How to Start a DQ Treat Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

The federal and ADQ disclosure clocks are distinct. The FTC franchise buyer guide states that the FDD must be received at least 14 calendar days before a binding agreement or payment to the franchisor or affiliate. ADQ’s 2026 application instructs applicants to sign and date the FDD receipt at least 16 days before returning the application with the deposit. Use the actual disclosure and receipt dates in your transaction.

For one new DQ Treat location, the Franchise Application states minimum gates of $175,000 in liquid assets and $125,000 of equity in the project. Actual equity can be higher because of project or lender requirements. The FDD does not disclose a minimum credit score or a fixed minimum number of years of restaurant ownership experience.

ADQ reviews all owners for current financial, operational, criminal, credit-history, legal, and other eligibility factors. Applicants must attend discovery day at ADQ’s Franchisee Support Center in Minneapolis or other in-person meetings if required. Meeting minimums does not itself award a franchise.

If the franchisee is an entity, owners sign the Undertaking and Guarantee, and the Ownership Addendum identifies owners and the Controlling Owner. The Controlling Owner need not manage daily, but first-store Designated and Assistant Managers must meet ADQ’s management-experience requirements, devote full time to on-premises management, and complete required training before management duties. Source: 2026 DQ Treat FDD, Items 1 and 15; Exhibit D.

The sequence separates approval, award, site consent, buildout, training, and opening authorization. Site work can interlock with approval and agreement timing, so the written consent letter and executed agreements control transaction-specific sequencing.

These are comparable day-length process windows, but their triggers differ. Do not add them together as one opening schedule.

A standard new DQ Treat franchise is a site-only license for one authorized location and does not include an exclusive territory. ADQ site consent is not a sales guarantee or surrounding-area protection.

The Operating Agreement requires written consent to the location and building plans before purchase or lease of the location or construction. Item 8 separately says ADQ has the right, but not the obligation, to approve the lease itself before execution. After a lease is executed, the franchisee must provide it and its exhibits to ADQ within five days. Site consent, lease review, building-plan approval, and territory rights are therefore distinct.

The franchisee hires the architect and a locally licensed general contractor, obtains permits and architectural seals, adapts plans to local codes, and coordinates construction and approved equipment. ADQ provides defined design information, plan review, and construction consultation but does not perform turnkey construction or guarantee legal compliance. Prototypical design intent plans are valid for six months unless ADQ gives a written extension.

Construction-related agreements require liability insurance no later than construction start. The disclosed minimum is at least $2 million per occurrence or a higher applicable threshold, with required certificates and endorsements. Local permitting, utility, inspection, and occupancy timing remain third-party dependencies.

The application asks whether a transaction is part of a multi-unit development agreement, but the 2026 DQ Treat FDD’s core offer is a single-unit Operating Agreement. Any separate multi-unit schedule or trade-area reservation must be verified in the agreement actually offered; do not import deadlines from another DQ concept.

A first DQ Treat store requires the Designated Manager and one Assistant Manager to complete ADQ’s required initial training and maintain certification. Item 11 identifies the MTRA, qualifying SERVSAFE certification, ADQ’s three-phase initial certification program, and continuing education used to maintain certification.

The MTRA precedes ADQ training. After a first failure, a trainee may retry after 30 days; after a second failure, the wait is one year; no trainee may attempt more than three times. ADQ recommends beginning required attendees at least three months before opening. The official ServSafe Manager page provides current program information, while the DQ Treat FDD controls ADQ’s franchise-specific certification requirement.

Training completion is still not opening authorization. The Operating Agreement also requires ADQ’s pre-opening schedules and procedures, dry-run training, and other pre-opening requirements. ADQ must notify the franchisee that all such requirements are met before operations begin.

Confirm in writing which format and agreement path applies, the date starting each contractual clock, the site-submission package, consent-letter conditions, required training attendees, and what ADQ requires for final opening authorization. For a conversion or acquisition, verify which legacy rights survive and which current requirements replace them.

Verify external timing directly with the relevant lender, landlord, architect, contractor, suppliers, insurer, and government authorities. The FDD does not create one universal local-permit list or promise that financing, zoning, utilities, inspections, or occupancy approval will finish within the typical 4–8-month range.

The FDD also requires approved EPOS/payment systems and PCI compliance. The PCI Security Standards Council’s PCI DSS page is the authoritative payment-data standard; ADQ’s FDD and vendor agreements determine the required franchise systems.