2017 Will Be the Year of Dairy Queen

There’s currently a severe blizzard heading California’s way, and the only thing to do about it is prepare. Dairy Queen, the Warren Buffett-owned fast food chain famous for its burgers and blizzards, is planning 400 new locations across the state, with 200 of those in Northern California. Currently, the closest Dairy Queen to San Francisco proper is in Daly City, though there are technically 17 in the Bay Area (none in Marin or the East Bay, and just one in Santa Rosa — the South Bay houses a few).

DQ hasn’t named any specific locations or even identified operators for the franchies, so it expects the growth to be gradual, but certain. Director of national franchise sales Mike Mettler told the SF Business Times that the goal is to start opening stores in 2017, specifically in family-friendly areas. So watch out, Noe Valley and Berkeley.