Data Verification Status: Verified Source — Incomplete Data
The FDD source for DQ Grill & Chill has been verified (government filing), but core financial figures were not extracted from this filing — investment range and unit counts are not available. The filing may use non-standard disclosure formats. Request the FDD directly from the franchisor for complete figures. Extracted from 2026 FDD filed with WI DFI (file #640430). Source: 640430-2026-DQ-Grill-Chill.pdf
DQ Grill & Chill
FDD data sourced from 2026 WI DFI filing (file #640430)
DQ Grill & Chill franchise — WI DFI FDD 2026.
Key Metrics
Total Investment
Not disclosed
Avg Revenue (Item 19)
$1,379,954
Gross revenue, 2026 FDD
Royalty Rate
—
2026 FDD
Total Units
Not disclosed
Franchise Overview
| Parent Company | American Dairy Queen Corporation |
| Year Founded | — |
| Franchising Since | — |
| Headquarters | WI |
| Category | Food & Beverage |
| FDD Year | 2026 |
Money: What You Pay, What You Make
Investment costs, ongoing fees, and disclosed revenue — FDD Items 5, 6, 7, and 19
Where Every Revenue Dollar Goes
Approximate allocation of each dollar of gross sales — from FDD Items 6, 8, and 19. Not a profit projection.
Diligence Scores
Computed from government-filed FDD data. Each score is 0–100. Methodology is public and citation-backed.
System Health
Based on Item 20 outlet trends
Franchisor Strength
Insufficient data
Contract Burden
Based on Item 17 terms + Item 12 territory
Economics
Based on Item 19 + fee burden
Confidence
Data completeness + extraction quality
Composite Grade
Economics + Diligence + Confidence
Scores are editorial calculations from cited government filings (2026 FDD). They are not investment advice. Missing economics data does not indicate poor economics — it means Item 19 revenue data is unavailable for scoring. See methodology for details.
Data Coverage
Gov-filed FDD · 2026
5/11
items populated
Item 19 — Financial Performance Representation
| Disclosed metric: Reported Gross Sales— Profit not disclosed | |
| Average Gross Sales | $1,379,954 |
| Median Gross Sales | $1,334,529 |
| Basis | subset |
| Time Period | Annual |
Item 19 Data Quality
Before comparing this revenue figure to other brands, review these data-quality flags.
Gross sales
Figure represents gross sales — standard basis for cross-brand comparison.
Profit not disclosed
Item 19 reports revenue only. No expense breakdown is provided. Profit cannot be determined from this disclosure alone.
Subset of units reported
Item 19 samples may be limited to defined subsets (subset meeting stated criteria), which affects comparability.
Sample size not specified
The FDD does not state how many units contributed to this figure.
Current data (2025)
Revenue figures are from 2025 — recent and relevant.
Average and median close
Average ($1,379,954) and median ($1,334,529) are within 15% — reasonably even distribution.
Fee Structure
| Initial Franchise Fee | Not disclosed |
| Total Investment Range | Not disclosed |
| Royalty | — |
| Marketing / Ad Fund | — |
Operations: The Rules You Live By
Contract terms, territory, suppliers, training, and financing — FDD Items 8, 10, 11, 12, 17
Management Quality — Item 2 (Business Experience)
Strong Management Signal
Leadership has prior franchise system experience; long-tenured executives (5+ years); recent leadership changes detected; 9 senior roles identified.
9
Senior Execs
✓ Yes
Franchise Exp.
✓ Yes
Stable Leadership
△ Yes
Recent Changes
Source: FDD Item 2 (Business Experience) · Extraction confidence: medium
Contract Terms at a Glance
Key franchise agreement provisions — from FDD Item 17. These define your legal relationship.
System Health: Is It Growing or Shrinking?
Unit openings, closures, transfers, and geographic spread — FDD Item 20
Unit Economics — Item 20 (Outlets & Franchisee Information)
Units Opened
+0
Units Closed
-0
Units Transferred
0
| Net Growth | +14 units |
| Turnover Rate | 0% |
Outlet Churn Anatomy — Item 20
Exit-type breakdown for the 2026 FDD reporting period. Source: government-filed FDD.
growing System
System is expanding — net +14 units with 0% turnover. New unit openings outpace closures.
Opened
+0
Exited
-0
Net
+14
Franchisor Strength: Can They Support You?
Financial health, litigation history, and audited statements — FDD Items 3, 4, 21
Litigation Summary — Item 3
Active Lawsuits
0
Trend
Lawsuit Types
Peer Benchmarks
Ranked within food-beverage franchises at a under $150K investment tier. All data from government-filed FDDs.
DQ Grill & Chill ranks above average among peers for avg revenue (item 19)
Percentile rank vs. comparable franchises in the same category and investment tier. For revenue and growth: higher percentile = better. For fees and investment: lower percentile = better (bar shows relative advantage).
Filing Year Changes
Year-over-year comparison across multiple FDD filings. Source: government-filed disclosures.
Avg Revenue — Item 19 (Year-over-Year)
2025 FDD
$1381K
2026 FDD
$1380K
−0.0%
year-over-year
Net Unit Growth — Item 20 (Multi-Year)
Green = system grew · Red = system shrank · Each bar = one filing year
Most recent
+14
net units 2026
Trends & Change Signals
Multi-factor trend detection across revenue, unit count, financials, and litigation. Includes year-over-year comparison.
Overall Trend: stable
No significant deterioration signals. Data is stable across tracked dimensions.
Average Revenue (Item 19)
0% year-over-year
$1,379,954 (2026 FDD)
vs. $1,380,626 (2025 FDD)
Unit Growth Trajectory
Growth improved by 12 units
Net +14 units (2026)
vs. Net +2 units (2025)
Buyer Prep: What to Watch For
Key risk areas, questions for existing franchisees, and community insights
Franchisee Interview Prep
Questions to ask current franchisees — generated from red flags, Item 20 exit data, and contract terms in the 2026 FDD. Prioritized: critical questions first.
The agreement requires mandatory arbitration. Ask: have you ever had a dispute with the franchisor — how was it handled? Did you feel you had recourse?
Look for: Franchisees who've been through disputes. Understand if the arbitration process felt fair or heavily stacked toward the franchisor.
How responsive is your franchisor rep — do they actually help when you have a problem, or are they just checking boxes?
Look for: Specific stories (not just vague positives). Ask about a time they needed help urgently — response time matters.
The FDD does not include audited financial statements. Ask: do you have any visibility into the franchisor's financial health? Have you ever been concerned about the company's stability?
Look for: Even anecdotal signals — changes in leadership, delays in royalty statement processing, reduced marketing fund activity.
If you decided to sell your franchise tomorrow, how easy would that be? Has the franchisor ever blocked or delayed a transfer you wanted?
Look for: Transfer fee surprises, right-of-first-refusal complications, or franchisor demanding upgrades before approving a sale.
Item 2 shows recent leadership changes. Ask current franchisees: has the change in leadership affected support quality, speed of decisions, or the culture of the system?
Look for: Whether the new leadership has franchise operations experience. Disruption in field support after leadership transitions is common.
What did your revenue look like in year 1 vs. year 2 vs. now? When did you reach breakeven?
Look for: Year 1 revenue is typically well below Item 19 averages (which often exclude ramp-up units). Expect 12-24 months to reach average.
What did the training actually cover vs. what you needed on day 1? What do you wish you'd learned before opening?
Look for: Gap between training content and operational reality. New franchisees often report the training covered theory but not real-world situations.
Knowing everything you know now, would you sign this franchise agreement again? What would you negotiate differently?
Look for: This is the single highest-signal question. Listen for hesitation. Franchisees rarely criticize their decision publicly; even mild reservations are meaningful.
Geographic Concentration
State distribution analysis from FDD Item 20 (Table No. 3).
Moderate Distribution
Present in 14 states — moderate geographic diversification.
14
States Active
regional
Coverage Type
0.09
HHI (concentration)
19%
Top state (TX)
Units by State (Item 20)
Community
Not FDD dataAnonymous Owner Submissions
No owner submissions yet for DQ Grill & Chill. Be the first — your data helps future buyers.
Buyer Memo
One-page printable summary: investment, revenue, flags, and questions to ask.
View Memo →Full Diligence Memo
Item 19, system health, red flags, contract terms — cited to the filed FDD.
Full Analysis →Lender Readiness Pack
SBA-ready summary: investment ranges, scenario economics, franchisor financials.
View Lender Pack →Get the Full Report
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Data sourced from the 2026 FDD filed with a state franchise regulator (WI DFI/CARDS filing). Fields not extractable from the PDF are shown as not available. Last updated 2026-04-01.
Extracted from 2026 FDD filed with WI DFI (file #640430). Source: 640430-2026-DQ-Grill-Chill.pdf
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