Druther's
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Druther's was a chain of fast food restaurants that began as Burger Queen restaurants (a defunct restaurant chain that was based in Louisville, Kentucky); it existed from the 1960s through the 1980s. The name was a play on the word druthers, and their mascot was a giant female bee named Queenie Bee. Around the late 1970s/early 80s, Burger Queen changed to Druther's restaurants, although the changes were mostly cosmetic. One reason given for the name change was to eliminate the perception that they were "just burgers", when they also had fried chicken and a serve-yourself salad bar. Druther's featured a character named "Andy Dandytale" on their kids meal items (and a live-action version in early TV advertising). Their slogan was "I'd Ruther Go to Druther's."
[edit] History
The first Burger Queen/Druther's was built in Middletown, Kentucky, and still stands today at 11806 Shelbyville Road. The last operating Druther's (as of May 2007) is in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Queenie Bee is still on their sign, and you can still purchase an "Andy Dandytale's Adventures" meal.
Several Druther's restaurants were converted to the Dairy Queen chain in the late '80s/early '90s. The company that owned Druther's - Druther's Systems Inc. - retained ownership of many of the restaurants after they became Dairy Queens. It was reported in 1996 that a company called International Dairy Queen Inc. bought 31 Dairy Queen/Brazier outlets in Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana from Druther's Systems Inc. for an undisclosed price.
