PORT ORANGE – As Blizzard soft serve ice cream continues to be the most popular item on Dairy Queen’s menu, the city’s new DQ Grill & Chill restaurant will offer more dining options and hopes to become the new ‘restaurant’. home ‘of the city. .

The quick-service restaurant, which opened on September 5 on Clyde Morris Boulevard just across from the Walmart Neighborhood Market, offers outdoor seating and drive-thru.

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Owner Pragnesh Patel said in an interview that while Blizzards (thick, soft ice cream served in a mug) have been the restaurant’s best-selling item so far, customers have come to dine with their ice cream and other desserts.

“They are very happy to go downstairs for their lunch and their ice cream. We’ve received a lot of praise online, ”Patel said. “Dairy Queen isn’t just ice cream, it’s a complete chain. We have so many varieties in the food.

The restaurant offers several burger options, as well as crispy or grilled chicken sandwiches and hot dogs. The prices for the burger and sandwich combos range between $ 7 and $ 10, while customers can purchase individual items for less.

Along with the famous Blizzards, which come in flavors like pumpkin pie and mocha fudge, the restaurant also offers Blizzard cakes, which Patel said many patrons were unaware of.

Patel has other Dairy Queen stores in central Florida, and his involvement with the brand has enabled him to realize the potential for expansion.

“It’s always exciting to bring the Dairy Queen name to a new community and Port Orange is no exception,” Patel said in a press release. “I look forward to expanding our reach in central Florida and seeing the new Port Orange restaurant flourish. “

The new Port Orange DQ employs 62 people, with 10 to 15 vacancies, Patel said. Plans for the inauguration are still underway; Patel expects to hold the event closer to the holiday season.

Patel said the main purpose of the restaurant was to get customers to come to the new DQ and feel like it was “their home restaurant”.

Another decades-old Dairy Queen site has managed to achieve such success in New Smyrna Beach, where the location (although much smaller than its Port Orange counterpart) has become a staple for residents looking for their own. blizzards and their ice cream.

“Some people come and sit here for two hours,” Patel said. “They feel like” this is my restaurant. “”

Patel said all of the Dairy Queen sites he operates (Leesburg, DeBary, DeLand and others) strive to collaborate with schools and “try to provide the best community service.”

“We try to provide the best service, the best food and the best atmosphere for our community – that they come here and enjoy the party and enjoy the food,” Patel said.

The new Port Orange DQ Grill & Chill is located at 3817 Clyde Morris Blvd. It is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.