Dairy Queen in May made headlines by unveiling a fresh franchise incentive aimed specifically at driving expansion throughout the U.S. and Canada. It’s designed for new and existing operators who meet agreed-upon opening timelines and promises additional, larger perks for multi-unit growth.
Franchisees who debut a freestanding DQ Grill & Chill—the brand’s full-menu concept—on schedule will receive a $150,000 lump sum cash payout. Each subsequent freestanding restaurant opened within 18 months will then be eligible for a $200,000 cash incentive, “reinforcing the brand’s focus on long-term, multi-unit growth.”
The program applies to all qualifying agreements approved through the end of 2026 (U.S. and Canada).
Gregg Benvenuto, vice president, franchise development, U.S. & Canada, for the brand, said the initiative backs operators ready to grow who have a “solid development strategy in place.”
“Modern, flexible prototypes combined with the legacy of the Dairy Queen brand create a compelling opportunity for talented operators,” he said.
The incentives apply exclusively to freestanding DQ Grill & Chill units, including second-generation drive-thru conversation buildings and new builds.
Taking stock of where Dairy Queen is launching this off, the brand last year picked up growth a bit in this avenue, expanding by a net 14 locations to reach 1,985. That figure comprises Grill & Chills/Brazier direct-licensed outlets (AKA, what it’s trying to develop further with the incentive package).
In 2024 and 2023, Dairy Queen lifted by a net of two stores apiece for this pool. All this growth came on the franchised side. Dairy Queen counts two company owned venues in Minnesota.
Last year’s development included 38 openings (compared to 30 and 41 in the prior two calendars, respectively), 24 terminations, and one non-renewal.
Dairy Queen projects 16 gross franchised outlets for 2026, zero company outlets, and claims to have 27 franchise agreements assigned without stores opened yet.
Again, speaking to this part of its business. Collectively, Dairy Queen’s U.S. business spreads across more than 4,000 outlets.
For instance, Dairy Queen also ended 2025 with 543 DQ Grill and Chills and Dairy Queen/Brazier subfranchised territory operator stores. That number was down 24, year-over-year. All franchised.
In 1980, ADQ acquired the Texas territory operator’s subfranchisor rights in more than 900 subfranchised Dairy Queen locations, none of which carry the Dairy Queen/Brazier or DQ Grill & Chill food lines because of various arrangements. The majority of Texas DQ stores have a non-system food called “Texas Country Food.”
There were 524 of those year-end 2025, a decline of 44 after dropping by 11 and six in 2024 and 2023, respectively (also entirely franchised).
The company in its FDD disclosed sales data for DQ Grill & Chill restaurants that were newly constructed freestanding restaurants developed under its new or additional store development programs; units developed and first opened between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2024; locations that were operated and reported sales data to ADQ for all 12 months of the noted year; and those that were franchisee owned and operated.
Not included were the Texas stores featuring the “Texas Country Foods” cooked menu; existing Dairy Queens converted to Grill & Chill’s facility design, menu and trademarked by remodeling an existing store or replacing one with a new Grill & Chill at the same site or a new location; new Grill & Chill venues opened in a fuel center or other non-trad spot; or new Grill & Chills opened under a development rights contract or a franchise agreement granted by a territory operator.
“Schedule A” below shows gross sales for locations that meet the criteria. “Schedule B” does so on certain categories of expenses and manageable profit for a subset of units from Schedule A.
The total investment necessary to begin operation of a single DQ Grill & Chill franchise is $1.510 million–$2.55 million. This includes $45,000 paid to the company. So, that $150,000 could represent as much as 10 percent of the development tag.
Grill & Chills have indoor seating, and outdoor in certain instances, where operators sell the full line of soft-serve, treat, food, and beverage items.
ADQ offers single-unit Grill & Chill franchises for “Street” locations, which are defined as freestanding, streetspace, or strip-mall restaurants with fewer than 500,000 square feet of gross leasable area. Some operators also have “captive-venue” builds in shopping malls or centers (same minimum of square feet).
Currently, ADQ touts two prototypical freestanding building models, the Next Gen Core 34 and the Next Gen Core 46. The Next Gen Core 34 is 1,938 square feet, seats about 34, and requires a minimum lot size of 25,830 square feet. The cost of the site work and building construction for the Next Gen Core 34 generally ranges from $800,000 to $1.1 million, or more.
The Next Gen Core 46 is 2,208 square feet, seats roughly 46, and requires a minimum lot size of 32,026 square feet. The cost of the site work and building construction for the Next Gen Core 46 typically scales from $800,000 to $1.200 million.
In a separate FDD, the company lists Dairy Queen/limited Brazier, DQ Treat and DQ soft-serve only direct licensed outlets. There were 743 at the close of 2025, a 16-store net rise after declining by 24 and 38 the two calendars prior, respectively.
On the subfranchised territory side, there were 310, down 48, year-over-year.
The captive venues of these range 600–1,400 square feet and street stores 1,000–1,800.
Dairy Queen came in at No. 18 in this year’s QSR 50 (full results to be released in August). The chain posted U.S. systemwide sales of $5.013 billion on average-unit volumes of $1.218 million. Systemwide, the brand shed 97 restaurants domestically to post 4,115 units (two corporate).
Dairy Queen recently announced a partnership with Presto to expand a Voice AI pilot in the drive-thru as well.
The post Dairy Queen Wants to Put Cash in the Pockets of Growth-Ready Franchisees appeared first on QSR Magazine.