Lee's Dairy Treat Celebrates 50 Years In Brookfield

BROOKFIELD, WI—The octagon-shaped building of Lee's Dairy Treat stands out as you drive along West Greenfield Avenue. Especially at night, the blue neon sign is quite visible.

The exterior of the building at 14040 W. Greenfield Ave. has not changed much in the ice-cream shop's 50-year history except a new ice cream cone-shaped road sign, ice cream cone-shaped garbage cans, the ability to accept credit cards, as well as an expanded outdoor seating area.

Leander Bugs and his wife, Clarice Bugs, established Lee’s Dairy Treat on April 2, 1971. The couple was driving and saw a for-sale sign on the building. At the time, Leander was a factory worker and felt he needed a change, said Nikolas Janik, Lee's vice president of operations and grandson of Leander Bugs, who died in 1999.

"We haven't introduced a lot of change over the years. We focus on delivering that quality soft serve ice cream to our customers," Janik said.

Last year, the store introduced Blue Moon soft serve ice cream as one of the weekly rotating flavors. Janik described it as tasting like Froot Loops cereal and pistachios with an almond extract.
"Other than that, we have kept everything pretty much the same," Janik said.

What remains is that retro feeling of a hand-drawn menu on the wall and a cold treat on a warm day.

Janik — whose mother, Danette Bugs-Janik, is Leander and Clarice's daughter and runs the business — loves sharing the history of his family's popular haunt.

A Sweet Idea

The success of the ice cream stand has come from that nostalgic vibe and an homage to its founder. "My grandfather put his heart into the business," Janik said. "We want to honor his legacy."

Last year for their 50th Season, Lee’s introduced the “HoLee MoLee It’s Heath” Specialty Sundae in honor of Lee – creamy vanilla soft-serve, caramel sauce, and topped with pieces of HEATH candy bar.

Janik added it is a big deal for his mother to go to work and think of how happy her father is from up above.

Janik has grown up immersed in the family business. The family's history is on display inside, with photos of Lee and Clarice and other family members. There are also photos of him and his mom as kids enjoying their first soft serve cone.

"Customer Protection Program"

During the pandemic, the business has made minor changes, such as limiting indoor dining occupancy. Janik told Patch the business was nevertheless able to stay profitable.

"We survived because of our customers, and the local community has allowed us to sustain all the challenges COVID-19 brought," he said.

Janik said Lee's was able to keep their more than 10 employees on staff. Many attend the local high schools. He added the business didn't apply for the payroll protection program or other grants, adding that customers were Lee's protection program. When people love something, they support it, he said.

The hardest thing for Janik's mom during the pandemic was a lack of physical interaction with customers. "She loves talking to her customers," Janik said.

Lee's Dairy Treat runs a contest when it opens for the season in February. The first customer to purchase an item on an opening day gets his or her picture on the wall and a free sundae every month.

Trevor Jameyson of New Berlin was the first customer on Saturday, the first day of the season. Trevor arrived at 5:48 a.m. to wait in line.

"It was great to see all our customers again," Janik said.

Food Fans

Customers often enjoy eating specialty sundaes or malts. Lee's also serves hot items such as hot dogs, burgers and chili and more.

Lee’s serves soft-serve which is different from custard as it only contains five-percent butterfat and is 95% fat-free

An oldie but goodie item is called a Blitz Pie. The pie has multiple toppings blended in ice cream. The ice cream is then layered into a graham cracker pie crust with a chocolate drizzle finish. Customers have to preorder it.

Lee's also offers take-home items such as nut bars, cookie sandwiches and, of course, ice cream. "This is great for people who are in a rush to get home," he said.

Lee's is open seven days a week. You can find more information on their Facebook page or website.