Kopp's Frozen Custard
Kopp's Frozen Custard is a Milwaukee-area frozen-custard restaurant chain known for daily specialty flavors and large hamburgers.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Kopp's Frozen Custard is a regional restaurant chain serving frozen custard, hamburgers, shakes, sundaes, and related casual food in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. The business was founded in 1950 by Elsa Kopp, a German immigrant who entered the restaurant business after her husband, Karl Kopp, developed Parkinson's disease. With assistance from Leon Schneider, a custard-machine repairman associated with Leon's Frozen Custard, she opened the original stand at 6005 West Appleton Avenue in Milwaukee. The stand became a local success during the 1950s. Kopp's is particularly associated with its flavor-of-the-day program, which developed from Elsa Kopp's willingness to experiment with combinations beyond the conventional chocolate and vanilla offerings. By about 1960, the business was introducing more adventurous recipes. Kopp's is credited with being the first custard stand to offer a special flavor of the day alongside its traditional flavors. The chain generally offers two distinctive custard flavors each day, in addition to recurring featured shakes and sundaes that change monthly. Some selections are themed around holidays, calendar events, or seasonal occasions. The brand's food identity extends beyond dessert. Its restaurants are known for large hamburgers, often described as jumbo burgers, making Kopp's a hybrid of a frozen-custard stand and a casual burger restaurant. This combination, together with its rotating flavors and highly recognizable restaurant presentation, has made Kopp's a longstanding Milwaukee-area institution. Local publications have repeatedly praised the chain, and its restaurants are commonly included in discussions of the region's notable frozen-custard destinations. Kopp's currently operates locations in three Milwaukee suburbs: Greenfield, Brookfield, and Glendale. The Glendale restaurant occupies the site of a former Milky Way drive-in and has an exterior associated with the visual tradition of mid-century American drive-ins. The locations prominently display portraits of founder Elsa Kopp, reinforcing the family-owned heritage of the business. The company is owned by Elsa's son, Karl Kopp. Karl Kopp also owns Elsa's on the Park, a Milwaukee restaurant that opened on New Year's Eve in 1980. Kopp's remains primarily a local and regional brand rather than a nationally franchised chain. Its reputation rests on continuity, distinctive daily flavor programming, generous burgers, and its connection to Milwaukee food culture. Publicly documented appearances by political figures and sports personalities have added to its local visibility, including visits by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2004 and Vice President Joe Biden in 2010, as well as a 2024 visit by Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito, a former Kopp's employee, who used the Stanley Cup as a bowl for custard.
History
Elsa Kopp established Kopp's Frozen Custard in 1950 at 6005 West Appleton Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was a German immigrant with no previous business experience and entered the trade after her husband, Karl Kopp, developed Parkinson's disease. Leon Schneider, a custard-machine repairman who had founded Leon's Frozen Custard in 1942, provided some assistance as Elsa prepared to open the stand. The business gained popularity quickly during the 1950s and became associated with Milwaukee's frozen-custard culture. Its development was marked by experimentation as well as adherence to familiar flavors. Around 1960, Elsa began testing more unusual combinations. An early example involved mixing chocolate and vanilla, an approach that was controversial among some members of the local frozen-custard community. The experimentation eventually evolved into Kopp's distinctive flavor-of-the-day system. Kopp's is credited with being the first custard stand to add a special flavor of the day to its traditional chocolate and vanilla offerings. The modern program generally features two specialty flavors each day, along with a featured shake and sundae that change monthly. The flavor selections may connect to holidays, events, or other calendar themes. This rotating menu became a central part of the brand's identity and differentiated Kopp's from stands focused on a smaller permanent range. The restaurants also built their reputation around substantial hamburgers, often called jumbo hamburgers, giving Kopp's a broader casual-food identity than a dessert-only stand. The combination of burgers and custard helped establish the business as a destination for both meals and desserts. Local food writers and publications have continued to recognize Kopp's as a Milwaukee-area institution. Kopp's later expanded to three suburban locations in Greenfield, Brookfield, and Glendale. The Glendale restaurant stands on the former site of the Milky Way drive-in. Its exterior is linked to the visual tradition of classic American drive-ins and has been noted as an inspiration for the look of Arnold's Drive-In in the television series Happy Days. Each location prominently displays a portrait of Elsa Kopp, maintaining a visible connection to the founder. Ownership passed to Elsa's son, Karl Kopp, who also owns Elsa's on the Park on Jefferson Street in downtown Milwaukee. That restaurant opened on New Year's Eve in 1980. Karl Kopp has also opened restaurants in Arizona and New York, although Kopp's Frozen Custard itself remains identified with the Milwaukee area. The brand has periodically attracted public attention through visits by political and sports figures. Dick Cheney visited during his 2004 reelection campaign, and Joe Biden visited in 2010 while campaigning for Russ Feingold. Biden's joking exchange with manager Scott Borkin became a media story. In 2024, former Kopp's employee Bill Zito returned with the Stanley Cup after the Florida Panthers' championship, using the trophy as a custard bowl. These episodes added to Kopp's visibility without changing its fundamentally local, family-owned character.
- 2024
The Stanley Cup appears at Kopp's
[1]Bill Zito, a former Kopp's employee and Florida Panthers general manager, visits with the Stanley Cup and uses it as a custard bowl.
- 2010
Vice President Joe Biden visits
[1]Joe Biden visits Kopp's during a Wisconsin campaign appearance, generating national attention after an exchange with manager Scott Borkin.
- 2004
Vice President Dick Cheney visits
[1]Dick Cheney makes an unannounced campaign-period visit to a Kopp's location.
- 1980
Elsa's on the Park opens
[1]Karl Kopp opens Elsa's on the Park in downtown Milwaukee on New Year's Eve, extending the Kopp family's restaurant activities beyond frozen custard.
- 1960
Experimentation leads to the flavor-of-the-day program
[1]After experimenting with combinations beyond standard chocolate and vanilla, Kopp's develops the rotating specialty-flavor tradition for which it becomes known.
- 1950
Elsa Kopp opens the first Kopp's stand
[1]Elsa Kopp opens the original frozen-custard stand at 6005 West Appleton Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Products and positioning
A locally rooted Milwaukee frozen-custard and burger institution emphasizing family ownership, generous portions, rotating specialty flavors, and classic drive-in restaurant culture.
Dessert · 1950
Frozen custard
Kopp's core product is frozen custard served in traditional chocolate and vanilla varieties as well as rotating specialty flavors. The brand is especially associated with its daily flavor program, which typically presents two distinctive flavors alongside the permanent classics.
Frozen custard program · 1960
Flavor of the day
The flavor-of-the-day program is Kopp's signature menu feature. It grew from Elsa Kopp's experiments with combinations beyond conventional chocolate and vanilla and may include flavors connected with holidays, events, or particular months. The program gives customers a changing reason to revisit the restaurants.
Fast-casual food
Jumbo hamburgers
Kopp's serves large hamburgers, commonly described as jumbo hamburgers. These substantial savory offerings complement the frozen-custard menu and help define the chain as a combined burger restaurant and dessert stand rather than a dessert-only operator.
Dessert
Featured shakes and sundaes
In addition to daily custard flavors, Kopp's offers a featured shake and featured sundae each month. The monthly rotation extends the brand's flavor experimentation beyond the daily custard board.
Brand decisions
1960
Introduce rotating specialty flavorsStrategyBackground
Kopp's began experimenting with combinations beyond the conventional chocolate and vanilla flavors as the original stand became established.
Action taken
The business developed a flavor-of-the-day program, eventually offering two distinctive flavors each day alongside its traditional varieties.
Aftermath
The rotating flavor program became one of Kopp's defining points of differentiation and a durable part of its Milwaukee identity.
Recent events
- 2024
Bill Zito visits Kopp's with the Stanley Cup[1]
Other
Florida Panthers general manager and former Kopp's employee Bill Zito visited a Kopp's restaurant and used the Stanley Cup as a bowl for frozen custard.
- 2010
Joe Biden visits Kopp's while campaigning in Wisconsin[1]
Campaign · Other
Vice President Joe Biden visited Kopp's while campaigning for Senator Russ Feingold. A joking exchange with store manager Scott Borkin about the price of Biden's custard received local and national media attention, and Biden later apologized for his wording.
- 2004
Dick Cheney makes an unannounced visit to Kopp's during reelection campaign[1]
Other
Vice President Dick Cheney visited a Kopp's location during his reelection campaign after a suggestion from Bart Starr. He ordered coffee and accepted an offered serving of custard.
Sources1 sources
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