MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dairy Queen®, an international retail food and treat category leader, has given new meaning to the term global brand. Owned by Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B), the DQ® system has opened its first three locations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one of which is the largest and only two-story DQ Grill & Chill® restaurant in the world. These openings mark the DQ system’s presence in 16 countries outside the U.S. and Canada.
All three of the new DQ Grill & Chill restaurants are owned and operated by franchisee Al Safwa Food Group, a retail holding group previously involved in the Saudi Arabia casual dining segment. Al Safwa Food Group is slated to open five DQ Grill & Chill locations this year and a total of 32 locations throughout Saudi Arabia by 2015. The Dairy Queen system also has locations in the Middle Eastern countries of Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
“For more than 50 years, we have been expanding the Dairy Queen brand into the international marketplace where there continues to be significant opportunities for us," said Brad Houser, executive vice president of International Dairy Queen, Inc. “What makes these openings particularly noteworthy is that one of these locations will be the largest DQ Grill & Chill we’ve ever opened. We have found that consumers are willing to try new restaurant brands, especially those that offer high-quality food and treat options, so there was great anticipation for the opening of our first Dairy Queen locations in Saudi Arabia."
The Riyadh DQ Grill & Chill restaurants will feature all of the soft-serve products and expansive food offerings that have made the DQ system an icon in the industry. Guests will enjoy DQ signature Blizzard® Treats, soft-serve cones, sundaes, DQ Cakes and MooLatté® frozen blended coffee beverages as well as the DQ system’s popular Chicken Strip Basket and delicious GrillBurgers®. The Tahlia Street location also will introduce DQ Cakes and feature a breakfast menu.
The Dairy Queen system has opened 236 international stores since January 2010, including numerous locations in China, Mexico, the Philippines and Thailand, bringing its total to 841 locations outside the U.S. and Canada.
For more information about Dairy Queen, visit DairyQueen.com.
Riyadh locations at a glance:
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DQ Grill & Chill (World’s Largest) |
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DQ Grill & Chill | DQ Grill & Chill | |||||
| Stall No. 1 Block No. 59 | Riyadh Gallery | Dove Plaza | ||||||
| Tahlia Street | King Fadah Road | G37-53 Dove Plaza Panda | ||||||
| Al Amir Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz | Located in the mall food court | Oum Al Hammam (West) St. | ||||||
| Seating capacity: 240 | Seating capacity: 40 | |||||||
| Square footage: 7,500 |
About ADQ:
American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops, licenses and services a system of more than 5,900 Dairy Queen® stores in the United States, Canada and 16 other countries. ADQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. For more information, visit DairyQueen.com.
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