A Day in the Life: Terry Smith of Dairy Queen

Since he was 10 years old, “a day in the life” at a Dairy Queen* location has been the norm for Terry Smith. The son of franchisees of the iconic brand, Smith learned the ropes of perfecting the recognizable soft serve swirl at an early age.

While he forged his own path, attending college to earn a degree and pursuing an accounting career, Smith found himself returning to his roots when he purchased a DQ restaurant in 1998.

“Once the soft serve gets into the veins, you always have an attachment to DQ,” Smith said.

Now, Smith owns and operates two DQ Grill & Chill locations with his wife Mary in Bowmanville and Courtice, Ontario, which are the number two and three top performing stores in the province.

“I chose to stay with the DQ brand instead of buying into another concept because of the brand image that we have with our customers,” Smith said. “That’s important. People come to Dairy Queen because they’re happy. It’s a fun brand both for the fans and for franchisees.”

And beyond the fun, Smith saw an opportunity for success.

“Dairy Queen is a strong brand that allows people to be successful through the franchise model,” Smith said. “I knew from my parents’ experience as franchisees that I would have a better chance to succeed with the brand than if I started ‘Terry’s Sandwich Shop.’”

Smith’s high performing restaurants prove that his choice to stick with the family trend was a smart one. Terry and Mary are heavily involved in the day-to-day business of both the Bowmanville and Courtice locations, coordinating everything from employee scheduling to building maintenance.

In terms of division of work, Mary runs daily operations at the Courtice location, managing cake ordering and designing, as well as managing employees and working on the floor during the lunch rushes. Terry spends time between both the Bowmanville and Courtice locations, serving a general manager role, which includes checking on logistics, sales, orders, data analysis and hiring.

“We’re very hands on and proud of what we have done,” Smith said.

In order to keep operations running smoothly, Smith gave a nod to the support of the Dairy Queen system.

“DQ has always been a partner as a franchisor,” Smith said. “It may sound corny, but it has always felt like a family that could work things out. This was something I saw that my parents had and something I continue to experience.”

As the Smiths prepare for the extra busy summer months, hiring efforts ramp up from the usual 110 employees shared between the two locations. While Smith said that they don’t typically lose hires to other QSR restaurants, many employees leave for college or get jobs post-college that require a constant flow of new employees. This was even the case for the Smith’s own children.

“All three of our kids worked for us through high school and post-secondary, but we’ve encouraged all of them to get an education and take the opportunity to do something outside of the family business. Currently, they’re all pursuing other careers but at some point, may come back around.”