By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Manny and Doli Patel are ready to be part of the Bowling Green community.
As new owners of the Bowling Green Dairy Queen at 434 E. Wooster St., they are ready to serve the community Blizzards®, Dilly® Bars, hamburgers and French fries and a whole lot more.
They are not new to Dairy Queen. Manny has been a part of the DQ family since 2012. The Patels have owned a DQ restaurant in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. This is their first in Ohio, and they chose Bowling Green for the size and kindness of the community and the proximity to Bowling Green State University.
“We came here because there are a lot of opportunities, like being close to the campus and being able to live in a nice, quiet community with our daughter, Yana,” who is almost three years old, he said.
The Dairy Queen Grill and Chill menu features all the DQ standards from ice cream treats to burgers and cheese curds. Shredded chicken sandwiches, a longtime Bowling Green DQ favorite, are still on the menu even though it is not a part of the regular Dairy Queen offerings.
The DQ Meal Deal, which includes an entrée choice of a cheeseburger or three-piece chicken strips, and French fries, drink and small sundae, is available for $8. And the two for $6 deal lets customers choose from a small sundae, soft drink, fries, cheeseburger, chili dog and pretzel with queso.
The Patels have added DQ® Cakes to the options, which will be made in-house by Doli. Customers can order online and pick up the cake at the Bowling Green location.
They also plan to make many of the specialty treats like Buster Bars® in-house “because fresh is just better,” Manny said.
Connecting with the community is one of their main goals as they get to know the people, businesses and organizations. Giving back to the community is a longstanding tradition for them, he said. In Fond du Lac, they gave free ice cream treats to the local school children in celebration of their daughter’s birthday.
They also collaborated with the Fond du Lac fire department on a project to clear the snow from fire hydrants after a blizzard. Residents who removed the snow from around a hydrant on their property would receive a free “Blizzard® for a Blizzard,” compliments of Patel’s DQ.
“I like to give back to the community in thanks for their business. I like to treat everyone like family,” he said, adding that giving back is part of his upbringing.
There are approximately 14 employees that work at the restaurant, but he or his wife will always be present throughout the store hours, which are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce will officially welcome the new owners at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday (Aug. 29) at 4 p.m. City representatives will offer congratulatory words to welcome the Patels to their new location, and light refreshments will be served. The event is open to the public, and guests are asked to register online at bgchamber.net/rsvp.
