How The Original Rainbow Cone Has Delighted Customers for Almost a Century

The rainbow cone is “perfection,” says Marcel, who once brought his daughter and now brings his grandson Messiah to the bright pink Beverly shop. “Who comes up with this collection of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio, and orange sherbet?”

To answer Marcel’s rhetorical question: Joseph Sapp. He and his wife Katherine opened a shop at 92nd Place and the dirt road Western Avenue in 1926, back when the neighborhood was little more than countryside. In the early years, Katherine managed the store during the day while Joseph worked as a Buick mechanic. The Sapps had a few food offerings and drinks at the beginning, but the star of the menu was their ice cream, particularly a five-flavor combination in a cone that Joseph dreamed up. The rainbow cone was so popular that they phased out other menu items in favor of it.

As the Sapps’ customer base grew, so too did the store. After buying the land where the current shop sits, the couple added on to it in phases. Eventually they built an apartment above the shop, from which they could conveniently manage the business that would become their legacy.

“That was our life,” says Lynn Sapp, the granddaughter of Joseph and Katherine who now runs the business. She and her three older siblings all had jobs in the shop when they were young. “I couldn’t wait to get behind the counter.”

She took over from her parents Robert and Jean in 1987; Joseph and Katherine had passed the shop down to them in the ’60’s. Everyone has introduced their own innovations, from modern conveniences such as air conditioning and electric cash registers to new specialties such as a rainbow cake and sliced and stacked flavored combinations such as mint and chocolate that debuted earlier this year.

But the original rainbow cone has always remained. “It’s the same as it was 75 years ago,” says Dan Rafferty, who grew up at 79th Street and Racine Avenue. “It’s awesome!” While one of his guests had tried the treat at the Lincoln Park Zoo and loved it, Rafferty insisted that “it’s not the same – this is the best!”

“He wouldn’t let us order anything else,” said his guest Jen Kramer.

Rainbow Cone’s eponymous sweet treat consists of five rectangular slices (not scoops) of ice cream stacked in a gravity-defying tower. Palate-cleansing orange sherbet crowns layers of pistachio, Palmer House (vanilla with cherry and walnuts), strawberry, and chocolate ice cream that all melt into each other on a warm summer day.

In the early twentieth century, ice cream came in a box, according to Lynn Sapp; slices were cut out using a flat paddle-like tool. Rainbow Cone still serves the ice cream for their signature treat this way rather than scooping it into spheres, allowing for a stable stack of five flavors.

On its busiest days, the shop sees between 550 and 600 customers and can go through 15 to 20 buckets of ice cream, according to general manager Abraham Soto. Lynn Sapp believes that the constant stream of customers has helped beget further success. “Our secret was that we were so busy that our stuff was very, very fresh because it was gone,” she says.

Even as she has introduced new variations on the classic, she says she has always adhered to her Grandpa Joe’s philosophy: “Anything you do, you gotta do it consistently, you gotta have the best product you can, you gotta keep it really clean, and you gotta serve it with a smile.”

Most employees at the store are high school students from the neighborhood. Knowing that many of them are working their first job, Sapp says she tries to instill in them responsibility, a work ethic, and pride in a job well-done so that they are ready for the real world after they graduate. Even when there aren’t many customers, the workers busy themselves with making waffle cones, cakes, or ice cream sandwiches. Former employees return years later as adults, sometimes married with their own kids who want to enjoy some ice cream.

Sapp’s proudest achievement has been bringing Rainbow Cone to The Taste of Chicago around 1990, a decision which she credits with helping the business expand outside of Beverly – even if figuring out how to serve thousands of people an involved ice cream treat on a hot day was trying. “Even North Siders didn’t know who we were [back then],” she says. “We were specifically South Side, and I’ll [always] be grateful to Taste for that platform to extend ourselves out to people in the city, in the state, in the nation.”

There are now seven full-service locations of Rainbow Cone and 13 kiosks across five states, with at least six more locations coming. Every state that borders Lake Michigan has a Rainbow Cone, as does Florida, while locations in Texas and California are on the way. The classic five rainbow cone flavors are also available to order and ship across the country.

That nationwide expansion has been enabled by the merger in 2018 of Rainbow Cone with Italian beef chain Buona and a move into franchising four years later. The most recent locations opened in Wicker Park in May and in south suburban Flossmoor in July.

Even as Rainbow Cone expands, people with fond memories of its signature treat continue to travel to the original location with new generations. “I’m 72 years old and used to come with my parents when I was a kid,” says Cary, who brought his grandson Sebastian.

“This isn’t my rainbow cone,” says Lynn Sapp, who has begun to move into a more advisory role with the growing company. “It’s the people’s rainbow cone, because that’s their memories.”