Business
Original Rainbow Cone Turns 100. Meet the Family Behind Chicago’s Iconic Ice Cream
For 100 years, one colorful cone has been a sweet tradition passed down from one generation to the next.
And while the neighborhood around the Original Rainbow Cone has changed, one thing has remained the same — those five iconic flavors: chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio and orange sherbet.
“This is 100 years, sliced, not scooped,” said Lynn Sapp, the third-generation owner.
Her grandparents, Joe and Katherine Sapp, started the famous Rainbow Cone in 1926.
“He created it, and Katherine was the businesswoman that kept it going and counted all the nickels and dimes,” Lynn Sapp said.
The original Rainbow Cone location on Western Avenue in Beverly has come a long way since it first opened. The business started as a small shack across the street from where the current location stands today.
In the 1920s, the Beverly neighborhood looked very different. The area was considered the countryside, and Joe Sapp saw an opportunity to create something special.
“It was called Rainbow Lodge when it first opened,” Lynn Sapp said. “People came out to this area, and it was remote, so they called it Rainbow Lodge. They served ice cream, … sundaes and shakes, and my grandmother would make, like, a roast or a ham and have sandwiches for the day because there was nothing else out here for people.”
In those early years, Rainbow Cone was more than a business. It was also home. Lynn Sapp’s grandparents lived in the parlor, while her parents lived in a house behind the shop.
“That’s the original outside door,” Lynn Sapp said as she gave WTTW News a tour. “This is where they lived. Like many people in Chicago, all these small businesses you see, people literally live, breathe it, work it. It’s their life.”
Lynn Sapp said her family initially served ice cream in a french fry carton.
“Cones were newer, cones were starting,” she said. “It was either in a glass dish or you could get one slice of vanilla or one slice of chocolate or strawberry, and that’s where he got the idea to put … more than one slice on a cone.”
The result became Rainbow Cone’s signature presentation: layers of ice cream sliced onto a cone rather than scooped. When Lynn Sapp took over the shop from her parents in 1986, she wanted to introduce her family’s creation to more Chicagoans.
For 28 years, Lynn Sapp brought Rainbow Cone to Taste of Chicago. She said the business was named one of the event’s top vendors several times.
“This is the two of us working Taste of Chicago, and we’re covered in ice cream,” Lynn Sapp said, pointing to a photo of herself and her brother.
Through festivals and events, Rainbow Cone reached a new generation of Chicagoans. But for some customers, the tradition never needed an introduction.
Frank Fabian said he was just 10 years old when he first tried Rainbow Cone. Now 91, he’s still coming back.
“This ice cream is delicious, it always has been,” Fabian said. “And even though I’m lactose intolerant, I still do ice cream.”
Today, Rainbow Cone is moving into its fourth generation of ownership. In 2018, Buona Companies took over the business, partnering with the Sapp family to carry the tradition forward.
“We partnered with the Buonavolanto family, and they’re going to continue it on for another 100 hopefully,” Lynn Sapp said, adding that her grandfather would be proud of how far his creation has come.
A century later, the family business may look different, but the signature combination of creamy, nutty and citrus flavors remains the same.
“Thanks for 100 years, Chicago,” Lynn Sapp said. “Cheers.”
