The Stafford County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a conditional use permit for a drive-through built into a new Dairy Queen restaurant.
The restaurant, known for ice cream-based desserts like the Blizzard, will be near a Waffle House at Celebrate Virginia, off of Route 17 in the Hartwood district in south Stafford.
The single-story, 2,375 square foot restaurant will sit on nearly two acres. The site would also include a separate 1,400 square foot quick-service restaurant attached to the Dairy Queen.
The new Dairy Queen will also share a vehicle access road with the nearby Waffle House. Vehicles will access either restaurant via an existing access drive between Route 17 and Civilian Street. There would be no direct access for cars from Route 17.
A county traffic study of the area showed there would be minimal traffic issues due to the development of the new Dairy Queen. The only negative result to traffic found in the study was an additional one-second delay of traffic at a stoplight leading into the access road.
Before Supervisors heard the case, the permit county Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the conditional use permit at its meeting on January 12. A permit is required for a restaurant to have a drive-through window.
This will be the fourth Dairy Queen to open in the Stafford County/ Fredericksburg area; the three existing restaurants are located at the Spotsylvania Towne Center in Fredericksburg as well as 207 Kings Highway and 10907 Courthouse Road in Stafford County.
Once located at Aquia Town Center in North Stafford, a Dairy Queen restaurant closed.
