ABOVE: Owner Scott Vaubel changes the sign as Dairy Queen officially opens for the season on Tuesday.

FAIRMONT– At Dairy Queen in Fairmont, owner Scott Vaubel said their opening day varies from year to year, but they are contractually obligated to be open at least eight months of the year. He said he prefers to be open around nine months. When they are not open, Vaubel said there are specific and important tasks that need to be done.

“Strip it down, clean it up and prepare for the next year,” he said. “We look at if we need to replace equipment. It’s a good time to do it. Look at new products that are coming in, get ready for them, and go from there.”

While no equipment changed this year, last year they added a three-door stand-up freezer to house cakes. Vaubel said they had seen a large increase in demand for cakes, which they had stored with the Dilly bars and other boxed goods in one freezer.

“We’re really surprised with Blizzard cakes,” he said. “First couple years we didn’t sell a lot, but now we [try to] have at least 10 out here.”

“If we don’t have every size of cake people aren’t happy,” Manager Eva Craig said.

The treats inside weren’t the only things frozen, as snow from the weekend and Monday snowfall combined with cold temperatures. Vaubel said they sometimes get lucky, but otherwise, this is the norm for opening day conditions. He said there have been years where blizzard weather conditions postponed opening.

Even so, Vaubel said there was plenty of buzz surrounding their opening. He said some people have made it a tradition to come on opening day every year, and he knows them so well he gets their orders ready as soon as he sees their car.

Currently, there is a management staff of four people and floor staff of 10 to 12. Vaubel said he often contacts those from the previous year for re-hires, then hires new people when needed. On top of that, he said a difference he deals with as a seasonal business is budgeting.

“You gotta budget for the winter,” Vaubel said. “You have bills for utilities and stuff coming in you got to pay for. It’s a matter of getting a handle on it, you go from there.”

Overall, Vaubel said he has enjoyed having Dairy Queen in the Fairmont business community and continues to experience growth.

“It’s a positive experience,” he said. “In the last five years, we’ve more than doubled our sales. We added the walk-up window and outside menu board. People responded very positively to it.”