Should I open or buy a Dairy Queen franchise in 2027?

What Dairy Queen says it takes

The franchisor is American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), which the FDD says is wholly owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc., itself wholly owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. The main U.S. offer is the DQ Grill & Chill, a restaurant with seating that sells the full soft-serve, treat, food and beverage menu. Dairy Queen's investment page gives these headline terms:

• Initial franchise fee: $45,000. The FDD says the first $10,000 is a non-refundable deposit with your application.
• Royalty: 4% of gross sales (the FDD calls it the continuing license fee).
• Marketing fee: 5% - 6% of gross sales, with ADQ setting the rate inside that range.
• Term: 20 years for a new restaurant.
• Investment range: $1,510,100 - $2,550,100.
• Personal finances: $750,000 net worth and $400,000 liquid capital for a single unit; Dairy Queen says multi-unit requirements are higher.
• Staffing: 3 certified DQ managers.

Because the official site and the FDD agree on these figures, they are firmer than the third-party summaries you will find online. Dairy Queen also offers a smaller DQ Treat store, a retail treat shop with a limited number of approved food items; its own March 26, 2026 FDD gives a total investment of $548,700 - $1,595,350, including $25,000 paid to the franchisor.

Where the build budget goes

Item 7 of the 2026 Grill & Chill FDD, filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, breaks the estimate down. It says the amounts do not include the cost of land. The biggest lines:

• Building, construction and leasehold improvements: $800,000 - $1,400,000.
• Equipment, signs and point-of-sale systems: $550,000 - $700,000.
• Building plans, design and architectural seal: $15,000 - $60,000.
• Additional funds for the first 3 months: $51,000 - $198,000.
• Utility deposits, licenses and government charges: $4,000 - $17,000.

Dairy Queen's site shows three building models. The Core 46 seats 46 on a 2,207 sq. ft. building and a 32,025 sq. ft. lot; the Core 0-24 has limited inside seating on a 1,745 sq. ft. building and a 24,921 sq. ft. lot. Dairy Queen says the process takes an average of 18 months from inquiry to opening, depending mostly on real estate conditions.

What the stores actually sell: the Item 19 numbers

Unlike some chains, Dairy Queen publishes sales figures. Schedule A of the 2026 Grill & Chill FDD covers franchisee-owned, newly built freestanding stores first opened from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2024 that reported all 12 months. It leaves out Texas stores, conversions, non-traditional sites and stores granted by territory operators. For 2025:

• Average annual gross sales: $1,485,731 across 286 restaurants.
• Median: $1,413,799.
• Range: a low of $601,647 and a high of $3,148,939.
• At or above the average: 125 restaurants, or 44%.

The average for the same kind of store was $1,379,954 in 2022, $1,417,964 in 2023 and $1,446,870 in 2024. Schedule B adds costs, but only 16 restaurants supplied usable 2025 profit-and-loss statements. For them, cost of goods averaged 30.63% of sales, labor 31.26% and restaurant controllables 10.80%, leaving an average manageable profit of 27.31%.

Build new or buy an existing Dairy Queen?

Building new means the full Item 7 budget plus land, a site ADQ approves and an 18-month average timeline. In return you get a current Grill & Chill design, the store type the Item 19 figures describe and, through 2026, a cash incentive. A May 27, 2026 press release from International Dairy Queen offers a $150,000 lump sum after opening for a new freestanding DQ Grill & Chill opened on schedule, and $200,000 for each further freestanding store opened within 18 months of the prior one. It applies to franchise agreements approved through the end of 2026 in the U.S. and Canada, so ask whether any incentive is offered for 2027.

Buying an existing store means a working restaurant, but not automatic approval. The FDD says a buyer must meet ADQ's qualifying criteria, obtain ADQ's consent and sign the current franchise agreement; the term is then the lesser of 20 years or what is left on the seller's agreement, and the transfer fee is $6,000. ADQ also has a right of first refusal on transfers. Older Dairy Queen/Brazier or soft-serve-only stores can sometimes be converted to a Grill & Chill under a conversion addendum, with different fee rules.

In a resale, get the store's own numbers. The FDD says that if you are buying an existing outlet, ADQ may give you that outlet's actual records, the one exception to its Item 19 limits. Compare them with the Schedule A figures above, which do not cover conversions.

Is your area open?

Dairy Queen's available markets page lists statewide openings in most states, including California, Florida, New York, Texas and Wisconsin. In Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Virginia it refers you to a local territory operator, and in Washington it lists only the Seattle area. Its named hot markets are the Fresno, Sacramento, Tulsa, Greenville, Greensboro, Syracuse and Baltimore DMAs.

Two details matter here. Texas DQ restaurants, with their Texas Country Foods menu, are offered under a separate disclosure document, so the figures on this page do not apply there. And Item 12 of the Grill & Chill FDD says you are not granted any minimum area or territory, so another DQ could open nearby.

Financing

Item 10 says ADQ and its affiliates generally do not offer financing, do not finance any part of the initial fee, and leave you to arrange it through third parties; ADQ sometimes puts franchisees in touch with lenders and says it receives no payment for referrals. The SBA 7(a) program lends up to $5 million, lists changes of ownership among allowed uses, and points borrowers to its Lender Match tool. Ask lenders about eligibility and down payment in writing.

Honest risks

• Big capital at risk. The estimate starts at $1,510,100 before land.
• Fees come off sales, not profit. A 4% royalty plus a 5% - 6% marketing fee apply to gross sales, and the FDD warns you may have to pay fees even if you are losing money.
• No protected territory. Item 12 grants no minimum area.
• A thin profit sample. Only 16 stores are in the 2025 cost data, and the sales data excludes conversions and Texas.
• Management depth. Item 15 requires a designated manager and two assistant managers who have finished ADQ training and work full time on site.
• Slow system growth. Item 20 shows direct-licensed Grill & Chill and Dairy Queen/Brazier outlets went from 1,967 at the start of 2023 to 1,985 at the end of 2025.
• Time-limited incentives. The $150,000 and $200,000 payments cover agreements approved through the end of 2026.

The FDD says you must receive it at least 14 calendar days before you sign or pay, and tells you to show it to a lawyer or accountant. It also lists current and former franchisees in its exhibits; call several before you apply, as ADQ itself recommends.

Questions people ask

Sources

• Dairy Queen Franchising: investment info · Fee, royalty, marketing fee, term, investment, net worth, building models
• Dairy Queen Franchising: home · Locations, 18-month timeline
• Dairy Queen Franchising: steps to ownership · Process and timeline
• Dairy Queen Franchising: available markets · Open states, territory operators, hot markets
• Minnesota Department of Commerce CARDS: American Dairy Queen Corporation filings · DQ Grill & Chill FDD and DQ Treat FDD, issued March 26, 2026 (Items 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20)
• PR Newswire: New Cash Incentive Program Accelerates Dairy Queen Franchise Growth · Incentive terms, May 27, 2026
• Restaurant Dive: Dairy Queen development incentive · Coverage of the incentive, May 27, 2026
• SBA 7(a) loans · Loan size, uses, Lender Match

Facts were read from the linked pages and the 2026 FDDs on the Minnesota Department of Commerce site on November 3, 2026. The copies filed there are marked to show changes; figures here are the current (2026) values. This page is general information, not financial or legal advice; talk to a franchise attorney and an accountant. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it from a source.

Top photo: John Phelan / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons