Burgers and Blizzards might be rolling out of hungry customers’ cars onto Pemberton Square Boulevard by spring, as workers began laying the foundation Thursday for a Dairy Queen Grill & Chill store.

Completion of the fast-food chain’s re-entry into the Vicksburg market is expected by May 10, said Charles Mosley, vice president of operations for the chain’s Mississippi stores, when reached as the first phase of construction began. Hiring managers will take about 30 days, Mosley said. The store is owned by David Johnson, owner of Dairy Queen stores in metro Jackson.

The new store is being built on a 1.8-acre strip of land between Wendy’s and Kroger. It would be the city’s first Dairy Queen since a freestanding location at 3404 Halls Ferry Road closed in 1996.

Once completed, it would be Mississippi’s 14th Dairy Queen-branded store. Eight of the 13 stores in the state carry the chain’s Grill & Chill concept, which has featured breakfast menus, open-air grills and limited table service at previous locations.

About 4,800 Dairy Queen locations operated in the U.S. in 2014, employing more than 20,000 people. The chain is a wholly-owned subsidiary of multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, run by investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet.