Kopp's Exists Partly Because of Leon's

Milwaukee has argued about Kopp's and Leon's for decades. The start of that rivalry was a lot friendlier than the argument is.

Elsa Kopp opened her stand in 1950. She had no business experience, and she got started after her husband got sick. The man who helped her get the stand running was Leon Schneider, and he had already opened Leon's on 27th Street eight years earlier, in 1942.

Most people in this city pick a side without knowing the two are connected.

Two stands, two different ideas

Kopp's went wide. Elsa Kopp is credited with inventing the flavor of the day, and that calendar turned into a citywide ritual that people plan their week around. Kopp's runs three locations and the lines still go out the door.

Leon's went narrow. Leon Schneider built his stand on three flavors done right, vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan. Leon's runs those three plus a daily special of its own. The neon on 27th Street has not changed since 1942, and there is a line under it most summer nights.

Two stands opened eight years apart, and both of them grew into the biggest names in Milwaukee custard.

Where the custard came from

Frozen custard spread through the Midwest after the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. Wisconsin had the dairy for it and never let it go.

Gilles was the first stand in Milwaukee. Paul Gilles was 22 years old when he built it on Bluemound Road in 1938, and it is still scooping today. Leon's followed in 1942. Kopp's came in 1950.

Milwaukee calls itself the frozen custard capital of the world. Nobody has ever proven that claim.

Why people still bring it up

Custard here is a neighborhood thing. Where you grew up usually decides which stand you defend, and the answer gets handed down.

Kopp's and Leon's have been on opposite sides of that argument since the 1950s. It started with one owner helping the other one get open.