards over the years.

Restaurant use at this property dates back to around 1951, making it one of the older fast-food locations in the area. The building later carried the Dairy Queen Brazier name, letting customers know they could get burgers and fries along with the usual frozen treats.

UPDATE: Dairy Queen or DQ for short opened its first store in Joliet IL back in 1940. Yes, the famous soft serve ice cream dates back to then. Today the Dairy Queen chain serves up good fast food for the hungry traveler who is looking to fill his or her belly with a burger, fries, and ice cream to top it off. 05-20

UPDATE: The Dairy Queen remains open at 5350 North Central Avenue. Its interior has been modernized, but the older plastic roadside sign and pole survive out front. 08-26

Dairy Queen (Demolished)
Mesa, AZ
Photo courtesy Allen Sandquist

Traveling through Mesa looking for soft-serve ice cream or a chocolate-dipped cone? The old Dairy Queen on Main Street came with a classic porcelain sign featuring a neon-wrapped ice cream cone right in the middle. 08-05

This little walk-up Dairy Queen opened in 1949, making it one of Arizona’s earliest locations. Its sign joined the dozens of motel, restaurant, and roadside marquees that once filled Mesa’s Main Street with neon.

The bottom of the sign was even trimmed slightly during installation so the large frame would fit over the building’s low roofline. A little cutting apparently seemed easier than ordering a smaller sign.

UPDATE: The Main Street Dairy Queen closed on May 4, 2018, after 69 years and was later demolished. Mesa provided $5,000 to help preservationists save the neon sign. It was restored and now glows at The Post Neon Garden in downtown Mesa. 08-26

Baskin Robbins (Gone)
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the classic Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors along Milton Road in Flagstaff. Ice cream may seem like an unusual choice during a snowy northern Arizona winter, but a chocolate scoop tastes just as good when it is cold outside. 05-20

Baskin-Robbins first arrived in Flagstaff in 1973 with a shop on East Route 66. This second location opened on South Milton Road in December 1978 and eventually became the city’s last longtime 31 Flavors shop.

For nearly 50 years, generations of Flagstaff families stopped here for birthday cakes, after-game treats, first dates, and plenty of cones. The familiar sign and busy corner became one of those everyday places that seemed as if it would always be around.

UPDATE: The Milton Road Baskin-Robbins closed in early 2026 after its lease ended, and the old “31 Flavors” sign was removed. The owners announced plans to reopen at a different Flagstaff location, but a confirmed new address and opening date have not yet been announced. 08-26

Dairy Queen
Yuma, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here’s the old Dairy Queen stand along Fourth Avenue in Yuma. When the desert temperature starts climbing, those familiar red and white colors can look mighty refreshing to anyone thinking about a soft-serve cone or Blizzard. 08-05

This location has been serving Yuma since the 1960s along the city’s old Highway 80 corridor. It operates as a traditional DQ Treat store, concentrating on dipped cones, sundaes, shakes, and other frozen desserts rather than the full burger-and-fries menu found at a modern Grill & Chill.

The shop also became part of Yuma’s weekend cruising scene. During the late 20th century, young drivers used this stretch of Fourth Avenue and the Dairy Queen as a turnaround and gathering point. Ice cream and cruising apparently made a good combination.

UPDATE: The Fourth Avenue Dairy Queen remains open and continues serving frozen treats from its longtime location. The classic plastic roadside sign survives, and a sister store opened by the same family in 1973 remains in business across town. 08-26