The Original Rainbow Cone, a family business that opened its first store in Beverly in 1926, made a deal with the zoo to sell ice cream from a food truck near Farm in the Zoo, 1911 N. Stockton Drive.
The Pink Polka Dot Truck sells a limited selection of Original Rainbow Cone offerings, including the Original Rainbow Cone, which is a five-layer ice cream cone with orange sorbet, pistachio , palm grove, strawberry and chocolate; cookies and ice cream; and a vegan wild berry sorbet, said John Buonavolanto, catering and sales manager for the company.
Customers can also purchase Original Rainbow Cone t-shirts, hats and other products, Buonavolanto said.
“We love this place because it’s so iconic to be at Lincoln Park Zoo,” Buonavolanto said. “We’re not quite in the zoo – we’re just outside – so hopefully people who live in Lincoln Park can now see this truck as a staple in their community.”
The Original Rainbow Cone has multiple locations in Illinois, with Lincoln Park’s new ice cream truck being one of the only North Side locations to purchase a rainbow cone, Buonavolanto said.
The company introduced its Rainbow Cone trucks at the start of the pandemic to continue serving customers while there were restrictions on indoor dining, Buonavolanto said.
“It started in 2020 because we had to find a way to serve our customers during the closures of all businesses and after losing Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza,” Buonavolanto said. “So we came up with the idea of these cool pink polka dot ice cream trucks, and it really took off from there.”
The Original Rainbow Cone now has six trucks, including permanent ones from Lincoln Park Zoo and Shedd Aquarium, Buonavolanto said. Customers can keep tabs on the other six trucks using truck tracking on the Original Rainbow Cone website.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoBrendan Daley, vice president of operations at Lincoln Park Zoo, said the partnership with the Original Rainbow Cone lasts all summer.
“Rainbow Cone, like Lincoln Park Zoo, is a Chicago staple,” Daley said. “Bring Their Truck and Serve Ice Cream near Farm-in-the-Zoo connects Chicago’s North and South Sides in a fun way that can delight guests and neighbors alike.”
The Original Rainbow Cone Truck is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoJake Wittich is a Report for America corps member covering Lakeview, Lincoln Park and LGBTQ communities across the city for Block Club Chicago.
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