Leininger, whose family bought the Dairy Queen in 1977, sold his franchise earlier this year, bringing an end to a nearly 50-year odyssey that began on a whim.

“When we bought the place, we had no idea what we were doing or what we were getting into,” Gary said. “It’s been a journey. It was a journey the very first day we walked in here, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The “we” in Gary’s story is himself and his parents, Fred and Betty. Leininger’s aunt was the first member of his family to get into the ice cream business, but her entrepreneurial endeavor didn’t last long. She bought the Dairy Queen in 1975 and then two years later gave Gary, Fred and Betty first dibs on the walk-up building that began as Walt’s Ice Cream in 1960.

“My aunt called and said ‘I’m selling the Dairy Queen’ and told us we had 24 hours to make up our minds if we wanted it,” Gary reminisced. “Looking back on it, if we would’ve had more time to think about it, I mean we only had a day, we probably wouldn’t have done it, but the next thing I knew me and my mom we’re here trying to figure out where to start.”

The last of nearly 50 years worth of customers lined up on Monday to bid farewell to the Lisbon Dairy Queen. The business was sold earlier this year by the Leininger family who bought the franchise in 1977. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)  

Gary and Betty hit the ground running and learned on their feet. The two would run the business together for the next 40 years while Fred continued to work at his job at a drugstore in Salem. Eventually, Gary took over the day-to-day operations. Fred retired and Betty passed away in 2019, having spent the day before she did at the business she had grown to love and helped foster into a summertime staple in Lisbon.

Gary grew to love it, too. In some ways, he had no choice, but ice cream it seems was in his blood.

“You have to love it,” Gary said. “It’s long hours that turn into long days. It’s hard work, but when you like what you do, it doesn’t really seem like work at all. It just becomes a part of who you are and where you’re meant to be.”

For Gary, being where he was meant to be also meant being there every day. The Leiningers were owner-operators in the true sense of the word. Gary didn’t oversee operations from afar. He was there, slinging the cool treats and cooking up the hot treats — every day of every season — through 47 March openings and 47 Halloween closings. Fred, who is just north of 90 years of age, also made a daily appearance, stopping in to cook lunch for the employees or lending a hand when needed.

“I don’t think people realize that I’m here all the time,” Gary said. “But it’s a small business and you have to be. That’s what it takes. I have been just as much an employee as the people we’ve hired and my dad still came in to help with lunch. He would do a little bit of dishes and then go home in the afternoon. That’s a real family business.”

Signs on the front of the Lisbon Dairy Queen announced the business’ closure last week. The business was sold earlier this year by the Leininger family who bought the franchise in 1977. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)  

When Gary reflects back on it, there are too many memories to zero in on one that stands out and solidifies that his family made the right call without much thought almost 50 years ago. At the end of the day and at the end of the 47th year, Gary said the relationships built on ice cream and small business is what he cherishes most.

“We have been so blessed. Over 800 girls have worked here through the summer and we’ve only had to fire one,” Gary said. “I still run into former employees and some are lifelong friends. The girls work here in the summer and go onto college. They came back to work year after year. You don’t stay in business as long as we did but by accident. The people in these windows matter. They were a big part of our success.”

As were the customers that spanned generations.

“The support we had from this community was amazing, absolutely amazing,” Gary said. “We had regular customers, we had repeat customers and we had new faces. It was a joy running a business in Lisbon and I can’t imagine anybody being here as long as we have. A part of me wishes we could have stayed here forever.”

Unfortunately, chapters end, and Gary knew the page had to turn.

A picture of the original business hangs in the window of the Lisbon Dairy Queen. The business was sold earlier this year by the Leininger family who bought the franchise in 1977. Monday marked the final day of operations for the building which was known as Walt’s Ice Cream when it was built in 1960. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)  

“It was just time,” he said of deciding to sell the franchise. “It’s tough to let it go, but it’s time to move on.”

Dairy Queen had a lot to do with that decision, wanting the Leiningers’ franchise to modernize and expand the building.

“It was either sell the business or invest in a half a million dollar building, and I fought them for about five years,” Gary said. “Dairy Queen wanted a new building with a drive-thru and a dining room and all the bells and whistles. I understand they want their big stuff, but that’s not what we wanted, so we sold. It wasn’t any easy decision, but it was the right one.”

The new owner, Stewart White, knows a thing or two about the restaurant business. He owns 40 Dunkin Donuts, including the one in Lisbon, as well as a few Dairy Queen franchises. It’s unclear what the plans are for the former Walt’s Ice Cream. There has been talk that a new building — a bigger, flashier Dairy Queen — will be built at the top of the hill near the Dunkin Donuts, but Gary said he couldn’t confirm or dispel those rumors.

“To be honest, I’m not sure what their plans are,” he said.

Gary doesn’t know what his future plans are either now that he no longer owns the Dairy Queen.

“I’m not really sure,” he said. “I’m going to relax a little bit and take some time to think about it.”

Time is something he and Fred will have a lot more of moving forward.

“I guess it hasn’t hit me yet. I think come March when I should be here cleaning and getting things ready, it will hit me then,” Gary said “I know I’m going to miss it, that’s for sure. It was an incredible ride, an adventure and a blessing. I loved every minute of it.”