Dairy Queen of Virginia

The vendor opportunity at Dairy Queen of Virginia

Dairy Queen of Virginia is a quick-service restaurant franchise system headquartered in Virginia. According to its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system comprises 83 franchised units with no company-owned locations. The average unit volume sits at $1,641,667, placing it in a solid QSR tier. Year-over-year unit growth declined by 2.35%, a contraction that may signal operational headwinds—and a potential opening for software vendors who can drive efficiency or top-line recovery.

The operator footprint is notably thin. Only one mapped operator appears in the data, with zero multi-unit operators. That single operator runs one location in North Carolina. For software vendors, this means the system is not dominated by large franchisee groups with their own tech preferences. The buying center remains tightly held at headquarters.

Who controls software purchasing

The FDD lists five executives in Item 1. Mark P. Dunham serves as President, General Manager, and Director—the clear top decision-maker for any enterprise software purchase. Matthew L. Dunham holds the Vice President and Director role, and Janice M. Dunham is Corporate Secretary. S. Michelle L. Dunham is Assistant Corporate Secretary, and Christopher S. Lofgren is the Contract & Development Coordinator. Lofgren’s title suggests he handles vendor agreements and development-related contracts, making him a likely first point of contact for software vendors navigating the procurement process.

No CIO, CTO, or IT director is named. In a system this size, technology decisions likely route through the President’s office with input from the VP and Contract Coordinator. Vendors should prepare executive-level pitches that speak to unit-level ROI, given the absence of a dedicated technology buyer.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2025 FDD contains no disclosure of mandated or recommended technology systems. No POS provider, no back-office platform, no delivery aggregator, no loyalty engine is named. This is unusual for a QSR system of 83 units and suggests one of two realities: either the franchisor leaves technology entirely to franchisee discretion, or the FDD simply omits the detail. Either way, the practical outcome for vendors is the same—there is no entrenched incumbent to displace and no formal RFP process tied to a named vendor list.

Vendors selling POS, inventory management, scheduling, or digital ordering should treat this as an open market. The lack of a tech mandate also means franchisees may be running fragmented, legacy, or consumer-grade tools, creating a clear upgrade narrative.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD—which typically discloses designated or approved suppliers—contains no extract in the available data. That absence reinforces the open-procurement picture. Without a mandated supply chain or technology vendor list, the franchisor does not appear to restrict franchisee purchasing through formal channels.

Item 17 outlines renewal conditions. The initial franchise term runs 20 years, with a single 10-year renewal option. To renew, the franchisee must provide written notice between three and six months before the initial term expires, sign the then-current renewal operating agreement, and pay a renewal fee. The renewal agreement caps the sales promotion program fee between 3% and 6% of Gross Sales. Franchisees must also be in good standing and, if leasing, prove they can remain in possession of the premises.

For software vendors, the 20-year term means most franchisees are locked in for long cycles. However, the renewal window—requiring a new operating agreement—creates a natural inflection point where technology stacks get reevaluated. With negative unit growth, the franchisor may also be more receptive to vendor proposals that promise operational savings or revenue lift outside the renewal cycle.

How to read the Dairy Queen of Virginia FDD

The full FDD is embedded below. Item 1 lists the executives named above. Item 17 details the renewal terms. Vendors should pay particular attention to any sections referencing technology, operations manuals, or franchisee obligations around reporting and systems—even if no specific vendors are named, these sections define the operational requirements your software would need to meet.

For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software’s ideal customer profile, FranCloud can help you prioritize outreach based on unit counts, tech mandates, and decision-maker access.