By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Alabaster Dairy Queen could reopen as soon as July or August, Alabaster Mayor David Frings said after returning from an international shopping center trade show.

While at the show, Dairy Queen corporate officials said a new franchisee has taken over the Alabaster location, and is preparing to re-open the restaurant in the Colonial Promenade shopping center within the next few months, Frings said.

The Alabaster Dairy Queen, which originally opened in 1960 on U.S. 31 before moving to the Promenade several years ago, closed in early 2012 after longtime franchisee Tad Cairns retired.

Shortly after Cairns’ retirement, the store’s owner said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the number of calls he received from those interested in leasing the property.

“According to the Dairy Queen corporate office, a new franchisee has taken over, and it will re-open in July or August,” Frings said. “I think that is very good news. A lot of people have been asking about it.”

Frings said the new franchisee currently is being trained by the Dairy Queen corporate office.

“I hated to see that building vacant. It’s in a great location,” Frings said.