Dairy Queen franchisee shares big plans for Sioux Falls region

Oct. 27, 2022

With 240 stores across 13 states, Matt Frauenshuh is the nation’s largest Dairy Queen franchisee.

That includes the locations in Sioux Falls and its surrounding communities – a number that soon will be growing.

This week, Frauenshuh was in Brandon, where a DQ Grill & Chill opened near Brandon Valley High School and marked the return of Dairy Queen to the community after about a five-year absence.

It’s on land adjacent to a Sanford Health clinic that Frauenshuh’s company, Twin Cities-based Fourteen Foods, bought from the health system.

“We’re super excited,” Frauenschuh said. “We do a lot with Sanford, so we bought the land from them, and we like working with them, and it’s a great partnership.”

The location reflects the progressive nature of the franchisee, said Kristen Zueger, broker associate with Lloyd Cos., who represents Dairy Queen in South Dakota.

“I love the site,” Zueger said. “They were the first in the country to do the new prototype. They did it elsewhere and made tweaks and tweaks to it, and the Brandon one is the prototype in the final format. So that’s the prototype that Dairy Queen will use across the country, and they were the pioneers.”

The biggest innovations are behind the scenes, reflecting work that Dairy Queen did with Toyota around lean manufacturing, Frauenshuh said.

“So that’s how we designed the kitchen and ice cream area, trying to eliminate steps and make it more efficient,” he said.

“It’s a lot smaller dining room because the drive-thru is a bigger presence. And we built a nicer patio being by a high school; people are going to come here for family events.”

There are also three windows in the drive-thru – one for paying, one for retrieving food and one for waiting if needed.

“So if your food isn’t ready, instead of pulling to a random spot, you pull to the next window and wait there,” Frauenshuh said.

The Brandon location is the latest of many Fourteen Foods is planning in the Sioux Falls market.

Next up will be Tea, where a DQ Grill & Chill is scheduled to start construction in November and open about four months later.

In March, the plan is to start on a new stand-alone location at Lake Lorraine, next to the Avera medical center, which will replace a nearby location in a strip mall on 26th Street.

And, the franchisee has land in Harrisburg in the area of Cliff Avenue and Willow Street. The plan is to begin construction once a road project nearby is done, which could be in a couple of years.

In Sioux Falls, “we have one (site) under contract on the west side, and we are negotiating on something in the southeast,” said Zueger, noting that the franchise group is committed to strategic expansion.

“That really goes back to Matt and his long-term goals and five- and 10-year plans,” she said. “They are the most knowledgeable, ethical, hardworking and determined group I’ve seen from a QSR (quick-service restaurant) standpoint. They have a great team. It’s a Christian-based company, and everything they do they do for the first reasons.”

The Sioux Falls market has been a particularly good fit for the group, Frauenshuh said. While he began franchising in the Twin Cities, store No. 8 was one he acquired on Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls.

“It’s a really strong market for performance. It’s very tax-friendly, the government is easy to work with and so is the rest of the business community,” he said.

“I can’t say enough good things about Lloyd Cos. and Sanford, and even this store, Sanford didn’t have to sell us the land but they said it’s better for Brandon to get another business, and it creates momentum for the community. That’s not always commonplace in the United States, where if all boats rise everybody wins. And I would say that’s one of the biggest things I’ve always known about Sioux Falls is just how strong and altruistic it is. It’s a caring business climate, not a cutthroat business climate.”

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Dairy Queen franchisee shares big plans for Sioux Falls region

The nation’s largest Dairy Queen franchisee — who also owns the Sioux Falls-area stores — opened one new location this week and has plans for many more.

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