For more than 70 years, a building in Florence has been home to an ice cream stand. Part of a national chain that flourished, fell apart and was reformed, this drive-up restaurant is a community icon that generations have loved and flocked to. This is a history of Zesto’s in Florence.

After World War II, youth in the Florence neighborhood began chopping up old cars and rebuilding them into mighty hot rods. Working on their engines, squealing their tires, drag racing on the strips, and cruising the main streets of North Omaha was their purpose, and a lot of people loved it. A lot of businesses opened and grew to capitalize on these youth and get their money, including three drive-ins in Florence along with a bunch of gas stations. Out of these, one still stands more than seven decades after it opened.

When an inventor made a frozen custard machine, he wanted to make the most money off of it so in 1948 he opened a drive-in restaurant franchise. Called Zesto, they used the frozen custard machine and spread fast. The first Zesto franchise in Nebraska opened in Norfolk in 1950. In 1952, that company started promoting franchise opportunities statewide, especially through Omaha want ads. Promising “soft confection straight from freezer to customer,” they advertised that the business was “equally suitable for men or women” and promised owners would “earn from $5,000 to $8,000 per year” with “5 months vacation.” Promoting it as “an ideal depression-proof business,” the company guaranteed to train owners, help select locations, and “arrange the erection of the building.” They required $7,500 for the franchise license and everything promised above.

In April 1953, Herman Cohen got a building permit from the City of Omaha to construct an ice cream stand at 8608 N. 30th Street. Cohen (1894-1978) was a longtime businessman with real estate holdings and businesses throughout Omaha. He spent $4,000 on the buidling, which in 2024 would be worth about $295,500.

In July 1953, the shop opened as a new Zesto franchise. For their grand opening day they handed out free cones, advertising such elaborate promises as “tastier malts and shakes with a wide choice of real fruit flavors,” “crunchy sugar-crisp cones,” and “tangy fruit sauces in big sundae cups.” Promoting the brand as “a national favorite,” the ad said that the “shining, spotless store” would have the same “healthful goodness” that people across the country loved.

Celebrating their renowned root beer and footlong hot dogs, the store was immediately popular with the drag racers on hot summer nights, and families all day long. Kids brought change to buy their confections, and grandparents knew they could have a nice treat on a Sunday afternoon. Every year the store closed for four or five months during the winter, and had a grand opening each spring around April.

In 1964, Bill Hubbard bought the Zesto in Florence. He was quoted in the newspaper saying, “Florence is like a small town all by itself… There are find people here in Florence — they’re just good citizens.”

It continued into the 1980s, when cruising in Florence died down but ice cream was still popular. However, as the heat ratcheted up every summer for several years in a row, in 1999, store owner Jim Caputo was quoted in the newspaper saying, “It’s so hot people don’t like to be out… When it gets really hot, business is really big in the evening.” The temperatures were 105 degrees.

Caputo sold Zesto’s in 2005 to a Mr. Evans, and in 2009 Chris and Rick Minturn bought it. The restaurant was extensively renovated in 2021, with new paint for the old school sign, as well as upgrades on the interior and more. Unfortunately they couldn’t renovate the original neon, but the sign is nearly the same.

As of 2024, the Minturns still own the Florence location and a newer location in west Omaha. Zesto’s has provided jobs for a lot of the young people living in Florence for decades, and today local teens still staff their stores.

Zesto’s is still popular. Every time they open people are waiting to enjoy the ice cream, hang out with friends and celebrate the local institution that is the Zesto’s in Florence. The history of Zesto’s in Florence is still being written.

Do you have memories of the Zesto’s in Florence? Please share them in the comments below!

Thanks to Mary Minturn for her additions and corrections to this article!

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MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE
Basics: History | Banks | Newspapers | Churches | Mayors
Public Places: Florence Main Street | Florence High School | The Mormon Tree | Mormon Bridge | Florence Boulevard | River Drive | J.J. Pershing Drive and Monument | Potter’s Field
Businesses: Florence Mill | Zestos | Florence Home | Florence Bank | Florence Mill | Florence Ferry | Florence Water Works | Florence Depot
Houses: Parker Mansion | Brandeis Country Home | Lantry-Thompson Mansion | Mitchell House | Hunt Mansion
Other Historic Places: Cutler’s Park | Winter Quarters | Vennelyst Park | Florence Building
People: James M. Parker | James Comey Mitchell | Florence Kilborn | Jacob Weber Sr.
Neighborhoods: Winter Quarters | Florence Field | Wyman Heights | High Point
Mormon History Locations: Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge | Site of the Mormon Tree | Cutler’s Park | Brigham Young House | Mormon Mill
Other: Directory of Florence Historic Places

Elsewhere Online

• Zesto Franchising Opportunities official website
• “Zesto” wikipedia article