Dairy Palace restaurant in Canton Texas first opened its doors for business on October 8, 1984. In the beginning, menu choices were centered on hamburgers and fries and hand-dipped Blue Bell Ice Cream. It soon became apparent that the menu needed to be expanded and a variety of full meal entrees began to be offered. Country breakfasts were added and menus for seniors and for kids were developed. Thirty-two flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream became an expected and standard menu item, along with sundaes, floats, malts, banana splits, and other favorite ice cream delights. Back room
The first dining area was expanded, and in 1986, an additional dining room was added. Today the Dairy Palace building consists of three dining areas and a kitchen area that has been expanded twice. There have been other important milestones in the life of the business. For instance, in 1988, the restaurant became the first in the county to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 1993, the Dairy Palace was chosen Business of the Year by the Canton Chamber of Commerce. Beginning in 2001 full breakfasts became available any time, day or night, and, in 2006, the Dairy Palace became the first non-smoking restaurant in Canton, Texas. The Dairy Palace is a casual, family-friendly restaurant that excels in customer service and quality, delicious-tasting food. The original Dairy Palace family still owns and operates the restaurant, and since its opening day over twenty-five years ago, business at the restaurant has been conducted with the same commitment to excellence and integrity that brought success. Whether you visit morning, noon, or night, it is our desire that you find friendly service and enjoyable food that will bring you back again and again. The Dairy Palace Restaurant is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is closed only on Christmas Day. Giving
The Dairy Palace family believes it is the moral obligation of a business to give back to the community from which it comes. Therefore, the Dairy Palace has received a great deal of satisfaction over the years in its county-wide sponsorship programs. The restaurant sponsors or contributes to youth sports programs, school projects, school yearbooks, community organizations, county volunteer fire departments, the county fair, Christian ministries, mission projects, and more. The restaurant buys animals shown by students at the county fair as well. The walls of the Dairy Palace are covered with pictures of the many FFA and 4-H students whose animals were bought by the restaurant. An Honors Program for two of the junior high schools in the area was established years ago and still thrives today. In this program, the schools bring their A-B Honor Roll junior high students to the Dairy Palace for a free meal of hamburger, fries, drink and ice cream each time they make the Honor Roll at their school. The Dairy Palace has a philosophy of hiring teens, training them well, and helping them grow in personal responsibility and self-confidence. More than 70 percent of the employees who have worked at the restaurant over the years have been school kids working a summer job for extra money, or college students working their way through school. Some have worked their way through both high school and college at the restaurant. Several of the current staff became employees in the early years and have remained with the restaurant to this day. They have all contributed greatly to the success of the Dairy Palace through the years. We give Him all the glory, and we give thanks for the difference Jesus Christ has made in our lives.
