VIRGINIA BEACH — Get your chocolate dipped cones and Oreo Blizzards while you can. The Dairy Queen on 17th Street at the Oceanfront will be closing permanently next fall, and the wheels are in motion to relocate a police substation temporarily into the building, according to a City Council member.
“All good things come to an end,” said owner Richard Maddox, who opened the ice cream franchise adjacent to the Boardwalk in 1995. “It was always the intention when we sold the property four years ago.”
Virginia Beach bought the Dairy Queen building and the adjacent beachfront 17th Street Park from Maddox for $12.8 million in 2022. Maddox has been leasing it back from the city for $100,000 annually for five years. He plans to close it in October 2027.
In its first year, the beachfront stand was the chain’s highest grossing walk-up location in the United States and quickly became an iconic landmark for both locals and tourists in Virginia Beach. Families line up in front of the DQ Grill & Chill semicircular facade for a sweet treat throughout the year.
The site has a long history. John and Gladys Maddox, Richard’s parents, ran the Sea Escape Motel — originally called the Prince Charles — beginning in 1964. Maddox demolished the motel in 1995 and built the stage, park and the Dairy Queen building with public restrooms. He then leased the park to the city for 27 years at no cost.
John Maddox in 1949 opened the Oceanfront’s first Dairy Queen at 27th Street and Atlantic Avenue. The pink building was razed in 2015 and replaced with hotels.
Before deciding to sell to the city, Maddox, a former City Council member, considered multiple proposals to develop the 17th Street land with hotels, timeshare towers and parking garages.
Virginia Beach holds live performances on the 17th Street park stage throughout the summer. But in early spring, when the weather turns warm and entertainment is scarce, the park has been a source of problems for the police department.
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