Ranch Frostie Passes Torch To New Owners

NEW LENOX, IL - Teri Hoyt, the long-time owner of Ranch Frostie, is thrilled to know her beloved ice cream business in New Lenox that has brought smiles and happiness to thousands of Lincoln-Way area families for decades, is not going away. Ranch Frostie has been open every March through October at its current location on Cedar Road since around 1970. It has been an enormously popular warm-weather hangout for children, teenagers and families for decades, and that tradition will resume next month. John Sestak and Jackie Potocki, both New Lenox residents in their forties, are taking over Ranch Frostie.

They plan to have it open in mid-March, weather permitting. Ranch Frostie is located at 1259 N. Cedar Road, near the corner of Francis Road.

"I had very strong feelings on who I was willing to pass the torch to," Hoyt told New Lenox Patch on Friday afternoon during an interview. "They are hometown people, business owners, who grew up in the community. They were friends of my children. They love the business as much as our family. It's a legacy that is just going to continue. It's super."

People around the Lincoln-Way area are expected to be thrilled with Friday's news. The Ranch Frostie Facebook page has more than 5,000 Likes and Followers. But last fall, some people feared it was closing for good after Hoyt announced plans to retire to put it up for sale.

One Facebook reader commented on Sept. 29, "A childhood memory I will never forget. I have brought all my kids there to get ice cream. We are so sad to see it closing down for good we will miss it!"

Ranch Frostie will open in March with new local owners.

The new operators say their children will have an integral role in helping work at Ranch Frostie. Their children are: Stefannie, 18; Keith, 16; Sophia, 15; Myles, 14; Keira, 12; and Mikey, 11.

Teri Hoyt said that people who grew up with Ranch Frostie as a part of their lives won't be disappointed with the transition to the new owners.

"It's going to be Ranch Frostie like it was from the time they were growing up," she said.

Jackie Potocki told Patch she and Sestak are planning no major changes to the food and ice cream menu.

"We want to keep the tradition going," Potocki said.

Sestak said, "Thank you to the Hoyt family for passing us the torch. We're going to do everything in our power to make them and the community proud."

Ranch Frostie has been at Cedar and Francis roads since the 1970s.

Potocki realizes they have a lot to live up to in acquiring the well-known New Lenox ice cream shop. "Teri means a lot to us. It's not just a business transition. It's two families united to get this done," she said.

In 2012, Patch profiled Ranch Frostie for a human-interest feature. The article mentioned how the New Lenox business was originally known as "Fitzer's Frostie" in downtown New Lenox when it opened in 1955. When the shop moved to Francis and Cedar roads in 1970, it changed its name to Ranch Frostie, because the nearby businesses were called Ranch Liquor and Ranch Pharmacy.

Now that February is here, Potocki and Sestak are busy getting their new business ready for another season of bringing joy and smiles to people around New Lenox, Will County's fastest growing community with about 28,000 village residents and about 45,000 people in the region.

For the time being, just like in years past, the business is closed for the winter.

"The boards are coming off in mid-March," Sestak remarked on Friday afternoon.

Hoyt could not be more proud to see Ranch Frostie will be opening again in 2018 and hopefully for many more years to come.

"They are a great asset to the community," she said of Sestak and Potocki. "It makes my heart proud that they're continuing with Frostie as it is. It's never been a chain. It's been where you can go as a family and feel safe. It was like a meeting place, where, no matter the age, you met up with your friends. It's just a good place to go and know that you were going to enjoy yourself whether you were at a baseball game, soccer or football.

"We wanted it to stay family-oriented. We feel that John and Jackie are the ones that will keep that legacy going."

Images via John Ferak, New Lenox Patch, last image via New Lenox Patch files.