Almost anyone who lived in Decatur at the time can probably remember when the Trinity Place Dairy Queen went dark, on Feb. 22, 2014.
Shortly afterward the old store, one of the corporation’s last barn-shaped structures, was demolished. For many months the sole survivor, the classic red tear-drop sign, slumped against a chain-link fence like an ancient ruin.
“For a time, yes, I was scared, really scared,” Nisar Momin said. “For awhile, I didn’t know if we’d ever reopen.”
But that moment has finally arrived. Late this month, or maybe early October, Momin will open his new DQ, roughly 100 feet northwest from where the old one stood.
Born near Bombay, Momin has long run the business with his wife, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law Rasul Momin. He and his relatives haven’t been idle, buying a Greensboro, Ga., DQ back in 2008, which they didn’t sell until last May 1.
By then he was convinced the Decatur DQ would finally open, in a space he describes as “more efficient, a nicer building,” than the old one.
The new DQ is 1,826 square feet compared to old barn’s 2,000 square feet downstairs with another 1,400 square feet upstairs for storage. But Momin says “storage is easy,” and quickly points out the new DQ holds 47 diners compared to the old building’s 38.
The old Dairy Queen, built in 1969, was likely the second in DeKalb County, the first being in Avondale Estates in the building now occupied by Skip’s Chicago Dogs.
Nisar Momin bought the Decatur DQ — he remembers the precise date — on Oct. 11, 1986. The city was a far different place back then, with about 4,000 fewer people, with maybe two or three restaurants and a downtown that rolled up the sidewalks at 6 p.m.
Nights could get scary, and indeed for years DQ stood adjacent to a notorious flop house that in the final years of its existence was ironically called The Relax Inn.
He will reopen on the ground floor of the mixed-use Arlo development, which features 210 apartments and 7,000 square feet of retail space.
Kent Collins, principal owner for Centro Development, said that as of last week 113 of those units were available and 6 percent occupied. Two boutique shops have already opened, with a corner restaurant (4,000 square feet) tenant still unnamed, though Collins expects to finalize that later this month.
On Thursday Momin scanned his new digs with an expert eye. Where someone else might see construction debris, a ladder, tracked dirt and a couple of buckets of paint, he saw pure radiance.
“You see, over here,” he said, “there will be two new machines. They cost $18,000 apiece. They make very good ice cream. Believe me, you will want to come.”
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