The Only State Where Dairy Queen Offers Tacos

There are brands you associate with Texas and brands that you don't. Whataburger? A Texan institution born in San Antonio. Dr Pepper? Famously from Texas — specifically, it's one of the most notable things to be associated with the city of Waco and certainly the most pleasant. Texas Roadhouse? It's not actually from Texas, but obviously associated with the state. But what about Dairy Queen?

Originating in Joliet, a city in the famously not-Texas state of Illinois, Dairy Queen is nonetheless very popular in the Lone Star State. With over 600 Texan locations — by far more than any state — the chain is known affectionately as the "Texas stop sign." But if you think Texas would be satisfied with the usual array of Dairy Queen Blizzards and burgers, you would be sorely mistaken: Texas DQs are the only ones in America selling regionally popular fare like tacos.

Not only can you get tacos (Texas T-Brand Tacos, to be precise, served with DQ Picante sauce), but you can also get other Texan favorites. There's chicken fried steak (in sandwich and strip form), nachos, and even Texas-sized upgrades to the various burgers. like the Hungr-Buster quarter-pounder, with double and triple patty options.

But why does Texas, specifically, get all these unique items? As is often the case when it comes to fast food variation, it has to do with the franchise model. The company sold franchising rights in the state to one Rolly Klose, who then sold the rights to other restaurateurs who made their own changes to the menu at their locations. The company bought the rights back in 1980, but not before making a deal to keep those sweet local deals Texans liked so much. While that means other DQs aren't going to get tacos or chicken fried steak anytime soon, it keeps regional variety alive — a noble goal in this day and age.