Work continues inside Dairy Queen after a fire this spring, and the restaurant could be open again in a matter of weeks.
“We’re making a lot of progress. The damage was more extensive than we thought. We haven’t established a definite date to reopen, but it will be as soon as possible,” said Paul Mayou, who is the co-owner of the restaurant.
Waupaca firefighters were called to the scene in the early morning hours of March 29.
“We suspect a small appliance in the Dilly (bar) area started it,” he said. “It ignited some laminate and some wall covering, and generated a lot of smoke.”
Mayou estimates that 90 percent of the damage was smoke damage.
“The whole building was completely gutted. We identified a substantial amount of equipment to be replaced,” he said.
He commends the Waupaca Fire Department for their response and work. “The fire department did a great job putting it out. There was no water damage,” Mayou said.
In addition to questions about when Dairy Queen will reopen, many wonder about the fish that swam in the aquarium that was located in the restaurant’s seating area.
“About half of the fish survived,” he said. They are being taken care of in downtown Waupaca at Aquatic Life.