The Disturbing Reason Freezer Queen TV Dinners Were Discontinued

On the list of discontinued frozen foods we're not getting back, the entire line of Freezer Queen TV dinners is prominent, but not exactly for noble reasons. The brand was big in the 1980s, when its boil-in-bag entrees provided an easy and foolproof meal idea for those strapped for time or cooking inspo. Later, Freezer Queen pivoted to more conventional microwave meals, with comforting flavors like Salisbury steak and broccoli with cheese. 

What stopped the Freezer Queen momentum? The answer is actually completely gross — its Buffalo, New York plant was shut down by the local health department in 2006 due to appalling violations including live roaches in the gravy vat and food debris on machinery. Rather than clean up its act, Home Market Foods, the parent company of Freezer Queen, opted to shutter operations indefinitely.

Given how long it takes to thaw a turkey, the idea of a savory nuked entree like Freezer Queen's turkey and gravy dish is undeniably appealing. Unfortunately, towards the end, there was no guarantee that your TV dinner didn't come with some icky stowaways, like cockroach legs or last month's mashed potatoes. Of course, it's hard to say what, exactly, was hiding in a Freezer Queen meal. But the Freezer Queen meltdown is tragic for more reasons than just the utter yuckiness of the whole fiasco: the closing of the Buffalo plant led to the loss of dozens of jobs and a blight on the city's Canalside waterfront district.

Much to the dismay of city officials, Home Market Foods decided to do a runner when the Freezer Queen plant was shut down — it up and abandoned the factory. Well, first it demanded a new USDA inspector, but the futility of that plan was realized when the extent of the health code violations came to light. A full 175 workers lost their jobs when the factory closed, while the city of Buffalo was left with a dirty, out-of-compliance building on its hands that nobody wanted. Some of the plant's refrigeration equipment was dismantled and shipped to Norwood, Massachusetts, where Home Market Foods is headquartered, but the hulking corpse of the factory sat unwanted until it finally had a date with the wrecking ball in 2019.

A developer bought the old Freezer Queen site in 2007 and announced plans to erect a mixed-use condo development there, including a 23-story residence and shopping and dining destinations. The project was plagued from the start with contaminated soil and protests from opponents who disliked the proposed scale. In 2020, the project was abandoned without anyone ever having broken ground. To this date, the vacant acreage that used to be the Freezer Queen factory still sits fallow, a reminder of the failures past.