Route 1 motorists can’t help but notice the renovations going on at the Dairy Queen in Woolwich which will soon have a new look inside and out.

The well-known takeout restaurant located just north of Sagadahoc Bridge at the Route 127 junction is undergoing a complete makeover, its first in over 25 years. When it reopens this year it’ll not only have a new look but a new name as well, the DQ Grill & Chill.

Richard Ranta of Alna, DQ’s owner since 2002, told the Wiscasset Newspaper Friday morning he’s hoping the restaurant’s reopening will be on Valentine’s Day. He usually reopens the restaurant around the first of February. “We’ve got a lot going on here both inside and out so we’ll have to wait and see. A lot really depends on the weather,” he said.

Ranta is keeping his fingers crossed that this winter’s unusually mild stretch of weather will continue for just a few more weeks. The restaurant’s exterior renovations, including an eye-catching brick chimney facade around the entrance, were initially planned for the spring. “Because December was so warm, we decided to get going on the exterior work including the chimney.”

He added, the Dairy Queen’s new look would be a little different than the artist’s rendition of it that appeared in the newspaper last July. The store will also be getting a new sign in its parking lot sporting the new DQ logo. The Woolwich restaurant is one of only three of Maine’s 32 Dairy Queens getting a makeover. The others sporting DQ’s new look are located in Kittery and Westbrook.

When the Woolwich DQ reopens, the menu will continue to offer all the usual customer favorites including tasty grilled hamburgers, crispy chicken strips, onion rings and French fries, along with shakes, ice cream cones, ice cream cakes and the franchise’s trademark ice cream “Blizzards.” Along with giving the restaurant a more modern look, Ranta hopes the renovations will also provide faster customer service.

Ranta purchased the business from his mother Anna Ranta who owned and operated the restaurant for 17 years. It’s been a Dairy Queen since 1972.