Dairy Queen - Pricing

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storewanderer
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Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by storewanderer »

What is pricing like at Dairy Queen generally speaking?

In Sparks, NV there is a very old franchise Dairy Queen. It has been there forever. I think it may have recently changed ownership. I went there a couple months ago and a small standard blizzard cost $4.99. A few flavors had a higher cost, I believe 5.79, for small. This seemed like a much higher price than I recall in the past.

This week I went to a Pilot Truck Stop with Dairy Queen inside in Fernley (30 miles from Sparks), run by Pilot. I was somewhat surprised to see there, a small Blizzard cost 3.69 (4.29 for the "royal" ones). Pilot also runs a Wendy's. The Wendy's pricing was basically about 10% higher across the board than a typical Wendy's (the Wendy's in Reno or Sparks).

So is Pilot just under-pricing its Dairy Queen, or is the one with the $4.99 Blizzard just seriously overpriced?
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Re: Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by Romr123 »

That pricing seems overpriced...I think small Blizzards around here are 4.29 (kiddie size are 3.79; and the deluxe/extra topping ones are another 50 cents). We're in the land, though, of 60 year old walk-up DQ stands, so take that as you will...most of the ones around inner-ring Detroit are still seasonal.
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Re: Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by Brian Lutz »

In general, fast food pricing is on the high side around here compared to a lot of places. Usually when I go to DQ it's to get the 6 Buck Lunch (which lets you upgrade the sundae to a small Blizzard for $1) but if I recall correctly a small Blizzard is typically somewhere in the $5.29 range here. If I look at some of the local DQs on Uber Eats, I see that the one closest to here shows a menu price of $6.82 for a small Blizzard which would be around a 25% markup over the in-restaurant menu price. Looking through Google Images I see one from April 2020 that shows a price of $5.59 for a medium Blizzard.

As another point of comparison, a small Blast at the local Sonic (Marysville) is $3.99, and I believe a McFlurry goes for $3.49 at most McDonald's locations. Quite frankly I think I like the Blast better anyway (less flavor options, but better ice cream).
Last edited by Brian Lutz on September 13th, 2021, 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by Super S »

I am not sure what the current price is, but I know that a small Blizzard is above $4 where I live. While I generally like Dairy Queen, the local ones have been drive-thru only since the pandemic began, and their drive-thru is one of the slowest around, and usually has a long line of cars, so I have been avoiding them.
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Re: Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by Brian Lutz »

I went to the DQ in Woodinville for lunch today, and saw that a small Blizzard is priced at $5.59 in that location. I know Woodinville is definitely on the expensive side compared to a lot of places here, but that price seems sky high. I suspect if I went to the DQ in Lake Stevens I'd find the prices to be lower at that one.
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Re: Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by Bagels »

The DQ's near me range from $4.50 to nearly $7 for a small-sized, non-premium blizzard. The higher price point is seen mostly at beach and mall locations, but even aging, legacy stores are creeping up there...
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Re: Dairy Queen - Pricing

Post by storewanderer »

Quite a wide range of prices. I suspect Pilot is near whatever the "national suggested price" is and these locations in larger markets with the $5 range pricing on a small blizzard are just flat out priced outrageously.

I looked at a few McDonalds in NV and see small McFlurry ranges from 2.79-3.99 depending on the location.
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