Murphy's law has been seen in all its glory ever since a fire and resulting smoke damage closed Estevan's Dairy Queen last June.
For more than a year, the restaurant's ownership was held up by speed bumps and unavoidable hurdles. After the Dairy Queen on 13th Avenue was reduced to a shell, everyone wanted a quick and easy recovery so Blizzards could once again be enjoyed. Even the ownership of sisters Louise and Denise Vandenhurk and Lorette Zohner thought everything could go back to normal with a couple of months of hard work. Instead, the setbacks and problems steadily stacked up against the recovery effort.
The arduous task of selecting a contractor to complete the reconstruction was hampered by an extensive insurance process. Stainless steel tables arrived too damaged to install. With everything inside now interconnected with always-online infrastructure, IP addresses and connectivity issues kept tills and screens from working. And they had another fire. One of their brand new freezers caught fire in April when a strip of heat trace tape shorted out around the interior of the freezer door. It was found early, but the freezer wouldn't seal properly following the incident.
Well, hurdles were leapt, further disaster has been avoided and Canada's first Dairy Queen officially re-opened on July 23.
Louise has been nursing a constant headache since the restaurant thoroughly fell victim to smoke damage on June 18, 2012. The only relief has been flipping those closed signs back around to open, and with the flood of patrons on Day 1, thanks to the miracle of social media, that proved to be another, much more welcome, headache all its own.
"We are so excited to have our customers back. It's a feeling of wow, you know. These people are dedicated, and they are back," said Vandenhurk. "That is a great feeling. It's exciting to see how people welcomed us back again. It was very overwhelming for us to see everybody. They really missed us. At one time I said to Loretta, 'I wonder if they'll remember us.' When you're gone that long you ask yourself that question."
With Estevan housing the first Dairy Queen in Canada in 1953, it's a difficult place to forget.
Vandenhurk said they were hoping to have an opening day staff of 25. They opened instead with 13. After opening up the entire restaurant, management decided that was too much, too fast for their still-learning crew, so hours have been reduced from noon to 9 p.m. and the drive thru has been closed temporarily. There is more staff arriving in the coming weeks, and Vandenhurk said the regular hours and drive thru will open back up as soon as they feel comfortable enough that staff can handle the load.
"You do forget how hard it is to start up again," she said.
She noted that even though hours are reduced, they are still providing every product and service they did before the fire forced them to close. She is optimistic that extended hours will be happening before too long, as the stress she saw on the faces of the new employees on that first day isn't there just a week later.
"I thought I was walking back into what I left. You're not," said Vandenhurk, noting she thought everyone could just pick up where they left off 13 months ago. "This is all new. The store is new, the employees are new, the old is gone and the new is here. You have to get your head around that."
With so many new employees starting on opening day, Vandenhurk said, "I can't imagine. I sometimes sit back and think, 'What did they think when the first door was open and the lineups never quit for the whole day?' I wonder what went through their minds."
The new employees were definitely initiated in a trial by fire as word quickly spread that DQ was open again, turning what the owners hoped might be a little-noticed, soft opening into a full-blown fire sale.
Vandenhurk asks that customers continue to patient with their staff, who have been working long hours and learning a lot of new things under Zohner's tutelage.
"We're trying our best to give you the same service, and we will, but I hope you give the trainees a chance, because they are doing their best and working very hard to please everybody," said Vandenhurk.
The pylon sign out front still needs to be worked on, so messages can be broadcast to passing motorists and pedestrians. There are a number of other fine details that need to be completed, but any operational equipment is working well enough to put out all the products they need to.
Vandenhurk said she is very happy with the storefront and seating area that is more open and modern than it was before the fire.
Last year, with the restaurant shut down, they missed Miracle Treat Day, making this year's a particularly special one. The local DQ opened just in time for the Aug. 8 event, and Vandenhurk said they will be ready to bring the promotion back, sending a dollar from every Blizzard sold to Children's Miracle Network hospitals.
"I'm hoping that everybody will come out and support Miracle Treat Day, and we'll definitely, definitely do our best to keep the Blizzards flying out the door," said Vandenhurk.
