While last week ended with snow and icy cold weather, Dan Cuevas – the new owner of Aurora’s iconic Banana Split ice cream shop – made Valentine’s Day the official opening of his first full season at the facility at 820 Church Road.
Cuevas, 28, of Aurora, who took over the shop on Aug. 14 last year, said he was anxious to get the ball rolling and had a better opening weekend to the 2025 season than one might expect.
“This is a product that people have enjoyed for years and I’m not here to change anything,” Cuevas said Monday after his first weekend. “I decided to maximize the time we have as a season, and I think Valentine’s Day is a good point. We can’t dictate the weather – sometimes, it’s 30 or 40 degrees and this year happens to be in the single digits but I think Valentine’s is a good time to start the season. It makes it easy to mark it.”
Cuevas said opening day saw “over 300 people” come to Banana Split.
“It was more than I expected. I knew people loved Banana Split and they love our product and just the experience they have here. Having 300 people here was a bit more than I expected and I was excited to see everybody,” he said. “I was a little nervous at first, but even through the snow people were still lining up.”
From Friday to Sunday, more than 1,100 customers came to the ice cream shop, Cuevas said, adding that “due to the weather, it definitely exceeded my expectations.”
“A lot of people were happy to see us. A lot went out for dinner and then came over to celebrate with us on Valentine’s Day including their anniversaries,” he said.
Former Banana Split owners Randy and Lisa Brown, who continue to support and advise young Cuevas whenever he calls upon them, say they understand their young protege’s desire to get started, adding that he has surrounded himself with some good people as he embarks on his first full-year adventure at the shop.
“We opened once back on Feb.11 but the reason we always opened later than Feb. 14th was because I came from a florist family so I always worked Valentine’s Day,” Lisa Brown said. “Around Feb. 15 or 16, I’d be sitting down and getting the store ready for the new season. When we first opened in 1983, it was Feb. 11th. That was the earliest and since then, it’s always been after. It was the last Friday of the month in February.”
She said she “totally understands why Cuevas would open early,” noting that, “I certainly understand why he wants to get started with the winter and no income coming in.”
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“You still have bills and I totally get that,” she said. “For us, it was out of necessity and the weather can still be temperamental but that doesn’t mean you can’t have excellent, busy days in February. Some of our best days were in February and early March – if you get a nice 40-degree day you can blow the doors off.”
Randy Brown said he has stopped by and helped Cuevas and that the Browns “are making sure he is doing things the way we used to do them.”
“I helped Dan out with timers for the parking lot and things I showed him last year but when you’re away from the place – you forget where everything is at,” he said. “Just minor stuff. We had to put the wind break up to keep people a little warmer. I’m happy to do it and I got my first ice cream cone on opening day.”
Cuevas said the most difficult part of opening was “remembering where some things went and making sure things were as organized and as accessible as possible for the staff when they return.”
About 90% of the staff members are back for the 2025 season, he said.
“I didn’t want things moved around when (staff members) were taking orders and, in the end, I’m the new guy. Even though I’m the owner, I’m the new guy compared to the staff,” he said. “I don’t feel any pressure about being open until the end of October. I wouldn’t have bought this business if I was stressed about it being successful. The foundation it’s built on – people love the product and the experience and because there’s no changes, there really isn’t any pressure.”
Cuevas hopes to introduce fresh fruit cups later this spring and cold-brewed coffee this summer.
“I hope those two add-ons will complement what we have based on conversations with customers and I think people will be excited for those without it changing our identity in any way,” he said.
For the Browns life is good, as Lisa says “I am still smiling about my time off and sewing – definitely sewing.”
“And learning how to live because I certainly know how to work,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.