The Brown Cow, a beloved ice cream shop on Madison Street, got new business and building owners this week.
On Nov. 4, Oak Park residents Andi and Gustavo de Fraga, and Sarah and Nick Stewart, officially became the new business partners running the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor and Creamery. It was also the last day that Connie Brown scooped ice cream before retiring from the business.
The Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor on the last day of Connie Brown’s ownership on Nov. 3, 2025 | Todd Bannor 
Connie Brown and a Brown Cow employee on Nov. 3, 2025 | Todd Bannor 
Connie Brown (center) with Commissioner Michelle Melin Rogovin, Michelle Jensen, Colleen Nee and Riley Johnson the evening of Brown’s last day owning the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor | Todd Bannor 
Connie Brown with customers at the celebration of her sale of the business | Todd Bannor 
Connie Brown with her fiancé Victor Herr | Todd Bannor 
Connie Brown with long time customers Kathy and Neil Driscoll on Nov. 3, 2025 | Todd Bannor
Brown started selling ice cream in Forest Park over two decades ago. In July, she announced she was putting the building and business up for sale. Brown said she’ll help transition the company to the Stewarts and Gustavo de Fragas over the next month before taking time to rest and be with her family.
“With a lot of thought over the past year, and with the mortgage up for renewal and my three children now adults, I have decided it is time to find new owners who will continue to grow the brand and retire from the ice cream business,” Brown previously told the Review. “The company has grown to a point where it requires increased time and resources to allow it to continue to grow. Essentially, the business I started 22 years ago when I was just 28 years old has outgrown me.”
“This community has been my chosen family,” Brown added. “Thank you for being a part of our lives.”
Brown Cow is located at 7347 Madison St.