Oak Creek is about to get a two-for-one Chicago food invasion: Italian beef for lunch, a five-flavor ice cream cone for dessert, and plenty of grand-opening prizes in between.
Buona Beef and The Original Rainbow Cone will open their first Milwaukee-area dual-brand location Tuesday in Oak Creek, bringing the restaurant-and-dessert combo to a new 4,800-square-foot space. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the concept will serve Buona’s Chicago-style Italian beef alongside Rainbow Cone’s signature stacked ice cream.
A Community Benefit Night Comes First
Before the official opening, Buona will host a community benefit night Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m., with half off all menu items and half of the night’s sales donated to Oak Creek youth football, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Five guests will also receive free Buona beef for a year, while another five will get free Rainbow Cone for a year.
The project has been in Oak Creek’s development pipeline for more than a year. Oak Creek records describe a roughly 4,700-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through, two ordering lanes and a plan designed to keep vehicle queues from disrupting nearby traffic.
Italian Beef, Burgers And A Very Colorful Cone
Buona’s menu is expected to cover considerably more ground than Italian beef alone, including Italian sausage, beef-and-sausage combos, Chicago-style hot dogs, meatball sandwiches, burgers, pizza, pasta, chicken sandwiches, salads and protein bowls. The company’s Oak Creek location page also highlights slow-cooked Italian beef, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken and chopped salads.
Rainbow Cone brings the sugar rush, with its classic combination of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio almond and orange sherbet layered into one colorful cone. The Rainbow Cone site says the Chicago-born brand has been serving its distinctive five-flavor treat since 1926, along with ice cream cakes, mini donuts and sundaes.
A Local Partnership With Chicago Roots
The Oak Creek restaurant is being owned and operated by local partners Karl Kulhanek and Joe Marchionna, who bring experience from community management and the restaurant industry. Buona executive vice president Joe Buonavolanto III told the Journal Sentinel that the Howell and Drexel avenues area stood out for its mix of schools, neighborhoods and businesses.
The opening also extends a broader Wisconsin push for the Buona Companies. In a company announcement about its earlier Pleasant Prairie debut, Buona Companies described the dual-branded format as its entry into Wisconsin, pairing the family-founded beef restaurant with the century-old Rainbow Cone brand.
What To Expect At The Grand Opening
The first 500 guests Tuesday will receive mystery envelopes containing prizes redeemable on a future visit. The grand opening will also include additional giveaways, making this one of those rare restaurant launches where showing up early could pay off before the first beef sandwich even hits the tray.
Once open, the restaurant is expected to operate from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until midnight Thursday through Saturday. For Oak Creek diners, that means a new late-night option where a dipped Italian beef and a rainbow-colored dessert can occupy the same order.
