Tommy’s Snack Bar was in business at 1455 South Queen Street from May 1954 until October 1966. A Dairy Queen was originally opened at this location on May 8, 1952, however when it was no longer allowed to use the Dairy Queen franchises tag in May 1954; Warren G. Thomas opted to instead continue the business as Tommy’s Snack Bar.
My post about the sequence of four Dairy Queen store openings near York, Pennsylvania, resulted in many Dairy Queen memories, plus comments and questions about the association of Tommy’s Snack Bar with the Dairy Queen lot at 1455 South Queen Street. Some thought Mr. Thomas lost the franchise because each year his store’s offerings were to a greater extent different that those of the Dairy Queen standard. It turns out there might be another contributing reason.
Why did Warren Thomas have his Dairy Queen franchises tag pulled in the Spring of 1954? His Dairy Queen opened normally for the third year, on March 19, 1954. Most Dairy Queen businesses in the 1950s were walk-up locations, where in northern states, they only operated during the Spring, Summer and Fall.
Warren G. Thomas was a rising star in the Dairy Queen organization…