Soft serve ice cream was invented in 1938 and nine years later the Dariette was opened with this unique new product. It started on the corner of 2nd Avenue South and 13th Street and remained at that location until moved to its present location. Rich and Jo Seltz purchased the Dariette in March of 2008 and moved it to 17 South 12th Street, Suite A in the spring of 2009.
The Dariette began as a family run business and under its new ownership remains the same. We take great pride in the use of the original ice cream recipes that have truly become a Fort Dodge tradition, including the Lemon Custard that made the Dariette a popular choice in Fort Dodge since 1947. The new facility offers our customers a comfortable wrought iron fenced patio attractively landscaped for casual dining. Health codes restrict pets in the patio so we have provided a pet area for your convenience.
We made a healthy choice in menu selections in 2010 by removing all fried foods and substituting Wraps, Traildrivers, and Italian Beef. But the heart of our offering remains the ice cream and the many items we make using the soft serve ice cream that offers our guests a creamy frozen treat. Our product offering is like the Dariette itself, which is a totally unique dining experience, unlike the large chain run operations. We feel the personal family run touch of our business fits our customers best.
