The dual branding of Buona and The Original Rainbow Cone combines two Chicago staples.
If Joe Buonavolanto III and his third-generation family-owned business had second thoughts about taking on a second iconic Chicago food concept, they were quickly put to rest with the success of the first out-of-state dual-brand location.
The vice president of franchise operations at the largest family-owned Italian beef restaurant group in the country said the launch of the Buona and The Original Rainbow Cone dual-brand store in Valparaiso, Indiana, in mid-April surpassed their expectations, with an average daily revenue of more than $30,000 in its first two weeks of operation.
“Dual-brand concepts can be tricky to pull off, but the results have even been better than we expected. It’s allowed us to pull from a wider customer base, and our sales numbers speak for themselves,” Buonavolanto said, pointing out the company saw dinner sales jump as much as 30 percent per store at its eight dual-brand locations in the Chicago area. Overall sales in those restaurants increased anywhere from 8 to 15 percent.
The combined Buona-Rainbow Cone is the latest and arguably the most innovative concept ever for Buona, which traces its roots to 1981 when Joe Buonavolanto and his wife, Peggy, took out a $10,000 second mortgage on their home to launch Buona Italian Beef in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn.
Today, there 26 Buona restaurants across the Chicagoland area, including locations at the city’s major athletic arenas such as Soldier Field and Wrigley Field. New locations are slated to open in Kildeer, Illinois, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, this year. Three units are in development in Nashville, Tennessee, and three others are slated for Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Joe Buonavolanto III
“Within the next five years we are projected to have over 100 operating franchise units throughout the available markets,” said Buonavolanto, whose family also owns Authentic Brands of Chicago, a 30,00-square-foot beef production facility in Bedford Park, Illinois, and Beyond Catering in Berwyn. The Buona Companies employ 1,400 people across its three lines of food business, including 15 members of the Buonavolanto family, with most taking on leadership roles in the businesses.
The success of the 4,900-square-foot, corporate-owned prototype in Valparaiso, which features a double drive-thru with 80 seats inside built on less than acre of land, has validated to the Buonavolantos the move to expand their dual-brand concept. Starting with the Darien, Illinois, location in 2021, the company has so far converted eight of its locations to dual-brand stores, with three more set to convert this summer.
Buonavolanto said the long-term goal is to continue to expand the combo’s footprint in markets such as Texas, Arizona and Wisconsin before eventually venturing to the East Coast. The initial investment for a Buona-Rainbow Cone dual-brand location ranges from $1.6 million to $2.62 million.
“We’re in explosive growth mode right now because of the uniqueness of our dual-brand
concept,” Buonavolanto said. “There’s not a whole lot of Italian restaurants that are growing nationwide right now.”
Like Buona, Rainbow Cone is a third-generation family-owned business, started in 1926 when Joseph Sapp and his wife, Katherine, opened an ice cream stand at 92nd and Western Avenue in Chicago. The Sapps took ice cream cones to a whole other level, serving up five-flavored cones made of a proprietary mix of ice creams and sherbet that’s become a staple of Chicago’s Southside. Today, seven Rainbow Cone locations and five food trucks offer the popular cones that are stacked with orange sherbet, pistachio, Palmer House (New York vanilla with cherries and walnuts), strawberry and chocolate ice cream.
Buonavolanto said the challenge from the start was how to merge the Buona and Rainbow Cone concepts under one roof without confusing or even alienating their respected fan bases. “You got to be careful, right? I mean, you see other brands out there trying to do dual branding units and they’re not always successful,” he said.
To maintain the uniqueness of the two food brands in one store, Buonavolanto said his company paid close attention to the store designs, being sure to showcase the original décor and color schemes for each brand by building in two separate counter areas for ordering in the new stores. “It’s not all blended in. We want to offer customers two unique experiences under one roof,” Buonavolanto said.