Currently, the Central Valley, Fresno area has one lone Dairy Queen located in the food court at Manchester Center. Mike Metler, company’s director of the national franchise sales, said that isn’t enough for the local market, which is not only home to many Dairy Queen’s fans, but presents vast opportunities for the brand.

“Fresno is a big market area and we only have one Dairy Queen there,” Metler said. “We’re on national television there, yet only have the one location.”

By comparison, Mike Metler said company’s direct competitors have between 10 and 20 stores in the Fresno market. To remedy this discrepancy and provide the tasty treats Central Valley fans of the brand want, Dairy Queen will be bringing an initial five stores to the area, with a greater goal of having 10 to 12 stores down the road.

The timeline for company’s growth is slow and steady, Mike Metler said, and the brand will focus on opening one store at a time. The first new Fresno area Dairy Queen will most likely open at the end of 2017, he said.

“It has as much to do with the quality of growth as the growth itself,” said Mike Metler . “We’re going to focus on opening one great store. Even though we plan to have five and then grow to 10 or 12, we’re just going to focus on one at a time.”

Those interested in becoming a Dairy Queen franchisee can also visit http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/Company/Franchise-With-Us/

“We want people are passionate and have restaurant experience or are in real estate,” Mike Metler said. “The market in Fresno and the strength of the company’s brand make this a great opportunity for the right franchisee and it will be good for employment and create real estate value.”