Oswego's Dairy Hut Will Make Way For Dairy Barn

OSWEGO, IL — The longtime home of Dairy Hut will be demolished to make way for a new ice cream business in town. Development firm Imperial Investments has announced its redevelopment plans for the Dairy Hut site, a new business called Dairy Barn that will offer ice cream and other items year-round.

After nearly 60 years in business, the Dairy Hut closed in August. The building was on sale since before the closing, said Mike Mann, Imperial Investment's director of development. An Oswego resident, Mann said he didn't want the beloved business' former building to end up in the wrong hands.

"I've been going there for 40 years," Mann said. "When I heard the Dairy Hut was closing, I didn't want just anyone coming in and scooping it up."

On Tuesday, Imperial Investments announced its plans for the site at 121 Main Street: it will demolish the Dairy Hut building and build a new, 5,000-square-foot restaurant in its place. Like Dairy Hut, Dairy Barn will have plenty of outdoor seating, with a 1,200-square-foot patio. There will also be a service window.

Inside, Dairy Barn will have seating for about 130 people, Mann said. The new building will allow for year-round service, making redevelopment of the prime Downtown lot more feasible, he said.

"To function out of this building is just not feasible," Mann said of the decision to tear down the Dairy Hut building.

Imperial Investments has developed a number of other popular restaurant businesses in the area, and is working to bring a new restaurant next door to the Dairy Hut site. Dunn said the chef and management team of the those concepts will work on the Dairy Barn as well. The plan is to also serve traditional american fare like hamburgers and chili dogs, as well as soft-serve ice cream, Dunn said.

The project still needs the approval of Village of Oswego officials, and that process is slated to begin in about two months. If the approval goes smoothly, demolition could begin in the spring, Mann said. Construction could begin in June, with the business opened in time for summer 2021.

Mann said initial conversations with village officials went well.

"We want to make sure to keep the original intent," of the site, Mann said. "You can't take an ice cream shop out of Downtown Oswego."

Imperial Investments last week broke ground on its other project in Downtown Oswego, the redevelopment of the former village hall site adjacent to Dairy Hut. The project will bring a three-story building with a ground-floor restaurant and office space.

Mann said he wants to have a mural on that building's walls that would be viewable from Dairy Barn's outdoor seating.

On top of the village hall redevelopment, the city is working on a plan to transform the block surrounding Dairy Hut, including with improved streetscapes and roadways. Plus, the village is working with the state on bringing a stop light to Washington Street, helping create a more pedestrian-friendly area around the two new businesses.

"In the next two years, this will be a completely transformed block," Mann said.