Franchise funding
For owners of DQ Grill and Chill and treat stores, where the soft-serve machine and the summer season decide the year.
✓ Merchant Fund Express starts with a soft credit pull. Terms depend on your location's revenue and history.
Updated October 21, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Merchant Fund Express funds existing Dairy Queen franchisees: equipment financing, lines of credit, revenue-based financing, working capital, merchant cash advances and business loans, from $25,000 to $5,000,000. Treat sales rise and fall with the weather, so we read deposits across the season and after royalty and marketing drafts. A complete file gets a same-day decision, and funding often arrives the next business day.
Franchisees running open DQ Grill and Chill restaurants, older Dairy Queen stores and treat locations. Grill and Chill buildings all have a drive-thru and pair a hot food grill with soft serve and Blizzard treats. In some regions the agreement runs through a territory operator, which changes who receives the drafts but not how the store earns. Summer can carry the year.
Read the burger franchise sector guide and our restaurant industry page alongside this one.
Checked Oct 2026 against official sources: the franchisor's own franchising site, its FDD or SEC filings, or the SBA Franchise Directory. Figures change; confirm current numbers in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document. Figures we could not confirm from an official source are left out.
Already running a Dairy Queen location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing franchise owners with every product below. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
No soft serve means no cones or Blizzards on the busiest days. Equipment financing replaces it; working capital covers a repair. See restaurant equipment repair funding.
Rent, insurance and managers stay on the books when sales fall; see seasonal cash flow funding.
Hiring and first product orders land before the season pays; see franchise inventory funding.
| Need | Product | Published requirement it leans on | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft-serve freezer or Blizzard mixer | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and useful life | Quote, 3 months of statements |
| Winter rent, insurance, manager payroll | Line of credit | Tier 1: 3+ years, FICO 650+, about $25K/month revenue | Statements across seasons, debt schedule |
| Spring hiring and first product orders | Working capital | Tier 2: 6+ months, FICO 600+, $60K verifiable revenue | Statements, supplier invoices |
| Uneven seasonal store | Revenue-based financing | Tier 2: $800 minimum daily balance, up to 2 current advances | Statements |
| Off-season patio or lane project | Business loan | Tier 1; applicant owns 50%+ | Contractor bid, statements |
Tax returns are not part of a typical first review. Spanish-speaking support is available.
Take a Grill and Chill store in a winter month with $62,000 in deposits. Food and supplies are $20,000, payroll $19,000, royalty and marketing $5,900, rent $7,500 and existing payments $2,400. The owner wants to replace a soft-serve freezer quoted at $34,000 before spring.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
A store that is not yet open needs an operating history before Merchant Fund Express can review it; see opening a restaurant franchise. If you already run a store and want another, the current store's deposits carry the review; see second location funding. Buying an operating store follows franchise transfer financing.
Yes. We read deposits with the season in mind, and a line of credit or revenue-based financing fits winter months that run below summer.
Yes. Soft-serve freezers and Blizzard equipment are financed against a vendor quote and the machine's useful life.
No. We read the store's deposits and the drafts it pays, whoever receives them.
Yes, if the business is open with regular deposits. Smaller stores may suit smaller amounts, starting from $25,000.
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent. We use the Dairy Queen name only to identify the owners this page is for; it does not mean the franchisor endorses or works with us.
Merchant Fund Express is independent. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Dairy Queen or its franchisor. Brand names identify the owner audience only.
Merchant Fund Express reviews your location's revenue, deposits and existing payments. Same-day decision on a complete file; funding often the next business day. About five minutes to apply.
