Our History
Announcing: Our New Gilles Frozen Custard History Video
From 1938 - 2021 (Click to Play)
Gilles Frozen Custard is celebrating over
85 Years as Wisconsin's Oldest Frozen Custard Stand!
Gilles Frozen Custard has a unique and storied history.
We would love to hear your stories and memories of Gilles Frozen Custard.
That's right, Gilles Frozen Custard first opened in 1938 and we're still going strong thanks to all of our wonderful customers. Here is a list of the significant events in our history.
1919: Frozen custard is introduced for the first time in America at Coney Island, NY, by the Kohr Brothers.
1933: 17-year-old Paul Gilles, of Milwaukee, discovers frozen custard at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. The long lines made a lasting impression on him.
1938: Five years later, twenty-two-year-old Paul Gilles builds a small custard stand at 7515 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He names it Gilles Frozen Custard. It will grow to become one of Wisconsin's most successful and favorite frozen custard stands. It will also become Wisconsin's oldest frozen custard stand!
Paul hires his 12-year-old brother, Tom Gilles to help at the stand and to learn about the frozen custard business.
Paul hires Leon Schneider as his night manager. Four years later, in 1942, Leon opens Leon's Frozen Custard on 27th Street in Milwaukee. Few people know that Leon got his training at Gilles Frozen Custard.
1942: Paul joins the Armed Forces to serve in World War II. While Paul was gone, his mother, Celia Gilles, 77, took over the job of running the stand. From 1942-1945 she kept Gilles Frozen Custard going until Paul returned at the end of the war in 1945.
1947: Paul hires 17-year-old Robert Linscott who would eventually become a key manager by the 1960s and would become the owner of Gilles Frozen Custard in 1978.
1949: Tom Gilles, Paul's brother, opens a second Gilles Frozen Custard stand in Fond du Lac. It's still there today -- but has no relation to our Milwaukee stand.
1960s: In the early 1960s, Paul made a major redesign and modernization of the Gilles Frozen Custard stand.
1972: Paul sells the rights to use the Gilles Frozen Custard brand name on frozen custard products to be sold in stores and supermarkets. That sale had the effect of splitting the Gilles Frozen Custard brand name into two totally separate and unaffiliated companies.
The first company owned the rights to sell frozen custard under the Gilles Frozen Custard brand name at the stand located at 7515 West Bluemound Road.
The second company owned the rights to sell a frozen custard product, under the same Gilles Frozen Custard brand name, in other stores and supermarkets.
That split would become a source of confusion for Gilles Frozen Custard customers for years to come.
1975: Paul hires Robert Linscott's teenage sons, Tom and Pat Linscott.
1978: Robert Linscott buys Gilles Frozen Custard from Paul Gilles. Paul had owned the stand for 40 years.
1980s: Gilles Frozen Custard mascots, Scoop and Coney are introduced.
1992: Robert Linscott sells the Gilles Frozen Custard stand at 7515 West Bluemound Road to his sons, Tom and Pat Linscott. The rights to use the Gilles Frozen Custard brand name on custard products sold in stores and supermarkets were still retained by a different company.
2001: In July, of 2001, Pat Linscott, co-owner of Gilles Frozen Custard, passed away. His brother, Tom Linscott, took over as sole-owner and operator of the business.
2013: Willy Linscott, Tom's son, becomes General Manager and Co-Owner of Gilles Frozen Custard.
2016-2017: The Stand undergoes a major remodeling project giving the facility a fresh, updated look and adding a pick-up window to better serve our customers.
Today: Tom & Willy Linscott continue to co-own and operate the Gilles Frozen Custard stand at 7515 West Bluemound Road.
Notes: The brand name rights for supermarket and other store sales are still owned by a different company with absolutely no relationship or affiliation to the Gilles Frozen Custard stand owned by Tom and Willy Linscott.
It's understandable that customers are sometimes confused. Two different companies. Two different products. Same brand name.
The bottom line is, if you buy it anyplace other than the Gilles Frozen Custard stand at 7515 West Bluemound Road... you're not buying our frozen custard.