The DQ curl is back in Du Quoin; 51 new jobs as Dairy Queen is a leap of faith worth taking

After a painful four-year withdrawal from cookie dough blizzards and chicken strip baskets, the Dairy Queen ice cream 1curl is back in Du Quoin--in a big and beautiful way.

The new Du Quoin restaurant opens at 10 a.m. Monday with half price Dairy Queen cakes to get your attention.

The beautiful new look and feel in "The Land of Dairy Queen" includes the new $1.5 million restaurant, 51 new jobs and an estimated $50,000 annual influx of new sales tax to the City of Du Quoin

Du Quoin can thank 24-year-old University of Illinois international business and accounting graduate Ting Ni and her family for giving back to Du Quoin what in once lost.

A few years ago the family successfully accomplished the rescue of the Dairy Queen in Pinckneyville. They also own the China Buffet there.

Her parents--Fa Ni and Linda Zheng--who came to America in 2001, settled in Brooklyn, then Chicago and finally Pinckneyville--galvanized her extraordinary work ethic at an early age. Her staff admits it's a lot to live up to. Ting's brother Ivan Ni will manage the Pinckneyville restaurant while Ting shoulders the work in Du Quoin.

Customer service is everything and the cleanliness will be uncompromising.

The "Chill & Grill," Dairy Queen's current branding, was built on the footprint of a 1980s restaurant called Druthers, later purchased by the Ron McGuire family and renovated into a Dairy Queen.

There were two owners after that before its closure in 2011.

The former restaurant didn't fit Dairy Queen's branding so Ting and her family took the leap of faith that the community wanted its DQ--and its signature ice cream curl--back.

About $1.5 million later (including property acquisition) the end result is stunning.

It's what DQ calls a Core 47 store which means it will comfortably seat 47 people inside with more great seating on well done patio outside.

"It was built as a high volume store," said Ting, meaning the kitchen area is divided into stations where each station has its own purpose in getting food and ice cream products out quickly.

The new restaurant will also feature some upscale sandwiches along with the favorites, including the "Six Buck Lunch."

"We won't be the cheapest," said Ting, but she promises to be the best.

What about this leap of faith in building an all new restaurant in Du Quoin. "There are a lot of uncertainties," she said

The investment. The market. The economy. The fact that there are Dairy Queens in Pinckneyville and Christopher.

With respect to supporting this new business we say the same thing over and over again, "Remember how you felt when Krogers in Du Quoin closed."

For Ting, she wants to see the Du Quoin restaurant be successful. She has enough to do in Pinckneyville, but she is turning the day-to-day operations of that restaurant over to her brother so she can concentrate on the work ahead here in Du Quoin.

"Our family has always had to work very hard," she said. "We came to America in 2001, lived in Brooklyn, then moved to Chicago," she said. "We moved to Pinckneyville in 2004," she said.

The China Buffet restaurant there is a favorite and well-traveled.

"The only way we got around is to work hard," she said. "I started working when I was 12, helping where I could help," she said. "My parents sent me to college," she said with pride.

"The town needs to buy into what we are doing and support it," she said. "There is a lot of money involved."

The new restaurant opens at 10 a.m. on Monday and its summer hours will be 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, then from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Hours may change in mid-fall.

The store is employing 51 people at all levels and she hopes that some of the staff can quickly prove themselves and move into management positions.

As for Ting, personally, this 24-year-old beauty hopes to see this dream come true, then settle down, get married and raise a family of her own.

For now, remember the restaurant opens at 10 a.m. on Monday (there have already been people stopping by hoping it was already open) and with your support things will be good again in "The Land of Dairy Queen."

Enjoy!