05/10/2026
Happy Mother’s Day!…and for this post, one mother in particular: Julie Mitchell. What mother wouldn’t love to read about her child on this special day?
Her daughter Ava was one of the “great” ones. Actually, she still is. The past tense refers to how Ava recently retired after working eight seasons here at Dairy King — a first‑ballot DK Hall‑of‑Famer if there ever was one.
Ava was “great” at everything at Dairy King. Great with customers. Great at making waffle cones. Great at training rookies. Great at doing the jobs nobody wants to be great at. If there was a way to be great, she couldn’t help but be great while doing it.
She recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Health, and Society. She’s since made the big jump and relocated to Chicago. No longer scooping Moose Tracks, she now finds herself as a representative at Ortho Molecular Products, selling medical‑grade supplements. I’m sure she’s very good — if not excellent — at her new job, but not as great as she was here.
Admittedly, it might seem like I’m laying the word “great” on a little thick, but it’s certainly appropriate. I can think of only one other team member who was great like Ava — and that would be her sister, Bella. Bella is in her sixth year here at the DK and is a few years younger. I’ve been fortunate to have wonderful, hardworking kids alongside me for almost three decades, but none “great” like these two.
While I knew them as infants and then as teenagers, I’ve gotten to know them even better over their years here, working their butts off in what many would consider a difficult and challenging occupation.
How lucky am I to be able to work with not one, but two great‑nieces!
All DK Hall‑of‑Famers start as employees and end up family. Ava and Bella started as family and ended up friends — and great ones at that.
Thank you, Ava, for your many years of service to our customers! You were a DK Hall‑of‑Famer from day one — it was only a matter of time before it became official. The Windy City is about to be blown away.
