Bethel Park couple sells Dairy Queen after 30 years of ownership
Courtesy of Kim Kamenicky
The last day Jack and Mary Kay Allen owned the Dairy Queen in Bethel Park coincided with the borough’s fireworks display.
Courtesy of the Allen family
Photos from 2000 and recently of Jack and Mary Kay Allen and their three daughters: front, from left, daughters Kim Kamenicky, Jackie Allen and Amy Winfield; in back, Jack and Mary Kay Allen.
Courtesy of the Allen Family
The entire family of Jack and Mary Kay Allen celebrate 30 years of owning Dairy Queen in Bethel Park.
For Jack and Mary Kay Allen, it was time.
After 30 years in the ice cream business, the couple decided to sell the Dairy Queen at 4846 Library Road in Bethel Park.
“It was time to say goodbye, time to retire,” said Mary Kay.
The Allens locked the doors for the last time under their ownership on June 30.
“it was very bittersweet,” Mary Kay said. “It was exciting because we worked a lot of years, odd hours. Our kids grew up there and our grandkids are growing up there. They walk around the store like they own the place. It was hard. There were tears. It was emotional.”
Cory and Amanda Ingram are the new owners of the Dairy Queen, but the Allen family is still involved. Oldest daughter Amy Winfield is the manager.
“She started (when she was) in high school, so she’s been there for 30 years,” said Jack. “She started at the old store.”
The “old store” is where the history of the Allen family and Dairy Queen begins.
Buying a Dairy Queen was always on their mind, and after seeing an ad in 1993 that a walk-up DQ was for sale in Bethel Park, at another location on Library Road, they decided to go for it. However, the decision came at a time when at a bit of a crossroads in their lives.
“We were going to do it as a side venture,” Jack Allen explained. “Then I lost my job, and it became our source of income.”
They opened for business in April 1994, putting in many hours. Within six years, they outgrew the space and eventually moved to the current site, opened in April 2000.
Kim Kamenicky, the youngest of Allen’s three daughters, was in fifth grade when her parents bought the walk-up Dairy Queen.
“They jumped all in and got to work, working every day, open to close, weekends and holidays,” Kamenicky said. “They poured their blood, sweat and tears into that little walk-up.”
Each of the Allens’ daughters worked at Dairy Queen, as did a grandson, and a granddaughter is expected to begin working there in January.
Winfield met her husband there when he came in as a customer.
It kept the family closer together,” Jack said.
“Dairy Queen is where the five of us shared so many memories together, and where we have gone on to share so many memories with our kids and significant others,” Kamenicky added. “I am forever grateful for the memories and friendships I made throughout the years.”
Retirement will allow for more travel for Jack and Mary Kay. They recently returned from a sojourn to Mexico, and a trip to Germany, Italy and Ireland is on the bucket list.
“We play golf a few times a week and I have my little honey-do list that I’m doing,” he said. “We’re definitely traveling. We’re just going to enjoy it.”
Jack also is in his 10th year as mayor of Bethel Park after 16 years on council. Retirement will allow him to have office hours at the borough building.
“Usually, it was just hit and miss, because it’s a part-time job,” he said. “Now I’ll set up hours if people want to come in. This will allow me to do more things here.”
The night the Allens locked the doors just happened to coincide with the borough’s fireworks display, allowing them to go out with a bang.
“I thanked Bethel Park for doing that,” Jack joked.
Now that retirement is upon Jack and Mary Kay, there are a few things they will miss.
“The customers,” Jack said. “It’s the customers that make you feel good. They keep coming back. They know you. They come into the store and we know what they get even before they order. We just thank all of the customers over the years for their support.”
Mary Kay joked there is something else they will miss.
“The hardest thing for my family, they kept saying, ‘You mean after 30 years, we finally have to pay for ice cream,'” she joked.
But after 30 years, it appeared that original investment paid off quite nicely.
“It put three girls through college and paid for three weddings and many other things,” Mary Kay said.