To the uninitiated, a Rainbow Cone with its five colorful ice creams stacked in a seemingly gravity-defying way might seem like a recent Instagram-inspired creation. But Chicagoans, especially those on the South Side, know that the Original Rainbow Cone shop and its photogenic namesake are local institutions that predate social media — along with cellphones, computers, the first fully electronic television, microwaves and a host of other modern-day conveniences.
Launched in August 1926 in a small shack at 92nd Street and Western Avenue, Rainbow Cone turns 100 this year with a slew of events (see below) to mark the celebration. Activities around the city include an immersive experience at the Museum of Ice Cream Chicago and pop-ups at Lookingglass Theatre and Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Back when Joe and Katherine Sapp started the business, Beverly was nothing like it is today. The couple saw potential in the area that was dominated by dirt roads and dotted with apple orchards and summer cottages. A cemetery across the street proved to be beneficial.
“Sunday was their biggest day of the week,” said Lynn Sapp, who was the third-generation owner of Rainbow Cone. “People would go to the cemetery to visit loved ones, and they would stop at Rainbow on their way back to the city.”
A car mechanic by trade, Joe was inspired to open Rainbow Cone for a simple reason. “He always loved ice cream and was fascinated by it,” said Sapp. The five flavors of the cone, originally 12 cents, were a nod to the popularity of the era’s three-flavor Neapolitan ice cream.
Rather than scoops, the Rainbow Cone’s ice creams were sliced into slabs using a special tool Joe created, a clever eye-catching design element that also helped hold it together. The ice creams’ order is the same now as it was then: chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (vanilla with walnuts and cherries), pistachio and orange sherbet on top.
Not too long after Rainbow Cone opened, the Depression started. Sapp credits her grandmother with keeping the business afloat. “Katherine was the businesswoman behind him and threw her nickel around like a sewer cover,” she said, adding that her grandfather was “a genius of a man who could fix anything.”
Joe’s handiwork could be seen all over Rainbow Cone, especially when it moved across the street to a larger location where the couple lived on the second floor of the two-story building painted pink, Katherine’s favorite color. There was a mechanical bird he made that would tell customers to move down the line. It didn’t last long as everybody would stop to look at the bird and no one would move.
Lynn Sapp constructs the namesake Rainbow Cone at the Beverly shop. “When it’s a family business, it’s at your dinner table and you live with it,” said Sapp, who started working at Rainbow Cone’s counter when she was 14 years old. Her three older siblings worked there, too.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The mirrors at 92nd are the same mirrors as when Rainbow Cone opened 100 years ago, Sapp says. “It was Al Capone days. The gangsters were alive and well. So, the way the parlor was designed, [her grandfather] put up mirrors all everywhere. He could stand anywhere in the store and by looking in a mirror, he knew exactly who was coming in.”
During World War II, a shortwave radio Joe built drew in customers with cones in hand to the shop’s back patio eager for updates. “It became an information center for the neighborhood,” Sapp said.
In the ’60s, Sapp’s parents, Robert and Jean, who lived in a house behind Rainbow Cone, took over the business. Growing up, Sapp, like her three older siblings, worked there. “When it’s a family business, it’s at your dinner table and you live with it,” said Sapp, who started working at Rainbow Cone’s counter when she was 14, calling it “an honor and a privilege” despite the long days and hard work.
“When you’d hear people’s stories like, ‘Oh my gosh, I came here with my grandparents and I haven’t had this in 10 years and it brings back such memories,’ that really helps.”
It also didn’t hurt living behind an ice cream parlor. “We always had ice cream all around us,” she said.
While her siblings went on to careers in other fields, Sapp stayed on and took over the business in 1987. First order of business was doing away with the fancy white outfits the staff wore, typical of ice cream parlors back then, and swapping in T-shirts.
Rainbow’s menu had been through some changes, growing and contracting over the years. Sapp put some items back — think sundaes, shakes and floats — and added her own: ice cream cakes and rolls. Pints and quarts followed. The Rainbow Cone’s ice cream recipes, however, stayed the same beyond changes due to new health regulations, such as the pasteurization of nuts. And the namesake Rainbow Cone is still the top seller.
One element of her role that Sapp particularly liked was working with the young staff. “It was part of my mission to send them out into the world where they could produce and contribute and make a good living,” she said. “I used to joke with them that if you’re having difficulties with an ice cream cone, you’ve got a problem.”
Bryan Feltman started working behind the ice cream counter when he was 16 years old. Seventeen years later, he’s still there, albeit now he’s a managing partner. In addition to helping oversee stores, he heads up Rainbow Cone pop-ups like at Taste of Chicago, Lollapalooza and local street fairs.
“I always knew Rainbow was more than an ice cream shop,” said Feltman, who grew up in Beverly going there as a kid as did his dad. “It’s been passed down from one generation to the next and has become a tradition for birthday parties, home run celebrations, first dates and so many other things. There are a lot of memories and emotions attached to this brand.”
Feltman has also been on the frontlines dealing with customers who might be hesitant to try the unique ice cream combo. “It’s five flavors that are great on their own but together there’s just something magical about it,” he said. Rainbow Cone offers customers a replacement menu item if they’re not satisfied, but Feltman can count on one hand the number of times he’s had to do that. “It has stood the test of time for 100 years and that alone speaks volumes.”
After years in the business, Sapp began thinking about winding down her involvement in the company. She also recognized the need to find a company that could embrace technology at Rainbow Cone in a way she wasn’t able to. “The goal was getting as many people to know Rainbow Cone as possible because I think it’s a very unique product, and I’m very proud of it,” she said.
With no family members interested, she reached out to a neighboring Beverly company, Buona Beef, a multigenerational restaurant chain specializing in Italian beef.
The Rainbow Cone ice cream truck was born during Covid, when restaurants as well as the seasonal festivals were shut down. Johnny Buonavolanto’s cousin came up with the idea of an ice cream truck. They painted an old FedEx truck bright pink with white polka dots and brought it to their Buona Beef parking lots. “We had lines down the block and wrapped around the streets,” said Buonavolanto, director of sales for the Buona Companies.
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“She had bigger companies interested but she wanted a Chicago family-owned business to take care of this brand, be a steward of it and honor her family’s legacy,” said Johnny Buonavolanto, director of sales for the Buona Companies. That company was started in 1981 by his grandfather, who, at 90 years old, still comes to the office.
Since Buona came on board as owners in 2018, Rainbow Cone has grown from two locations (Beverly and Navy Pier) to 30, including ones inside Buona Beef restaurants and in states outside Illinois. Buonavolanto assured Rainbow Cone fans that Sapp is still very much a part of the company and consults on key decisions.
During the pandemic, when Rainbow Cone and Buona shops as well as seasonal festivals shut down, they scrambled for a way to make money. Buonavolanto’s cousin came up with the idea of an ice cream truck. They painted an old FedEx truck bright pink with white polka dots and brought it to their Buona Beef parking lots. “We had lines down the block and wrapped around the streets,” said Buonavolanto. The addition of more ice cream trucks was inevitable.
With the anniversary approaching, Sapp is grateful not only to her family but to the city of Chicago and the loyal customers who have embraced Rainbow Cone for 100 years. The uniqueness of the cone itself is a key to the business’ longevity but Sapp also credits her family’s dedication to quality.
“A lot of people tend to go cheaper, and we protect the quality of the ice cream. My grandpa always said, ‘You have to have a great product and maintain the integrity of it. And you have to make sure it’s in a clean setting and served with a smile.’ It sounds easy but it’s not.”
She’s also proud of all the memories Rainbow Cone has created.
“I call it the mini miracle as it’s still around after the Depression and wars and all the other challenges,” Sapp said. “As complicated as people get, it’s still a basic ice cream cone and one of the beauties of it is you have to sit back, relax and just enjoy it.”