Division Street Dairy Queen in Portland: An Update

About a year ago, we wrote about the Division Street Dairy Queen (SE Division and 55th Avenue). At that point in time, the folks at DQ were expecting to start construction in January 2025 with an estimated completion of June 2025. Obviously that has not happened. Permitting surrounding the drive-through is a big part of the saga, and the community has also voiced their concerns with and support of it. Here are some updates.

Note: Aside from encouraging folks to comment on the land use review application, the statements made by the property owner, neighborhood association, community members, and DQ do not necessarily reflect the stance of Bridgetown Bites.

Division Street Dairy Queen: The Letter

A Bridgetown Bites reader tipped me off to the discussion on Reddit about a letter distributed to neighbors that is about the Dairy Queen. It is in support of building the DQ with a drive-through. I’ve since heard from others who have received the same letter. Here it is (click to enlarge):

Division Street Dairy Queen: Timeline of Permits

I thought I’d put the permits for this property in a table, listed by set up date, which is the first date assigned to a permit as it starts its process through Portland’s permitting bureaucracy. Each permit is linked to so you can read its Work/Case Description. This is snapshot of the status as of December 18, 2025.

Set Up Date	Issue Date	Type	Status Notes
7/30/18 (restarted in 2019)	10/11/22	Commercial Building Permit	Admin Hold (latest activity 12/3/25)
10/11/19	10/14/19	Demolition Permit	Final Inspection Approved
1/27/21	10/09/25	Public Street Improvements Permit	Under review (Public Works/PBOT)
4/26/23	4/17/25	Commercial Building Permit	Issued
8/03/23	4/17/25	Mechanical Permit (hot water heater, etc.)	Issued
3/12/24	3/12/24	Sewer Cap Plumbing Permit	Final Inspection Approved
10/10/25	None	Land Use Review: Nonconf. Situation review for Dairy Queen drive-through.	Incomplete
10/10/25	None	Land Use Review: NE – Nonconf. Status Establishment	Pending

As you can see, the majority of these permits have taken years to complete.

It’s the Drive-Through

As explained in the letter, the crux of the situation is the assertion that a drive-through is necessary at the Dairy Queen. There are some things worth noting:

• The original building originally opened in the 1960s and as mentioned earlier, it started out with a drive-through.
• The original building had a walk-up window that people miss.
• The original building was demolished in 2019.
• The city has banned the creation of new drive-throughs in areas zoned CM1, CM2, and CM3. This location is zoned CM2.
• However, existing drive‐throughs are allowed to operate. They can be rebuilt, expanded, or relocated on the site.
• But, if the use of the drive‐through facility is discontinued for 3 continuous years, reestablishment is prohibited. (Source)
• The FX2–Division route began operating on September 18, 2022.

As a reminder, here is the sketch of how the drive-through would work for the proposed DQ, extracted from this document submitted to the city.

I was able to connect with the property owner, Mohan GreWal, who commented on the detail about the three years of discontinued use of a drive-through. He said, “If permits are not issued by the city in timely manner then how I can build in three years?”

He continued, “I just need 12 to 14 months to build after permits are issued. After permits are issued then General Contractor bids take 2 to 3 months. After that, the final bid is submitted to the bank for loan approval, which again takes approximately two months to get an appraisal and loan approval—then the building process starts.”

He added, “The City needs to be fair. The City is short staffed and taking a long time to review the plans. I am still waiting for permits from PBOT. How can I build?” 

The Pros and Cons From Neighbors

Some of the concerns from community members include the noise, pollution, pedestrian safety, and congestion at the drive-through, including how it might interfere with the FX2-Division bus’s transiting along the road.

Other people want to see the DQ return, with the drive-through. Points made include that drive-throughs provide access for those who are disabled and can’t walk (also mentioned in the letter). Some feel a deep sense of nostalgia for the DQ that was there during their youth. The business also pays taxes that provide revenue to the City of Portland.

Some Comments From Neighbors

People have been vocal about this on both Nextdoor and Reddit. Here are some of the things people are saying.

“A drive through there will only result in absolutely fucking up the FX2 timetables.” [Reddit]

“I frequented that Dairy Queen in their final year. Many times I had to pass by because a car was stretched into the bike lane. It was a slow moving restaurant even when you did get in the drive through. They routinely would ask cars to park in the limited spaces after ordering. There’s no need for a drive through at this location.” [Reddit]

“There is nothing life or death urgent about a Dairy Queen not having a drive thru,” said one user. The response: “It does to people who are disabled and cannot walk far.” [Nextdoor]

“As someone who grew up in the neighborhood and graduated from Franklin HS I long for the nostalgia of the DQ to be brought back to the area. However, the lines to get into the drive thru AND parking lot were always problematic for traffic. I hope they find a solution that will allow the DQ to reopen even without the drive thru.” [Nextdoor]

The Division Street Dairy Queen Land Use Review Application

At this point, a land use review application has been submitted for this property (see final item in the table above). It is “to confirm if [the applicant] retain[s] rights under Zoning Code Section 33.130.260.C.2 to reconstruct a Drive-Through Facility on the site.”

A public notice letter from the city was sent on December 1, 2025 to the Mount Tabor Neighborhood Association and to 14 addresses of neighbors around the DQ property and others. This is similar to what happened in my neighborhood when a Land Use Review was triggered by a zoning issue when a property owner applied to erect a 100-foot cell phone tower there.

Use Your Voice

Regardless of your stance on the situation, if you want to contribute comments on this Land Use Review Application, I recommend following the guidelines exactly as put forth by the city. Instructions are in the letter from the city on what to include, where to send your statement:

“Public comments must be received within 21 days of the mail date of this notice. If you
would like to submit written comments, they must be received by 5pm on December
22, 2025. Your comments must be emailed to the assigned planner listed above; please
include the Case File Number, LU 25-083003 NE, in your email.” That planner is Andrew Gulizia, Land Use Services who can be reached at Andrew.Gulizia@portlandoregon.gov.

From the Mount Tabor Neighborhood Association (MTNA)

The MTNA has kept tabs on this situation, as the Dairy Queen property is within their boundaries. On their website, they presented a kind of timeline of their interest in the property this year. It starts in May 2025. Here’s their timeline; below are condensed highlights. Mohan said, “I had a couple of meetings with them and they have been very helpful.”

• May 2025: The MTNA sent a letter to the current property owner letting them know of community interest. They were invited to a MTNA meeting; they did not respond to the invitation.
• July 2025: A community member contacted the MTNA with concerns that the City did not seem to be applying the three-year time limit on drive-throughs for grandfathering-in the continued use of a previous drive-through (at this point, the three years had expired). They were concerned about safety, zoning violations, and the impression of inconsistent standards being applied. They asked the MTNA to ask the City to enforce the three-year limit regulation.
• July 16, 2025: At this NA meeting MTNA Board members voted to send a letter to the City opposing the drive-through and for the City to deny any attempt to reinstate the drive-through unless it lawfully abides by the city zoning code. (You can view the August 1, 2025 MTNA letter here.)
• November 2025: The property owner, Mohan GreWal, attended an MTNA regular monthly meeting. He shared his hopes, concerns, and frustrations. He cited high cost and slow progress of the permit process. He also said the City had not raised the issue about the three-year time limit until late in the process, after he had spend a lot of money. He also defended the drive-through, mentioning improved usability for cars compared to the old setup, reducing the chance of a backup on Division; and suggested an alternative development could cause problems re: parking, traffic. He also said the DQ will create new jobs.
• November 25, 2025: Paul Leistner and Alex Roy (representing the MTNA Board) met with Mohan at the DQ property. 
• December 1, 2025: The City of Portland sent out a public notice inviting public comment on the question of the legality of allowing the drive through as part of the proposed DQ project. (See below for more info.)

Potential Compromises

These are things the neighbors on SE 55th Avenue would like to see the City implement if the DQ drive-through redevelopment goes through. They shared these points with the MTNA:

• A Left Turn Only sign as folks leave the DQ site [and exit onto SE 55th].
• A barrier in the street that prevents right hand turns [on SE 55th as people exit the DQ property]
• A crosswalk to make it safe for students and others to cross Division [to reach the DQ]
• Speed bumps on 55th to slow traffic (if other options aren’t available to mitigate traffic). 

On the MTNA letter sent to the City, Paul Leistner wrote, “Our community has spent years advocating for a more walkable, transit-supportive Division corridor; and this project directly threatens that progress.”

Additional Comments from Mohan GreWal

He said, “This Dairy Queen has been part of this neighborhood over 60 years with a drive-through. A new clean building, new design, and new equipment will give quality food to the neighborhood. A new build uplifts neighborhood look.” He also highlighted the possible jobs created by having the DQ in the neighborhood, and the resulting economic boost to those employed individuals and their families.

He also highlighted the tax revenue that would be generated by the DQ, his views on the importance of growth in an urban setting, and circled back to the damage a slow permitting approval pace has caused his project. “It’s an opportunity to keep the existing businesses going in the city, employment for the people, and revenue for the city and county, ” he said. “We as a country are competing globally. If other counties are growing and building faster, then we need to think and remove the hurdles to build faster.”

He continued, “I could have built three stores in the last five to six years if I had permits approved quicker. Local government needs to create an environment for growth of the city. We need to grow, to give employment to a new generation, and keep them busy so they stay away from trouble. We need to give the best for the next generation.”

And he added later in an email message this morning regarding his view on the point raised regarding how the drive-through would affect traffic. “We do not open till 10:30am,” he explained. “Which in not a rush hour and will not have any traffic issue. Most of the other brands open at 6am.”

Additional Details from DQ

I reached out to my contact at Dairy Queen, Fred Braden. He had some additional insight from the DQ side, which you may find helpful. They, of course, would like the community’s support of this DQ and its drive-through.

“The city noticed us in August [2025] that our drive-through was no longer allowed unless it was completed by the end of September [2025]. We had already broken ground on the project but were waiting for the Portland Public Works Department to approve the civil plans regarding the work needed on Division Street. The civil plans for the DQ have been approved for some time but we need plan approval from PPWD to make sure what we are doing on the site as far as groundwork was not going to change based on plan changes made by PPWD. This has been an arduous process to say the least, but as of last week we have an approval pending permit payment.”

They have filed several appeals to the City of Portland regarding the removal of the drive-through. But citing the “slow pace of approval” and a “changing employment base” has resulted in a difficult expenditure of time and money, especially by Mohan GreWal (who arranged to have the original Dairy Queen building demolished).

“The owner, Mohan GreWal, to date has spent well over $600,000 in permits fees, online clarification meetings with the City’s permit office, impact studies as well as deposits with contractors who have now stopped work due to the current impasse. Mr. GreWal retained a law firm in September to help navigate this process of appeals.”

He also believes the appeal process with the City is not transparent, “meaning it is an internal review from which there is no appeal.” If the Land Use Review gets to the point where folks want to appeal the decision, there will be a hearing in front of a hearing officer and a chance for neighbors to appeal (the Applicant would also be able to attend). He also said, “If they deem the community not in support of rebuilding the DQ then our options are very limited.”

They’ve been canvassing the neighborhood, working to get support from the neighbors.

He offered this. “Fast food restaurants still do about 65% of their business through a drive-through and without a drive-through the revenue the location will do is significantly reduced.”

Also, drive-through use goes up during our rainy Portland winters. This article from DJC Oregon talks about the value of having a drive-through on a property. In the article, Dale Bernards, owner and principal broker of Portland’s Canterbury Commercial said, “They’re definitely much more valuable. If you have a drive-thru that’s available, that definitely creates more value to the real estate.”

“The city seems to think that we should proceed to develop without a drive-thru and that is just not possible,” said Fred. “The project is already projected to cost almost $3 million, not including land costs. The drive-thru is needed to make this project feasible and there has been a Drive-thru at that location ever since it opened in 1966.”

So there you have it. It will be interesting to see what happens with this property. I hope this information is helpful and gives you more of an idea what the different shareholders think. As always, I welcome your thoughts—feel free to comment here or wherever you see this article linked to on social media.

Dairy Queen [projected opening unknown]
5605 SE Division Street, Portland
Dairy Queen website

Updated December 18, 2025 with additional comments from the property owner.