BOARDMAN TWP., Ohio - Dairy Queen restaurants are a staple not just here in the Valley, but across the nation.

One local owner has seen the evolution of the Dairy Queen brand for the last 40 years, but now says it's time to retire. 

"Yeah, it's kind of bittersweet. You get on Facebook and we let everyone know that we were going to retire and you see all the comments and it kind of chokes you up a little bit," said Dean Paidas who is turning over the reins of the Dairy Queen on Market Street in Boardman. 

The Paidas family announced on Facebook last week they would be switching ownership.

Since then the community's show of support has been more than they could have asked for. 

"The family is absolutely inclusive and wonderful, friendly service, can't say enough about them," said longtime patron Anne Romanoff.

"I got to know a lot of my customers over 40 years and they are like family to me now. They aren't customers anymore, we know everything about them and they know everything about us. We go through the good times together, we go through the bad times together. It's like a family," Paidas said. 

Dean isn't actually the original owner of the DQ on Market Street, but he is passing it on to another local franchisee who hopes to keep the community connection.

"It's very much a neighborhood Dairy Queen and he did a great job. I hope we can do as good of a job as he has done in the past 40 years so that's our hope, not to let him down," says new owner Raymond Smith. 

This will be Smith's fourth local Dairy Queen and he knows as long as the sign flashes open the community will be there to eat the chilly treats they've loved for over 60 years.