Dairy Queen

[bluedogok]

The stores here in Colorado with grilled foods are branded as Chill & Grill where most stores are are just frozen treats. In fact it seems most that I have seen are older, walk-up type locations with frozen treats only.

[Larry OKC]

Am guessing but did that morph into the Grill & Chill someone mentioned earlier?

[bluedogok]

Maybe it is Grill & Chill....I was just thinking since ice cream is their main line it was first.

[kevinpate]

Had a DQ in my small home town ... until some feud erupted and it transformed into a Daisy Queen. Same folk, new sign, new cups.
Nice peeps, with a small diner on the other side of their small parking lot. At one time that DQ was the end of town for all practical effect and the turn around point for the older teens. The car folk weren't always nice to those of us still on two wheels.

Now the Mr. Swiss ... they were bright folk. They set up shop right across the main road from the town baseball parks. They did killer biz in their day. Also nice folk.

[RadicalModerate]

There is a Dairy Queen within walking distance of my son-in-law's place in North Minneapolis. On the way back to his house with the grandkids, my wife asked me to stop so she could buy them a treat. While I was waiting outside for them to return, I noticed two Minnesota Highway Patrol cars in the lot and a Trooper/Trooperette enjoying some sort of DQ treat under the shady trees. The grandkids and the wife all got "Blizzards". Her's was the Snickers version. She offered a taste and it was good.

A couple of days later, I was "babysitting"--actually "tweensitting"--and when lunchtime rolled around I suggested that we walk over to DQ and get a bite to eat. The response to this suggestion was: "Oh. We like the Blizzards, but we don't eat the food."

I had a hankerin' for a coney or DQ burger, but had to settle for mixing up some Instant Char-Broiled Lake Salmon Salad from the previous nights leftovers. I think the kids ate cereal.

[SoonerDave]

The "new" DQ's I've seen in Texas (Dallas/Arlington), Georgia, Branson et al surely look as though the were started by someone interested in establishing a common concept/theming/branding for the name, and I must say at those locations I've visited, they were very consistent. The ones you have to avoid are the "add-ons" in places like gas stations and truck stops. They're usually, well, horrible, inconsistent, nasty...insert other favorite negative adjective.

I think even some older ones have at least tried (with varying degrees of success) to migrate "up" to whatever DQ is trying to do at a corporate level. I've seen some older buildings that have (for example) put on a nice brick facade, updated signage/logos, so given that plus the consistent theming of newer stores tells me they're on the right track. I'd love to see them back in OKC, because no one does a Blizzard like DQ...(sorry Braums/Sonic/McD's... close but no cigar )

And here's a huge +1 on the McDonald's consistency note. Absolutely incredible that they pull it off, but man, you get an Egg McMuffin in Buffalo, NY, and somehow it manages to taste exactly the same as one in Los Angeles or Oklahoma City. Love them or hate them, they have reduced consistency to an absolute science. Don't think any fast-food chain has ever mastered it to the degree McD's has. If you think about all the vendors that have to be coordinated and tested across thousands of stores to ensure standards are met to achieve it, you realize what an amazing logistical feat it is...

[RadicalModerate]

Did I forget to mention that the Dairy Queen on Lyndale was a "stand alone" location with authentic old picnic tables and trees?

The closest thing to it wasn't the McDonalds up the road nor the curiously inviting "Cuban Sandwich" place down the block.

It, the local Dairy Queen, reminded me of an Urban/SubUrban Location of "The TwinBurger" of my yoot. =)
Yet, apparently "the kids" preferred the algae-based solution of the "ice-cream"/spun up with confections from the local 7-Eleven dessert treats to the actual food served therein.

In retrospect:
They probably had a better grasp on "consistency" vis-a-vis local lunch options than I.

[bluedogok]

The "new" DQ's I've seen in Texas (Dallas/Arlington), Georgia, Branson et al surely look as though the were started by someone interested in establishing a common concept/theming/branding for the name, and I must say at those locations I've visited, they were very consistent. The ones you have to avoid are the "add-ons" in places like gas stations and truck stops. They're usually, well, horrible, inconsistent, nasty...insert other favorite negative adjective.

I think even some older ones have at least tried (with varying degrees of success) to migrate "up" to whatever DQ is trying to do at a corporate level. I've seen some older buildings that have (for example) put on a nice brick facade, updated signage/logos, so given that plus the consistent theming of newer stores tells me they're on the right track. I'd love to see them back in OKC, because no one does a Blizzard like DQ...(sorry Braums/Sonic/McD's... close but no cigar )

And here's a huge +1 on the McDonald's consistency note. Absolutely incredible that they pull it off, but man, you get an Egg McMuffin in Buffalo, NY, and somehow it manages to taste exactly the same as one in Los Angeles or Oklahoma City. Love them or hate them, they have reduced consistency to an absolute science. Don't think any fast-food chain has ever mastered it to the degree McD's has. If you think about all the vendors that have to be coordinated and tested across thousands of stores to ensure standards are met to achieve it, you realize what an amazing logistical feat it is...

The redesign was pushed on the franchisors by DQ corporate in Minnesota, there were articles in various Texas papers about the resistance of some of the owners in the amount of investment required to bring their stores up to the same corporate standard established with the new design. Many in the Austin area had already gone through the transformation but I know many of the rural ones have not. I think for many of them they just do not see the benefit in that kind of "branding" since many have what they already consider a "captive" audience.

[MonkeesFan]

They need to build a Diary Queen in Moore, Oklahoma City, and Norman, I really miss their chicken strips, I have not ate at Diary Queen in years!

[Larry OKC]

Think it was already discussed in the thread but Dairy Queens were plentiful in the Metro area (their buildings are still around, a few becoming Chelinos). They did return with at least 2 locations in new buildings a couple of years ago but disappeared. 1 was up near the college there in Edmond and I saw another over in Mid-Del on the east side of one of the main N/S roads.

[bluedogok]

We went to DQ Saturday night after the OU game, the one that we went to was ice cream and Orange Julius, the only hot food they had at that one was hot dogs. Another one close by is one of the "Grill & Chill" locations.

[dalelakin]

Here are the numbers that it takes to start up a "Grill and Chill" location. If someone were to put one in by the new outlet mall I am fairly certain that they would get an extraordinary ROI.

Numbers:

Franchise Fee: $35,000
Royalty Fee: 4%
Marketing Fee: 5 – 6%
Term: 20 years
Investment Range: $779,675 – $1,729,160
Liquid Capital Requirement: $400,000
Net Worth Requirement: $750,000
Certified DQ Managers: 3
Building Size: 1,886 – 2,612 sq ft
Lot Size: 20,952 – 29,670 sq ft

[JayhawkTransplant]

I pledge to eat a Blizzard a day to anyone who wants to put up the money for a DQ.

[MonkeesFan]

I pledge to eat a Blizzard a day to anyone who wants to put up the money for a DQ.

You are going to get sick of eating blizzards 7 days a week

[rcjunkie]

While in Chickasha last week, stopped at DQ for a quick lunch, absolutely horrible. Complained the the manager (young lady app. 21 years old), the only reply I got was "sorry, were training new employees".

[RadicalModerate]

I wonder if she was a "Certified" DQ Manager? (1 of 3)

In looking at the numbers a few posts up, I also had to wonder why a person approaching Millionaire (on paper) would be interested in messing around with opening and running a DQ . . . This may be one reason for their scarcity.

[rizzo]

Because people here for some strange reason go gaga over Sonic. Sonic on a good day is merely average. I want my DQ back as well as taco-tico.

There is a Taco Tico in Shawnee!

[SoonerDave]

I wonder if she was a "Certified" DQ Manager? (1 of 3)

In looking at the numbers a few posts up, I also had to wonder why a person approaching Millionaire (on paper) would be interested in messing around with opening and running a DQ . . . This may be one reason for their scarcity.

There are similar if not worse capital requirements for most of the bigger fast food franchises. I think the net worth requirement for McDonald's was something like $1.5M over two decades ago, something similarly staggering.

[bluedogok]

I looked into it when Krispy Kreme was just starting their expansion, I had some in Pensacola, Florida and looked into what their franchising was. There was a reason why Hal Smith was the franchise holder in the OKC area. The requirements were something like 1,000,000 in liquid capital, 4,000,000 line of credit and the ability to open up multiple locations in a three year window plus having 10 years experience in the restaurant business.

[Larry OKC]

Heard similar numbers from a Taco Bueno manager that was interested in becoming a franchisee a few years ago when they finally opened the franchise door. They wanted someone that could open 10 stores at once. Not 1 and let it grow to 3, then 10.

[bluedogok]

Taco Bueno just started opening up franchises in the Austin area about 4-5 years ago and it was a pretty big franchisee that already had an established chain in the Austin/San Antonio area. We had one a few miles from our house down there, I wish we had them up here in Denver, instead we still have one of the original Casa Bonita locations.

[Larry OKC]

You have the last remaining Casa Bonita. Sadly, all the rest are gone. Have often considered moving to Denver just for Casa Bonita. Especially after Casa closed in Tulsa for the last time. Since they used to be owned by the same folks, they had similar/same recipes.

[reverend]

Brazier is the name of the DQ food menu. I remember the Dairy Queen at 9th and Virgina (10th and Pennsylvania) had a DQ sign with Brazier Foods underneath.

My parents were friends with the old lady who ran that DQ location, and she said that she could not keep up with franchise fees. For a while the place was called the Virginia Dairy Bar. Don't know what the place is called now, if it is still even open as I rarely venture south of 10th on Virginia.

[Roger S]

I believe there was a catering business running out of there for awhile. Do not know if they are still in business or not.

Edit: Found they have a website TW's AFAB Catering

[Tydude]

hopefully one day we can get a Dairy Queen in OKC