Dairy Queen has plans to build 10 new locations in Tulsa area
TULSA — Dairy Queen has plans to more than double its presence in the Tulsa market over the next several years.
The quick-service franchise is hoping to open at least 10 DQ Grill and Chill locations in the area over the next five years.
Currently the chain has seven locations in the Tulsa Designated Market Area, which ranges from the Arkansas border west to nearly Cushing and McAlester north to Independence, Kansas.
Mike Mettler, vice president of franchise sales and development in the U.S. and Canada, said the planned expansion is in response to demand from customers in the area.
“The underlying reason for more locations in Tulsa is that we have fans who don’t have easy access to a store,” Mettler said. “I get emails from fans who tell us they want us to be there.”
The company is actively recruiting franchisees in the area and looking for suitable locations. The typical Grill and Chill is about 2,600 square feet with a minimum lot size of 38,736 square feet.
The hope is to build two new area locations a year with the first two new locations opening by the end of 2018, Mettler said.
The last new Dairy Queen locations to open in Tulsa came online in 2015.
Nationwide, Dairy Queen has grown at a pace of about 80 to 90 stores a year.
“That’s meaningful growth, and it’s a reasonable rate if you look at overall growth in the U.S.,” Mettler said. “We consider ourselves in the quick-service burger category, and we’re one of the fasting growing companies in that segment.”