When Tim Hughes bought the former Dairy Queen in Roseville — one of the first Dairy Queens in the state when it opened in 1947 — he planned to call it Dairy Cream. But after a Minnesota Star Tribune article ran about Hughes taking over the Lexington Avenue spot, he said he took to heart readers’ comments about whether the proposed name would become a trademark issue and reconsidered.
“I hired a trademark attorney, and because queen and cream sound very phonetically similar, that may have opened me up to litigation,” he said, emphasizing that the Bloomington-based chain did not get involved or pressure him to change the name. “I’m just protecting myself.”

Plus, Hughes said he wanted to make the spot his own while paying homage to the space as a destination for ice cream and hot dogs. His mom suggested the name Sprinkles, which encapsulated the vibe he was going for.
“I want this to be a place where grandparents can take their grandkids and make memories that are going to last. I hope that it’s going to resonate with kids that come in, and then with their kids in 20 years,” Hughes said.
Sprinkles, a walk-up-window seasonal spot in an outlot of Lexington Plaza strip mall (1720 Lexington Av. N.) will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting today. It will just be soft serve through the weekend, with more menu items rolling out early next week.
Hughes is putting his own stamp on things, starting with new flavors and new machines for soft serve, malts, shakes and snow cones.
The menu features premium soft serve, meaning it has 10% butter fat or more and is technically ice cream by legal standards, he noted. “We have chocolate, vanilla. We have vegan dairy-free with rotating flavors, orange and pomegranate to start with,” Hughes said, adding these can be made twist style with two flavors in a cone or cup.
Snow cones, slushies and floats (including cold brew floats) will also be part of the lineup. As will malts and shakes in more than two dozen flavors, ranging from chocolate and strawberry to Georgia peach and butterscotch. Of course, there will be a wide selection of candy and other sprinkles for mixing and matching.