'Reward' offered to Arizona Dairy Queen thief who swiped giant spoon statue: 'Bring the spoon back'
The Dairy Queen franchise owners from Phoenix, Arizona, tell FOX Business that they'll offer an incentive if the 15-foot-tall spoon is returned
A husband and wife duo from Arizona who are Dairy Queen franchise owners, are extending an offer to the person or persons who reportedly stole a 15-foot-tall red spoon from the outside of a Phoenix restaurant location this week.
The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) were dispatched to the scene at 51st Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix where a caller stated that the spoon statue had been stolen from a Dairy Queen store.
It's suspected the spoon was taken between the evening of Friday, March 24 and the morning of March 25, according to a report by Sgt. Brian Bower, a public information officer for the Phoenix Police Department (PPD).
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"We just opened on March 6, and we were all excited," Raman Kalra, owner of the Dairy Queen location told FOX Business. "Everybody was taking these Instagram pictures in front of the spoon [up] until the time the spoon got stolen. I say, ‘Oh, what happened to the restaurant?’ We were only open about 20 days when it got stolen."
The two daughters of Raman Kalra, stand near the massive red spoon statue. One of the red spoons has been robbed from outside of Kalra's Phoenix-based Dairy Queen and police are on the hunt for the thief. (Raman Kalra / Fox News)
Kalra said he and his wife Puja own 34 Dairy Queens — with seven of them located in the Phoenix area.
"That morning, our store manager, Salvador, called [the police], reporting the theft," Kalra said. "He drove around the neighborhood to see if somebody just left it around there. But, he couldn't find it, then he called the police."
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Sergeant Melissa Soliz of the Phoenix Police Public Affairs Bureau spoke with Fox News Digital about the onlooking search for a large red spoon that was nabbed from a Phoenix Dairy Queen store. The large "DQ spoon" prop is featured only on exteriors (Phoenix Police Department / Fox News)
A store with a giant red spoon is something special, Kalra said.
"Out of my 34 stores, only two have the spoon — but now just one," Kalra said. "I’m pretty sure it was the first one in Arizona."
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Roman and Puja Kalra stand in front of one of the Dairy Queens they own in Phoenix, Arizona, where the giant, 15-foot-tall red spoon was stolen. (Ramen Kalra / Fox News)
The large "DQ spoon" prop is featured only on exteriors of the newest restaurants built or renovated in recent years, Amie Hoffner, corporate communications director for Dairy Queen, told FOX Business.
Sgt. Melissa Soliz of the Phoenix Police Public Affairs Bureau told FOX Business that there was "limited surveillance" at the location of the incident and that the case has been turned over to a property crimes detective for review.
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Kalra said he and his wife Puja said they are willing to reward the thief of the giant red spoon with free Blizzard treats – so long is he or she returns the statue. (Raman Kalra/Don & Melinda Crawford/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images / Fox News)
The Kalras said they are offering a reward for the return of the spoon — no questions asked.
"We just want them to bring the spoon back and as a reward, they can have one of every Blizzard treat flavor on a new summer menu," Puja Kalra told FOX Business."The whole neighborhood is waiting for it to come back."