University students woke up to legendary news on Monday morning, as the Illini Union Board announced in an Instagram post that there would be, at long last, a Dairy Queen at Altgeld Hall.
Fueling from rumors beginning as early as 2010 that the restaurant chain is hidden in the basement of the historic building, the Illini Union Board introduced the pop-up Dairy Queen to Altgeld’s second floor.
“We do this every two years because you know the common trope that there’s an Altgeld Dairy Queen,” said Abby Stiefvater, Illini Union Board President. “So we kind of play into that.”
The station provided free Dilly Bars to help fuel students through week 15 of the semester. According to Stiefvater, the event is a part of the Union’s “Last Chance Week,” which provides students with one last chance to have fun at the Union.
“Our main place is, of course, the Illini Union, but we plan events all throughout the year,” Stiefvater said.
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Emily Campos, director of marketing on the Illini Union Board, explained the process behind organizing the event, which included working with the restaurant chain.
“We went to go pick up like 800 Dilly Bars of all types of flavors,” Campos said.
Free ice cream options for students included chocolate, cherry, butterscotch, Heath and a dairy-free option.
Campos said the pop-up Dairy Queen was proving very popular, with “tons of customers” coming through the building. Chocolate supplies already needed replenishing before 3 p.m.
According to Campos and Stiefvater, Altgeld was happy to set up the event for University students.
“We’ve done this in the past, so they were really willing to coordinate and work with us on a certain date, and now we’re here today,” Campos said.
In terms of having a more permanent location in the basement of the building, Stiefvater said all students have to do is look.
“You never know,” Stiefvater said. “How do you not know that there’s one downstairs? It can be kind of hard to find, but we promise we’re there.”
