‘Moo-ving’ quickly: Dairy Barn ice cream shop, restaurant taking shape on Oswego’s Main Street

Construction is moving rapidly on the new Dairy Barn at 121 Main St. in downtown Oswego.

In his annual State of the Village address, Village President Troy Parlier said the ice cream shop and restaurant is expected to open Sept. 1, with construction having started in early March.

The former Dairy Hut, a summertime institution whose roots go back to 1962 in the village’s downtown, was demolished and the site cleared for the new business last September. The property was purchased for $290,000 by Imperial Investments of Yorkville in August 2019.

Mike Mann, director of developments for Imperial Investments, said that while the structure of the Dairy Hut may be gone, the original mission of the business will be maintained.

“It might not keep the original structure, but it’s going to keep the original intent, which was to provide a place for families to come down and enjoy ice cream or a meal after a baseball game, or for kids to ride their bikes here,” Mann said in announcing plans for the Dairy Barn.

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The Dairy Barn, located on Main Street in downtown Oswego, is expected to open Sept. 1, with construction having begun in early March. (Shea Lazansky)

Architectural renderings for the new building show it will feature a black roof, covered patio and stone exterior. Mann has projected the interior and exterior sections of the Dairy Barn will have combined seating for about 165 customers. The building will be about 5,000 square feet inside, with about 1,200 square feet of exterior seating.

The Dairy Barn will feature an exterior service window behind sliding barn doors, and talks have included the possibility of an interior game space and birthday room on a second floor, Mann said.

While the menu has not been finalized, Mann previously confirmed that items from the Dairy Hut menu will return, including shakes, ice cream, floats, hot dogs, chili dogs, fries and burgers.

Mann also expressed a desire to continue the Dairy Hut tradition of hiring high school and college students to staff the business.

“What we want to do, at the end of the day, with any property we own is make it better for the people here while still trying to maintain some of the downtown feel,” Mann said. “I hope people will really like it. ... I want to keep the feel, and I want to keep what was offered here, so that the same people can come down here and have the same experience, just in a different place.”