What losing Dairy Queens means to rural Texas

East Columbia Street in downtown San Augustine, Texas, a town of fewer than 2,000 that recently lost its Dairy Queen,
which had been a local gathering spot for 45 years. (Houston Chronicle photo by Michael Ciaglo)

In small towns across the country, Dairy Queen provides not just restaurants, but community water coolers where locals can talk. But in Texas, as the rural population shrinks, many small-town Dairy Queens are closing, while the company expands in metropolitan areas like Houston and Dallas.

A hauntingly beautiful article and photo essay by Emily Foxhall of the Houston Chronicle explores the role Dairy Queen has played in the lives of rural Texans and what they'll do without one nearby.