Orland Park welcomes Rainbow Cone

By Kelly White

Rainbow Cone was welcomed in to the Orland Park community on Friday morning when a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the franchise’s newest location, 15711 Harlem Ave., Orland Park.

The location is run by the duo, John Buonavolanto and Fernando Toscano.

“There are a lot of South Siders right here in Orland Park that grew up on Rainbow Cone,” Buonavolanto, co-operations manager of the Orland Park location, said. “It’s amazing to be a part of a 97-year history.”

Operations managers of Orland Park’s Original Rainbow Cone, John Buonavolanto and Fernando Toscano.

The Original Rainbow Cone serves ice cream featuring a wide variety of flavors, including the iconic 5-flavor ‘Rainbow Cone itself, made up of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (which is vanilla with cherries and walnuts), pistachio, and orange sherbet flavors stacked on just one tall flavorful waffle cone.

The Original Rainbow Cone also offers milkshakes, ice cream cakes, ice cream sandwiches, mini donuts, and more.

“We are very excited to be here in Orland Park,” Toscano, co-operations manager of the Orland Park store, said.

The shop replaced the former Bakers Square Restaurant & Bakery. This will be the first location offering a double-lane drive through.

The family-owned company opened its first location on Western Avenue in Chicago in 1926 before expanding throughout Chicagoland and beyond, including another standalone site at 498 East Roosevelt Road. The Original Rainbow Cone can also be found in the Nashville area; Valparaiso, Indiana; and southeast Wisconsin, more locations coming soon to Tennessee and Florida.

The idea developed after ‘Grandpa Joe’ Sapp could not decide on just one favorite flavor of ice cream. He wanted to create a concept beyond the limited flavors allowed on a single cone, so he stacked five different flavors on top of each other and created The Original Rainbow Cone.

“The passion for Rainbow Cone’s flavors, history, and legacy has carried its tradition for nearly a century at our original southside Chicago location,” Lynn Sapp, third-generation owner of The Original Rainbow Cone, said. “For our Rainbow Cone family to see this continue to new communities, and Grandpa Joe’s continued success, is an incredible joy. He would have been elated. We are grateful to share this tradition of Rainbow Cone with the Orland Park community.”

All those who attended Friday’s ribbon-cutting event in Orland Park were able to enter drawings for Rainbow Card gift cards. Three separate drawings took place for each prize, starting with the third place prize of a $25 gift card, then the second place for a $50 gift card and finally the first place for a $100 gift card.

The new Orland Park location will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

The line was wrapped around the building for a taste of The Original Rainbow Cone on May 26 at the grand opening event.