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Illinois Ice Cream Stands

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Dairy Haven
Caseyville, IL
The Dairy Haven opened in the 1950s. [map]

Original Rainbow Cone
Chicago, IL
The Original Rainbow Cone opened here in 1926. Their five-flavor Rainbow Cone features chocolate, pistachio, strawberry and Palmer House (a cherry-nut blend) ice cream, as well as a layer of orange sherbet. They also sell other ice cream concoctions and sandwiches. These photos are from 2006. By 2009, a different ice cream cone statue was installed on the roof. For more, see this website. [map]

Decatur & Springfield:
Krekel's Kustard

Alice's Place
Elburn, IL
Alice's Place opened in 1958 as a Dairy Joy. It became Alice's Place in 1993. [map]

Union Dairy Company
Freeport, IL
The Union Dairy Company was founded in 1914. It began producing ice cream in 1934 and built this ice cream parlor, also known as the Alber Ice Cream Parlor. The interior is from then and possibly the neon letters on the front of the building. The arrow neon sign might be from later. The painted, wooden sign was built in 2014 for the store's 100th year anniversary. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Girard:
Whirl-A-Whip

Huntley Dairy Mart
Huntley, IL
The Huntley Dairy Mart opened in 1953 with ice cream and drive-in fare. [map]

Dari Delite
Joliet, IL		 Rich & Creamy
Joliet, IL
This Dari Delite was built in 1956. [map]

The Rich & Creamy ice cream stand opened in 1965 as the Creamy Delight. I suspect that this was actually built in the 1950s as a Dari Delite. This location has been Rich & Creamy since at least 2007. [map]

former Dari Delite
Hebron, IL
This former Dari Delite is probably from the 1950s. It became The Dari in 1969. [map]

More Joliet:
Walt's Ice Cream

Country Style Ice Cream
Moline, IL
Country Style Ice Cream was established in Moline in 1947. I don't know when this location was built but my guess is that it's from the 1950s. There are now four other locations in nearby cities. [map]

Polar Bear Drive-in
North Riverside, IL		 Jack Frost
Ice Cream Chalet
Oak Forest, IL
The Polar Bear Drive-in opened in 1948. In 2018, the drive-in appeared to be closed and the sign was missing. The wooden sign is a replica of the original. In 2021, the stand reopened and the neon sign was repainted and reinstalled. [map]

The Jack Frost Ice Cream Chalet opened in 1976. [map]

Emo's Dairy Mart
Peoria, IL
Emo's Dairy Mart has been here since at least the 1970s. [map]

Dari Fair
Rockford, IL
The Dari Fair appears to be from the 1950s or 1960s. [map]

Taylor-Maid Drive-in [gone]
Sandoval, IL
The Taylor-Maid Drive-in building had been vacant since at least 2008. These signs remained. By 2016, the building had reopened as Dickie's. That business is gone now. The neon sign is also gone.

M&M Dari-Ripple
South Beloit, IL		 Dari-Ripple
Belvidere, IL
Although these two buildings look very similar to the classic Tastee-Freez design, they were both built as Dari-Ripples. Tastee-Freez was established in Illinois in 1950 so these buildings may just have been modeled after those. These locations were owned by the same family.

This Dari-Ripple in South Beloit opened in 1952 as the A&V Dari-Ripple. It was the first location built. It has been the M&M Dari-Ripple since at least 2007. [map]

The Dari-Ripple in Belvidere also opened in 1952 as the second location. [map]

There are at least two Dari-Ripple locations still operating in Pittsfield, IL and Sycamore, IL (now Dairy Ripple).

Illinois
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