'It's time for him to relax and enjoy life': 46-year Gainesville Dairy Queen manager retires

Jun. 13—Eddie Cronic fondly remembers the day in April 1976 when he walked into the Dairy Queen formerly located at 400 Shallowford Road and applied for a management position.

"I went in and applied, and the owner said I could start tomorrow. That's it," Cronic recalled. "I had worked in an ice cream place before and figured I'd like it. I guess I caught on pretty quick."

Cronic, 73, officially retired from Dairy Queen May 15 after nearly five decades as a manager at several Dairy Queen locations throughout Hall County.

"I am done," Cronic said with a laugh.

When asked what he will miss most about working for Dairy Queen, he answered, "The customers. They were always happy to see me and I was happy to see them."

During his 46-year career, 23 of which he spent at the 229 Shallowford Road location, Cronic helped open several locations, including 951 Green Street, filling in as a manager when there was a need. Sometimes, he would open a restaurant in the morning and be there until it was time to close for the night.

"He was very dedicated to his job and he worked long hours a lot of days," said Linda Cronic, Eddie's wife of 47 years. "A lot of weeks, he never took a day off. It's time for him to relax and enjoy life."

Cronic said has met a lot of people during his time working for the Minnesota-based fast food and ice cream chain.

"I probably know half of Gainesville," Cronic said. "I have people that come from as far as Toccoa to eat with me. I really liked the job."

Three generations of the Walters family — from the grandfather, Robert, down to his son, Richard, and grandsons, Mike and Rick — have owned the Shallowford Road restaurant during Cronic's stint there.

"The most loving people you would ever see, they took care of their employees," Cronic said of the Walters family, who also employed Linda as a cake decorator for 20 years.

Cronic plans to visit the restaurant to eat breakfast and lunch from time to time. He said he's going to get used to not putting on an apron and helping out, but he'll still keep his eyes open whenever he stops in.

"Of course you know you're always going to look around and see what's wrong," he said.

'Work for what you want'

From a young age, Cronic knew that he needed to work in order to support himself and his family.

"I learned where money comes from," Cronic said. "I learned that you work for what you want."

The Cronics have a pair of grown daughters, Jamie and Heather, and three grandchildren, Josh, 26, Gina, 22, and Carter, 14, that he can pass his work ethic and life lessons down to.

A graduate of South Hall High School, Cronic started working in the restaurant industry at the age of 12, beginning his career serving hot dogs and ice cream at the now closed, but once very popular local restaurant, the Polar Girl.

Not long after graduation, he started working at Beef Corral, another local restaurant that is long since closed. There, he learned the nuances of the food service industry.

In Cronic's case, retirement was a matter of health. He had open heart surgery in December 2021 and had to immediately reduce the amount of work he was doing.

"Until I had open heart surgery, I think I missed about three weeks in 46 years," Cronic remembered. "I was never out unless there was something really, really bad I had to take care of."

When he returned to work months after the surgery, he moved to a part-time schedule, which allowed him to continue doing what he loved for two more years.

"I worked when I wanted to — that was how bad they wanted me to be there," Cronic said.

Cronic plans to do a lot more camping at the Low Gap Campground in Helen and fishing in Lake Lanier now that his schedule is open.

"I like to fish and camp, and they go hand in hand when you have a boat and a camper," Cronic said.

For the Cronics, camping is a family affair. One of the Cronic daughters owns a camper, too, and the entire family camps together, according to Linda.

"We just enjoy our time together as a family," Linda said.

But first, there's a retirement party to attend.

Inside the Dairy Queen on Shallowed Road, a sign on the front counter announces a celebration of Cronic's career with the company. Another similar sign is in the drive-thru for customers to see when they pick up their burgers, fries and Blizzards. If they don't make it to the party on Wednesday, June 14, customers will still have plenty of opportunities to see Cronic; he'll be out of uniform, though.

"I'll probably miss the job, but I'll miss the customers and my friends more," Cronic said.

His wife is glad he can enjoy his free time any way he wants these days.

"I'm very happy to have him home with me," Linda said.