Dairy Queen transferred ownership last week from previous owner, Debbie Palmgren to new owner Craig Shannon. Shannon, who lives in Morrison, Colo., owns five other Dairy Queens as well as a steakhouse.

Shannon looks forward to working in the higher volume store in Monte Vista and stated his objective is “to improve on a store that is already well-run but to tweak areas as needed,” including increasing volume overall and improving the times in the drive-thru. “My job as an owner is to bring the store to the next level. I’ve had a couple of stores that have increased their volume by 30 percent, which is a big increase in this business.”

The staff will remain largely the same and the store will also be overseen by Chief Operations Officer Mike Flag, who has 25 years of experience working in Dairy Queen. Flag said he looks forward to “improving sales in Debbie’s footsteps.” The store will be undergoing some interior remodeling over the next six months. Palmgren said she looks forward to decompressing for a while, spending some time at her cabin this summer and focusing on her volunteer work with the Monte Vista Kiwanis. She is also looking forward to a family wedding next January.

Pictured are Palmgren, Shannon and Flag with DQ managers Jeffrey Gonzales and Renee Cervantez and staff members Lee Vargas, Shirley Martinez, Robert Duran and Carla Smith.