Rainbow Ice Cream

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PRESS RELEASE

Rainbow Ice Cream/Davis Family says Goodbye to the State Fair

In business at the Minnesota State Fair since 1929, Rainbow Ice Cream owned by generations of the Davis Family, will be selling at online auction. After the death of family member, Greg Tetrault, current owners, Maxine and Lynn Davis say the time has come.

YUM! Owner Patti Soskin, local food guru Sue Zelickson, Newscaster Aaron Brown are only three of hundreds of entrepreneurs, lawyers, teachers, & doctors who learned the value of hard work scooping ice cream for the Davis Family.

Started by brothers Barney & Jim Davis, Davis Concessions began in one small wooden booth selling Strawberry-Chocolate-Vanilla ice cream and Caramel Apples. Over 90 years, they sold apple cider at the Ag Building, War Surplus after WWII, they brought Sno Cones and “hop-off-hop-on” buses to Fairgoers in the 1950s.

In 1965 Jimmy Davis brought Belgian Waffles -- and the French-speaking Belgians -- directly from the NY City World’s Fair. Then there were Bomb Pops, the Potato Man & Sweetie, Lingonberry and Bacon Ice Cream, and Thai Rolled Ice Cream. The Rainbow name continued into the 21st Century with the Rainbow Cloud Roll.

Food stands, food service equipment, old coke and soda-pop signage and more are all up for bid at online auction. Auction Masters, a local online auction company, is managing this sale. Other iconic Twin Cities businesses Auction Masters has helped liquidate are Roller Gardens, Nye’s Polonaise Room, Thunderbird Ramada in Bloomington, and Porky’s Drive Thru in St. Paul.

This sale starts closing November 22 at 6pm. This is a direct link to the auction: https://bid.auctionmasters.com/ui/auctions/71376
Equipment in-person viewing will be Mondays 11/15 & 11/22 from 9am-5pm.

Davis Concessions Contact:
Maxine Davis, [email protected], 612-805-0146
Auction Masters Contact:
Sarah Ness, [email protected], 612-232-248

08/16/2021

🚨Announcement 🚨

Rainbow Ice Cream will be absent at this year’s Minnesota State Fair.

See you next edition!

07/02/2021

Rainbow Ice Cream is hiring for the duration of Minnesota State Fair! Positions available for our concession stands outside and in the Grandstand! If interested leave us a voice mail or email👇

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Our History

In 1927 two brothers, Barney and Jim Davis, hammered together a few boards to make a concession stand -- and started selling ice cream at the Minnesota State Fair.

They sold chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Each day they ran out of one flavor or the other. So, they asked a friend at Northland Ice Cream if he could make an ice cream combining all three flavors together. TA DA! The birth of “Rainbow Ice Cream” at the Minnesota State Fair.

In 1905 Harry Brooks, an enterprising 12-year-old with a horse cart, started selling produce. With a family recipe for caramel he started making Caramel Apples -- and Barney and Jim sold those as well.

In the 1950s Jimmy Davis was traveling the mountains of Peru. On the side of the road he saw a man selling chipped ice with sweet colored flavoring on it. They were obviously popular, and they sold well during the heat of the day. A few years in the U.S., a commercial ice chopper making “snow” was developed.

Remembering the chipped-ice in Peru, Jim bought one machine. During the summer heat of the State Fair that first snow cone was a hit – first selling for 5¢.

Over the years Barney & Jim tried new food items yearly. From the 1964 NY World’s Fair came “Belgium Waffles.” They even tried a round Ding-Dog in the 1950s. New novelties came and went, but the eternal taste treats are always: Rainbow Ice Cream, Sno Cones, and Caramel Apples.