Dairy Queen is looking at nearly doubling their presence in Manitoba, and Virden is looking attractive to this restaurant that describes itself as quick serve, casual. Dairy Queen has 650 locations within Canada, only 30 in Manitoba, and Chris Falle Director of Development in Canada says there is room for new DQ stores.
“From site analytics, we recognize that one of the provinces that we’re significantly underserved in is the province of Manitoba. What we’ve done here, we’ve identified 25 new location opportunities within the province.”
He sees drive-through convenience as important for Virden, located on the TransCanada, but also for local customers.
Falle says, “We have significant interest from a franchising point of view. So, really, step one is to secure the franchisee, step two is to secure the real estate; and, then, obviously the build-out from there.”
While Winnipeg is an important market for DQ, he says the franchise has enjoyed success in small centres.
The Dairy Queen brand is apparently strong in Saskatchewan, where franchisees have a strong community involvement.
“We’ve done an unbelievable job, building in small town Saskatchewan... they actually sold our highest average unit volumes anywhere in Canada,” Falle explains.
Recently a DQ Grill & Chill Restaurant opened in Wakaw, SK. The small communities of Davidson and Tisdale also have DQ.
“When you look at those three communities, they have a combined population of about 6,000 people. Virden is very much a metropolis in comparison to those communities,” he said.
Part-time staff plays an integral role in the restaurant that requires between 40 and 60 staff. The non-licensed restaurant can employ the under 18-years demographic, and up to 70% of those are part-time.
In 1998, DQ was purchased by Warren Buffett, a man who, according to Forbes Magazine, is “one of the most successful investors of all time”. He’s an owner of around 60 companies including Duracell. Under Buffett’s ownership the company has paid attention to their meals, as well as creating cool treats.
DQ is focusing on the Grill and Chill brand, continuing traditional burgers and chicken strips, as well as a list of salads and what Falle terms as artisan sandwiches.
Frozen cakes tend to be big sellers, and Falle boasts, the iced milk in their treats is 95% fat free. He says, “Grill and Chill is really stepping out of that traditional fast-food type of restaurant, more into a quick, casual dining experience. There’s TVs, soft seating, couches, and armchairs, for example. The colours are warmer, there’s more lighting.”
The recent announcement is very preliminary. Falle says, “I’d like to let Virden know we’re interested in coming. We’ve identified it as a market place we need to be in, we want to be in, we really should be in. If there’s someone within the local community that has interest in pursuing a franchise, we are open to that.”
