A Montgomery County tradition that started in 1991 in Bethesda is still going strong, even though Clayboys Shave Ice changed owners during the middle of the pandemic.
Clayboys is a familiar site at many neighborhood pools during the summer. People know when Clayboys is arriving. The speaker from the Shave Ice truck plays the classic song “Day O” as it pulls into the parking lot. While Clayboys is often on the road, it also has a permanent stand on Bethesda Row.
This is the third summer, Bethesda natives Bill and Dan McKinnon are running the business. They bought it from Bethesda resident, Scott Styer. He was still selling shaved ice, a skill he learned when he lived in Hawaii, through the summer of 2019.When the pandemic hit the following summer, Styer, put his business on hold. As the summer of 2021 approached, Styer decided to retire, his nearly three decade run of serving up blue raspberry, Tiger’s blood (strawberry and coconut), lemon, lime and assorted other flavors was over.
MCM spoke with Bill McKinnon about his decision to take over the Clayboys business:
McKinnon has kept up many of the traditions of Clayboys. He still buys some of the fruit flavored concentrate from Hawaii that Styer used for years.
The Clayboys stand in Bethesda is open from 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. each day of the week. McKinnon says he will go through at least ten blocks of ice on a typical day, just in Bethesda.
People can learn more about Clayboys by visiting the business’ website at Clayboysbethesda.com. The company also has a Facebook and Instagram page.
