Entry No. 124 — the Chicago file — filed under: ice-cream
The Original Rainbow Cone
The Beverly stand has been selling one idea since 1926 and has not felt the need to add a second: chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio almond and orange sherbet, cut in slabs off a block rather than scooped, so what you get is a striped wedge sitting on the cone instead of a ball. Palmer House is the one nobody can name blind — a vanilla, per the shop's own listing, and the flavor that holds the middle of the stack together. The family that started it is still behind the business, which is now in its hundredth year and running centennial branding on everything. There is also a mini-donut machine and an ice cream cake counter, both of which are beside the point on a first visit. Weekday afternoons the cone drops to $5 before 3 p.m., which is why the line at 2:45 is longer than the line at 3:15.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in Chicago — never the same twice
The story
Joe and Katherine Sapp opened the first Rainbow Cone on Western Avenue in Beverly in 1926. The company's own telling is that "Grandpa Joe" was "never satisfied with one simple flavor," which is a polite way of describing the solution he landed on: five flavors — chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio and orange sherbet — sliced, not scooped, off a block and stacked so what lands on the cone is a striped wedge rather than a ball. A century later the method has not changed and neither has the lineup. Palmer House is the one first-timers can't name blind; the shop describes it as vanilla with cherries and walnuts, and it does the work of holding the middle of the stack together.
The Beverly stand at 9233 S Western is a walk-up window on the far south side, still family-owned and now running centennial branding on everything — the site's line is "Your first Chicago summer is something you never forget. Ours was in 1926." Beyond the cone there's an ice cream cake counter, an old-fashioned mini-donut machine, hand-spun shakes and a menu of super sundaes, none of which is the reason to drive down. Weekdays there's a $5 happy hour until 3 p.m., which is why the line at 2:45 is reliably longer than the line at 3:15.
What has changed is everything around the original. The cone that started at one south-side window is now sold at Navy Pier, Millennium Park, the Mag Mile, Oak Park and Skokie, out through the suburbs and Indiana, and as far as Orlando, Laguna Beach and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, plus a truck you can book. The flavors are identical everywhere. The 1926 stand on Western is still the one that has been doing it since before any of the others existed, and it is the only one where the drive is part of the point.
What it's like
It's a window, not a room: you queue on the sidewalk, order, and watch someone slice the five layers off the block and press them onto a cone or into a cup. Plan on eating outside or in the car, and on a warm evening plan on a real line — this is a neighborhood stand on a wide south-side street, not a shop with tables to wait at. Cup versus cone is the only decision that matters: the cup lets you eat the stripes in order, the cone makes you commit and start racing the melt immediately. Order the whole five-flavor cone the first time rather than editing it. If you want the $5 price, come on a weekday before 3 p.m. and expect company.
The move: Go after dinner and order one cone and one cup — the cup lets you eat the five stripes in order, the cone makes you commit — then trade halfway. Eat standing out front under the sign while it's still light, and when you're done drive ten minutes east and take Longwood Drive slowly, where Beverly's stone houses sit up on the ridge above the street. It's a twenty-minute detour that turns a $10 dessert into an evening.
📍 Before you go 9233 S Western Ave, Chicago IL 60643, (773) 238-9833; open Sun–Thu 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–11 p.m., with $5 cone pricing Mon–Fri until 3 p.m. It's counter service at a walk-up window on the far south side — plan on eating outside or in the car, and expect a real line on warm evenings. Hours have historically flexed with the season, so call before a late winter run. There are satellite Rainbow Cones around the city and a truck, but 9233 S Western is the original stand.
- 📍 Chicago
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 9233 S Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60643
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Beverly Records — Three miles further down the same street at 116th, supplying Chicago jukeboxes since 1967 — go there first, since it closes hours before the cone window does.
- Lem's Bar-B-Q — Rib tips and hot links on 75th with nowhere to sit; eat in the car, then drive twenty minutes southwest and finish with the cone.
- Eye Care Indian (Muffler Man) — A fiberglass giant in eyeglasses standing on a roof over Pulaski, free and roughly on the way — four minutes of your evening, well spent.
More weird in Chicago
Good to know
How do I get there?
9233 S Western Ave, roughly fifteen miles straight down Western from the Loop on the far south side — about a half-hour drive with no traffic. Driving is the simple answer; there's street parking on Western and no reason to make this a transit trip. Phone is (773) 238-9833.
What does it cost?
Single digits for a cone, and Monday through Friday until 3 p.m. there's a $5 happy hour price. Two cones and a shake is a cheap evening; the ice cream cakes are the only thing here that gets expensive.
What is Palmer House?
The shop lists it as vanilla with cherries and walnuts. It sits in the middle of the stack between strawberry and pistachio, and it's the flavor most people taste and can't place.
When is it open, and does that change in winter?
Posted hours are Sun–Thu 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fri–Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hours here have historically flexed with the season, so call before a January run rather than driving south on faith.
Is a Navy Pier or Millennium Park Rainbow Cone the same?
Same five flavors, same slicing. But those are satellites of a brand that now reaches Florida and California; 9233 S Western is the 1926 stand, and the trip is half the reason to bother.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · choosechicago.com
last checked: 2026-08-26