Dairy Queen Grill & Chill receives Bemidji Planning Board approval

Dennis Doeden, The Bemidji Pioneer, Minn.
·1 min read

Mar. 12—BEMIDJI — Plans for a Dairy Queen Grill and Chill restaurant at 1718 Paul Bunyan Drive NW have been approved by the Bemidji Planning Board and owner Andrew Peralta hopes to break ground on the building within two months.

The vote was 4-1, with board members Jorge Prince, Lynn Eaton, Audrey Thayer and Josh Peterson in favor and Emelie Rivera opposed. Members Ron Johnson and Gwenia Fiskevold Gould were absent. The motion was to approve a conditional use permit application for the parcel.

Peralta purchased Bemidji's Lakeside Dairy Queen from Mike Magnan in January. He also acquired the

former Rod's Meats location

with the intention of building a Grill & Chill. With Monday night's approval, he plans to move forward with the demolition of the Rod's Meats building. His goal is to have the Grill & Chill open before the end of the year.

Peralta, who also owns Dairy Queen Grill & Chill stores in Thief River Falls and Mentor, said the new 3,200-square-foot building will have indoor seating for 33 customers and two drive-thru lanes accessible from Paul Bunyan Drive and Balsam Street.

"My goal is to reach out to the guys to knock the building down in a couple of weeks," Peralta said. "I didn't want to jump the gun and knock the building down too soon. We were able to accommodate the city in our plans. We wanted a bigger building, but we weren't able to get a bigger building."

He said 70% of his stores' business is done in drive-thrus.

Meanwhile, business has been brisk at the lakeside location with spring-like temperatures bringing customers in.

"I can't complain about that," Peralta said.