Here's a question that lit up Bay Area conversation this week: Does anybody remember Dairy Queen?

At first glance, it sounds absurd. As one amused local put it, "Does anybody remember McDonald's?" Dairy Queen has nearly 7,000 locations worldwide. It's not exactly a lost relic of American civilization. And yet — try finding one in San Francisco. Go ahead. We'll wait.

You can't, because there isn't one. The closest options are out in Campbell or San Ramon, which is great if you live there and significantly less great if you're craving a Blizzard in the Sunset on a rare warm evening. For a city that prides itself on being world-class, we can't seem to keep a soft-serve chain within our borders.

This isn't really about Dairy Queen, of course. It's about the broader pattern of affordable, everyday businesses quietly vanishing from San Francisco while we debate protected bike lanes and six-figure nonprofit salaries. The cost of doing business here — between sky-high commercial rents, byzantine permitting, and an unpredictable regulatory environment — makes it nearly impossible for mid-range chains and small businesses alike to survive.

We talk a lot about equity and access in this city. But when a family can't grab a $5 ice cream cone without driving 40 miles south to Campbell, maybe it's time to ask what our business climate is actually optimized for. Artisanal $9 scoops in the Mission? Sure, we've got those. A straightforward Peanut Buster Parfait? Leave the city limits.

The nostalgia people feel isn't really for Dairy Queen specifically — it's for a version of the Bay Area where normal, affordable things were allowed to exist. Where a strip mall with a DQ, a pizza spot, and a hardware store wasn't viewed as insufficiently curated for a city of our stature.

San Francisco's hostility to everyday commerce isn't a charming quirk. It's a policy failure. And until we make it easier — not harder — for businesses to open, operate, and stay, the list of things we "remember" is only going to keep growing.