Tastee-Freez

Tastee-Freez is a soft serve ice cream franchised chain of fast-food restaurants. Its corporate headquarters is in Newport Beach, California, and it has stores in eight states, with two stores located in Illinois. The first Tastee-Freez was established in Keithsburg, Illinois.
Tastee-Freez was founded in 1950 in Joliet, Illinois, by Leo S. Moranz and Harry Axene (formerly of Dairy Queen). Moranz invented a soft serve pump and freezer which enabled the product, and their Harlee Manufacturing Company (a portmanteau of "Harry" and "Leo") produced the machines which franchisees would buy and use in their respective locations. Originally stores focused on iced milk and other frozen dairy-based desserts. Expansion of the brand was rapid in the 1950s; in 1952, there were 315 locations, and by 1957 there were nearly 1,800 locations.
In 1982, Tastee-Freez was sold to the Denovo Corporation of Utica, Michigan, which also owned the Stewart's Restaurants and root beer, Dog n Suds Root beer and drive-ins and B&K Rootbeer drive ins, and Dairy Isle ice cream shops. In 1992, there were 340 locations.