The Dairy Queen on Russellville Road closed its doors late last month after 15 years of being in business because of a failure to come to an agreement on a lease renewal.

&#8220I hope that (people in Bowling Green) are all upset and disappointed,” owner Jerry Rizer said.

The lease officially expired Saturday.

&#8220I hope we’ve had a good impact on the community,” Rizer said.

A lot of Dairy Queens are places for family gatherings, first dates and other memories, according to Dean Peters, director of communications for American Dairy Queen Corp.

&#8220People are sad when their Dairy Queen closes,” Peters said.

Peters said a Dairy Queen closing is not uncommon and sometimes happens when lease renewals come up, especially if the owner of the building wants an increase.

&#8220A lot of times we get calls from customers wanting to know when their Dairy Queen will open back up. … There’s not a whole lot we can do because (Dairy Queen restaurants) are independently owned and operated stores,” Peters said.

About 99 percent of Dairy Queen stores are independently owned and operated franchises, according to Peters. Rizer owns two other Dairy Queen restaurants in Elizabethtown. He said it’s unlikely he will open another location here.

&#8220Maybe for someone else, but not for me,” Rizer said.

Druthers of Monticello Inc., the company that owns the property on 2225 Russellville Road, according to Property Valuation Administrator records, could not be reached for comment.

There are 4,752 Dairy Queen locations nationwide, including 133 in Kentucky, 572 in Canada and 20 in additional countries, according to Peters.