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Druther's is a restaurant, formerly a chain of fast food restaurants that began as Burger Queen restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky from 1963 until 1981. The name was a play on the word druthers, and the mascot was a giant female bee named Queenie Bee. In 1981, Burger Queen changed to Druther's restaurants, although the changes were mostly cosmetic. One reason given for the name change was to eliminate the perception that they served "just burgers", when they also had fried chicken and a serve-yourself salad bar. Druther's featured a character named "Andy Dandytale" on its kids meal items (and a live-action version in early TV advertising). The chain's slogan was "I'd Ruther Go to Druther's."
History
The first Burger Queen was built in Middletown, Kentucky, in 1963, and the original building still stands across from Dairy Queen at 11806 Shelbyville Road. Burger Queen's second location in Middletown is now a Dairy Queen. The chain's mascot was Queenie Bee.
Several Druther's restaurants converted to the Dairy Queen chain in the late-1980s/early-1990s. The parent company of Druther's - Druther's Systems Inc. - retained ownership of many of the restaurants after the change. In 1996, International Dairy Queen Inc. bought 31 Dairy Queen/Brazier outlets in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana from Druther's Systems Inc. for an undisclosed price.
Former Druther's locations in Louisville, Kentucky currently house other businesses such as a Burger King and a local liquor store called Our Place Liquors. The last operating Druther's (as of September 2016) is in Campbellsville, Kentucky.