Chicago's Rainbow Cone Goes National After 98 Years
Rainbow Cone, a Chicago ice cream shop, is spreading its colorful layers across the country for the first time in its 98-year history. The shop is known for its unique five-flavor ice cream cone, which stacks chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio, and orange sherbet in colorful "slices."
The shop's story began back in 1926 when Joseph Sapp, aka "Grandpa Joe," decided one or two flavors just weren't enough. Fast forward to 2018, and another Chicago food icon, Buona Beef, bought the Rainbow Cone brand.
John Buonavolanto from Buona Beef explained why they partnered with Rainbow Cone: "Lynn Sapp [Joe's granddaughter] wanted to make sure that the brand was in the hands of a good family-run operation. She admired our success here in Chicago and approached us, and we dug into the brand. Rainbow Cone has so much history and brand awareness here and even nationally."
Since announcing franchising two years ago, Rainbow Cone has grown to 21 locations, mostly around Chicago, but they're not stopping there. They've also opened a store in Indiana and recently made a deal to open 10 spots in Texas.
Buonavolanto says it's easy to grow the brand because it doesn't cost much to set up a shop. He added, "The brand has real viral power that people believe in. It's a very visual brand and not just another ice cream shop."
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Rainbow Cone plans to open 30 more stores soon. They're eyeing the Midwest, with a desire to enter new markets like Arizona and Detroit. Florida, California, Tennessee, and Indiana are also on their radar.
The company is careful about choosing franchise partners. Buonavolanto emphasizes their careful approach: "One of the main things that we're highlighting in terms of our franchising efforts is people who live in the markets or near the markets that they want to operate in. Having that local market availability and knowledge is super important to us."
Rainbow Cone brings new audiences a taste of Chicago's unique ice cream history. The company hopes its colorful cones will become a favorite treat for people far beyond Windy City.