Andrew Peralta builds on early success with purchase of Bemidji Dairy Queen

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

Jan. 25—BEMIDJI — Andrew Peralta was 15 years old when he got a job at his local Dairy Queen. Now 34, Peralta owns three DQ stores.

Two weeks ago he bought Bemidji's Lakeside Dairy Queen from Mike Magnan, whose family had owned the local franchise for nearly 40 years. Peralta also has purchased the

former Rod's Meats building

at 1718 Paul Bunyan Drive NW with the intention of building a Dairy Queen Grill & Chill on the site.

Peralta has been busy this week changing out some equipment at the Lakeside store. He plans to discontinue serving hot dogs and barbecue sandwiches in order to focus on cakes.

"I hope to open for the season as soon as I can, sometime in February," he said, adding that he plans to keep it seasonal. But he would consider having it open year-round "if it's busy enough."

Peralta is working with International Dairy Queen and the city of Bemidji seeking approval to build the Grill & Chill at the former Rod's Meats location. It would include some indoor seating and two drive-thru lanes and the current building would be torn down.

"I hope to start building later this year and be open by December," he said.

Peralta grew up in Thief River Falls, where his DQ career began at age 15. He worked his way up to general manager, and by the time he was 20, he knew he wanted to buy the business. He saved up much of the money he needed to buy the Dairy Queen by buying homes, fixing them up and reselling them. He even sold his own home and lived at a friend's house for a few months, he said. He was 25 when he bought the store.

Last year he replaced the Thief River Falls DQ with a newly built Grill & Chill.

In 2016, Peralta was named Minnesota's Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He later bought Dairy Queens in Mentor, Pelican Rapids and Roseau. He has since sold the Pelican Rapids and Roseau stores to his siblings but continues to own the Mentor location.

Mike Magnan's father, Ted, bought the Bemidji Dairy Queen locations in 1985. At that time, in addition to the Lakeside location, another walk-up DQ was located where Buffalo Wild Wings now stands. Mike started working with his dad as a college student, and eventually bought the business.

A store was added in the Paul Bunyan Mall in 1987 and remained open until 2021.

He said International Dairy Queen has been pushing him to add a Grill & Chill in Bemidji and he was not ready to commit to expanding. He said he has been working on the sale with Peralta for more than a year.

"It's bittersweet," Magnan said. "It's a bit surreal. I don't know where I heard it, but the time to sell is when you're on top. And 2023 saw our best day ever, our best month ever, our best year ever in sales, and it was the shortest season we've ever run."

Because of unseasonable spring weather, the store did not open until April 11 last year.

"I will miss the people, the regular customers, the employees, and working with community nonprofits and organizations," Magnan said. "But (Peralta) is raring to go, and that's what it takes."