DQ Grill & Chill franchise
2025 filing · March 27, 2025GrowingShares sales figures
DQ Grill & Chill at a glance
A Dairy Queen restaurant serving burgers, chicken and DQ soft-serve treats such as Blizzards. At the end of 2024 there were 1,971 DQ Grill & Chill locations in the US, 1,969 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- American Dairy Queen Corporation
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $1.52M–$2.54M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $45,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Renewal fee
- $22,500
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 1,971
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 1,969
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 3 years
- +17
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 43
- Most in Georgia, Indiana and Illinois
Support and records
From American Dairy Queen Corporation’s 2025 filing; revenue and net income from the guarantor’s audited financial statements, page 494; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Guarantor figures are for International Dairy Queen, Inc, the parent company that guarantees the franchisor’s obligations to owners. They cover everything that company and its subsidiaries earn, not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
DQ Grill & Chill among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | DQ Grill & Chill | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $2,029,625 | Costs more than 92% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $45,000 | Higher than 55% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 1,971 | More than 98% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,427,281 | Higher than 77% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.7× | Lower than 92% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a DQ Grill & Chill franchise costs
Opening one DQ Grill & Chill costs an estimated $1,516,200 to $2,543,050. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are building, construction and leasehold improvements ($800,000 to $1,400,000) and equipment (includes signs and point-of-sale systems) ($550,000 to $700,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45,000 | ||
| ALTA Survey(4) and/or Site Investigation Report (SIR) | $0 | $5,000 | |
| Initial Training Fees and Costs | $1,200 | $12,600 | |
| Travel and Living Expenses for Training Programs | $23,000 | $42,950 | |
| Building, Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $800,000 | $1,400,000 | |
| Construction Consultation Services | $0 | $7,500 | |
| Building Plans, Design Intent Plans and Architectural Seal | $15,000 | $60,000 | |
| Equipment (includes signs and point-of-sale systems) | $550,000 | $700,000 | |
| Training Inventory | $6,000 | $12,000 | |
| Opening Inventory | $20,000 | $35,000 | |
| Utility Deposits, Business Licenses and Government Charges | $4,000 | $17,000 | |
| Attorneys’ Fees | $1,000 | $8,000 | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $51,000 | $198,000 | |
| Total | $1,516,200 | $2,543,050 | |
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, page 25
DQ Grill & Chill franchise fee
The franchise fee is $45,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, page 20
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Transfer Fee (for franchise agreement) | $6,000 |
| Renewal Fee (for franchise agreement) | $22,500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, page 21
Other fees as filed, from page 22. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures DQ Grill & Chill publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $1,427,281
- Median sales
- $1,355,422
Yearly figures for 2024, covering franchised freestanding restaurants opened 2014 to 2023 that reported all 12 months of 2024 (321 locations). The average is about 0.7 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, pages 62–64
SBA loans to DQ Grill & Chill franchisees
Lenders approved 136 SBA-backed loans for DQ Grill & Chill franchisees from 2017 to 2026, $132M in all: 96 7(a) loans and 40 504 loans. All 43 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off. The other 93 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | DQ Grill & Chill | Typical burger brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +0.1% / +0.9% | 0% / −2.4% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 1.4% / 4.7% | 3.7% / 6.3% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical burger brand is the median of the 29 brands in burger franchises with three years of counts.
How DQ Grill & Chill compares
Of the 63 burger franchises on this site, DQ Grill & Chill is the 54th cheapest to open and the 6th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | DQ Grill & Chill | Typical burger brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.52M | $556K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $2.54M | $1.52M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $45K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $1.43M | $1.56M | $794K |
| US locations | 1,971 | 25 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 44 of 63 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 63 brands in burger franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,965 (+13) | 2 | +38 | −25 |
| 2023 | 1,967 (+2) | 2 | +41 | −39 |
| 2024 | 1,969 (+2) | 2 | +30 | −28 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: burger franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, page 69
Where DQ Grill & Chill locations are
At the end of 2024, DQ Grill & Chill had locations in 43 states. The most are in Georgia, Indiana and Illinois.
- Georgia200
- Indiana155
- Illinois134
- Minnesota132
- Kentucky131
- Missouri97
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 200 | 0 | 200 |
| Indiana | 155 | 0 | 155 |
| Illinois | 134 | 0 | 134 |
| Minnesota | 130 | 2 | 132 |
| Kentucky | 131 | 0 | 131 |
| Missouri | 97 | 0 | 97 |
| Florida | 94 | 0 | 94 |
| Wisconsin | 87 | 0 | 87 |
| Ohio | 86 | 0 | 86 |
| Tennessee | 78 | 0 | 78 |
All 43 states
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, page 72
Who owns DQ Grill & Chill?
DQ Grill & Chill franchises are sold by American Dairy Queen Corporation.
From American Dairy Queen Corporation’s 2025 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 17–20. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: American Dairy Queen Corporation, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 17–20, bankruptcy on page 20
DQ Grill & Chill filings
The figures on this page come from American Dairy Queen Corporation’s 2025 filing, issued March 27, 2025, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | March 27, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other burger franchises
All burger franchises
DQ Grill & Chill is also on these lists: ice cream franchises, fast food franchises, restaurant franchises, food franchises.