The Dari, Hebron’s iconic ice cream shop, gets new owners who aim to keep it ‘same amazing place’

The Dari won’t be closed for long in Hebron.

Sold to new owners this week, the landmark business – known since 1969 as the hometown spot for ice cream, burgers, hot dogs, cheese fries and more – soon will reopen.

The name and almost everything else about the downtown hangout spot at the corner of Routes 47 and 173 will remain the same, said Christine Sawvell, who bought the business with her husband, Ray.

“It is truly our hope to keep The Dari the same amazing place that the town of Hebron has already come to know and love,” she said.

The couple closed on the purchase of the business Thursday, with plans for a soft opening Thursday, Aug. 1. Sawvell said that will include a more limited menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream treats as the couple learns the ropes with help from the previous owners. A grand opening is planned for a future date.

“I hope people will be happy we’re there,” she said. “I’m asking for grace in advance. We’re going to be running into obstacles and things we’re going to be learning, but we’re going to grow as we learn from the mistakes we make.”

The Sawvells also own FarmBoy Farms on Route 47 in Hebron, where they sell baked goods from a bakery cart and offer farm-fresh eggs, honey and hay. The farm has 21 goats, more than 200 chickens, four ducks and four beehives. They also recently brought 11 black angus cattle with plans to sell beef eventually.

Having bought the farm in 2017, the couple didn’t move to Hebron until 2022, when they retired from two companies – a tree service and a mulch company - they owned in Mundelein for years.

Since moving to Hebron, Christine Sawvell said, they’ve gotten to know and love the town.

“When we saw that The Dari was for sale, we thought it might be fun to do that, to meet people, run a little business. It’s literally right down the street from us,” said Sawvell, who met her future husband at age 13 while working at a park concession stand.

They knew the town wouldn’t want The Dari to change once the previous owners, sisters Martha Johnson and Mary Noonan, decided to sell the business.

Johnson and Noonan’s parents, Ruth and Ham Wilson, bought what was then a Dari-Delite chain restaurant in 1969. Even before that, Ruth Wilson worked at the restaurant. After the purchase, the Wilsons’ four children all worked there beginning in high school. When their mother died in 1988, the two sisters took over.

“There are some big shoes to fill. I’m not looking to fill their shoes because they did an amazing job,” Christine Sawvell said. “I just would like to put my own little footprint in there and continue what they did.”

The last day for Johnson and Noonan was July 21. Regulars lined up throughout the day for treats and to say goodbye to the longtime business owners, who had put the business up for sale in 2022. Looking to retire, they remained there until the Sawvells bought it.

“It took us a little bit longer to sell, but we’re sad [to leave] because we love our customers,” Noonan said. “We love the kids we work with and the adults we work with. We just love our community. They make our day fun every day when we come to work.”

The Dari always has been open from April to October. Sawvell said she’d like to stay open longer, both earlier in the spring and later in the fall, depending on the weather.

“Once I get my feet wet a little bit, I’d like to expand the menu a little bit,” she said. “It’s basically going to be a learning curve for us.”

She intends to look into offering scoopable, hard-serve ice cream along with soft-serve but said she likely will need different freezers. She also plans to offer employment to previous workers who would like to remain at the business.

The previous owners often would hire high school students they hand-picked. Johnson worked as a server at restaurants and as a lunch lady at the schools, while Noonan taught physical education in Hebron schools.

“They’re a part of our family, and we love them,” Noonan said of her employees.

The sisters have been a help to the new owners in handing off the operation, Christine Sawvell said.

“We want the new owners to be successful,” Noonan said. “We’re going to help them and get them going in the right direction, and then it’s all theirs.”

After that, she said they intend to spend more time with family, garden, read a bit and “just enjoy life year-round.”

“Family-owned businesses need to be supported by their community, and our community has been 200% supportive of us our whole lives here,” Noonan said. “We’ve built up lifelong friends we met at the window, handing them ice cream cones. People brought their kids, and now those people are bringing kids here. We want that to continue for the new owners.”