An ice cream shop from Chicago is bringing a unique scoop to Texas: Called The Original Rainbow Cone, it's known for serving ice cream cones not with round scoops but with colorful "slices," and it will open its first location in Texas in Hurst, at 460 Grapevine Hwy., in a former Chick Fil-A.

Original Rainbow Cone is a Chicago institution that first opened as a family-owned business in 1926. In 2018, it was acquired by Buona Beef, another family-owned chain in Chicago that does Italian beef sandwiches. They began franchising in 2022, mostly as dual-branded concepts, with Buona Beef and Original Rainbow Cone side by side under one roof.

But Hurst will be a standalone ice cream shop. It's scheduled to open in the fall.

UPDATE 11-12-2024: The Original Rainbow Cone celebrates its grand opening on November 14 at 11 am. The first 98 guests in line will receive a free Rainbow Cone — a nod to their 98-year history.
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"It's been a Chicago institution for such a long time; it's more than a regular ice cream cone," says Buona Director of Sales John Buonavolanto.

Their signature Rainbow Cone comes piled with five specific ice cream flavors, stacked atop each other to make a colorful rainbow array: orange sherbet, pistachio, Palmer House (vanilla with cherries & walnuts), strawberry, and chocolate.

"Those five flavors really play into one another perfectly. Not only does it taste amazing, but it looks incredible," Buonavolanto says. "It's a really unique signature offering that differentiates us from other ice cream shops."

But they also offer traditional scoop-style cones in flavors such as birthday cake and mint chocolate chip, starting at $5 for a single scoop to $9 for a triple. (The Rainbow Cone is $6.29.)

Other menu options include sundaes, shakes, ice cream sandwiches, and ice cream cakes.

In May, they also, for the first time in the company's history, introduced four new flavors that expand on their signature slice-style cone: Orange Dream, Chocolate Obsession, Minty City and Cosmic Birthday.

"We’re crafting a new chapter in Rainbow Cone’s storied history," Buonavolanto said at the time about the new innovations.

The Hurst location is owned by franchisee Steve Labus and will be one of his three standalone shops in the Fort Worth area.

But there are more ice cream slices coming our way: According to Buonavolanto, there's a separate franchise group with plans to develop dual-branded locations across DFW. So we'll get not only more ice cream slices, but Italian beef sandwiches.

"We feel lucky to have two groups ready to bring it to the market," Buonavolanto says.