Rainbow Cone is expanding nationally for the first time after almost a century in business

Outside of Chicago, not many people are familiar with the unique creation of the Rainbow Cone. Born 98 years ago, this ice cream cone features a tower of five specific, colorful “slices” of ice cream (instead of scoops). Starting from the bottom it’s a layer of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (a uniquely Chicago flavor of vanilla ice cream mixed in with candied fruits, nuts, and cherries), pistachio, and orange sherbert.

The Original Rainbow Cone (both the ice cream invention and the “slice shop” in the Beverly area of Chicago) was founded in 1926 by Joseph Sapp, aka “Grandpa Joe,”  who — as the story goes — was never satisfied with just one or two flavors on his ice cream cone.

In 2018, the company entered a partnership with and was purchased by Buona Beef: another Chicago-born, family-owned foodservice staple, and purveyor of the iconic Italian beef sandwich. In summer 2022, The Original Rainbow Cone announced franchising and began opening new stores for the first time in the ice cream shop’s nearly-century-old history, including Buona Beef dual-branded locations.

“[The Sapp family] were also a third-generation family-owned business when they came to us because they were ready to retire and has no family to pass Rainbow Cone along to,” John Buonavolanto, director of franchise partnerships for Buona Beef, said. “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. It’s touched so many different generations of people's families, even when people move to new states, and is really one of a kind.”

After first announcing franchising two years ago, Rainbow Cone is already up to 21 locations. Although many of the new stores are in Chicagoland, the brand’s first out of state dual-branded location opened last May in Valparaiso, Ind. The company also just signed a multi-unit deal this May to bring 10 dual-branded Buona Beef/Rainbow Cone locations to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The secret to quickly growing the brand, Buonavolanto said, is the low operating costs, and ease of operation and labor.

“It's a relatively little build-out cost for a shop and the potential to recoup your investment is very quick,” Buonavolanto said. “The brand has real viral power that people believe in. It's a very visual brand and not just another ice cream shop. Of course, we have classic Ice cream shop flavors and sundaes. But that unique signature offering anchors it all. People see how busy the store gets in Chicago and they want to be part of that growth in their new homes in Florida, Texas, California, Tennessee, Indiana, etc.”

Currently, there are 30 units in development, in addition to the 21 that have already opened. Although Buonavolanto said they’re not slowing development, it’s crucial that Buona Beef/Rainbow Cone grow smartly with the right partners. The company wants to continue expanding throughout the Midwest, with the goal of entering the Arizona and Detroit markets next. Six of the stores in the development pipeline will be going in Florida, along with Southern California, Nashville and Northwest Indiana.

“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,” he said. “Having that local market availability and knowledge is super important to us. We don't want to just grow. We want to make sure that we're doing it the right way with people that can add value to it.… We want people whose passion is customer service and making sure that that the Rainbow Cone values and mission are being upheld.”

Contact Joanna at [email protected]