Over the summer, I had an amazing ice cream experience, right here in this fantastic city of ours...
Klavon's (located in the Strip) is all sorts of fabulous.. starting with the ice cream and homemade whipped cream to the fun vintage decor. If you are in the Strip - you HAVE to try this place out!
1) Klavon’s has a long history, what is one thing from the years that stands out as a significant moment for the shop?
Perhaps the biggest moment at the shop was when James Klavon, the original owner, got trapped in the shop during the St. Patrick's Day flood of 1936. We commemorated the 80th anniversary of the flood by giving away shamrock shakes on St. Patrick's Day 2016. What we did not anticipate was how in tune Pittsburgh is with it's history. More than 2,500 people came to our shop that day. From all over the City we heard stories of people who survived and the tragedy the flood caused throughout the river valley. Luckily for James, he crawled out of the window and a passing rowboat rescued him! This story shows the deep appreciation for history our customers have and what the shop means to the city.
2) With the store being close for two decades … How did the idea form to re-open the shop solely as an ice cream parlor?
The ice cream bar, as it exists today was installed after World War II. At the time, it was fashionable to eat ice cream and take medicine. The shop continued this way until it closed in 1979 during the collapse of industry in Pittsburgh. Ray Klavon, son of James Klavon said the happiest memories of his childhood were from the shop. When he was a teenager he worked at Isaly's Dairy as a soda jerk. When he retired from being an art teacher at Grandview Elementary School on Mount Washington, he reopened the shop. It was like opening a time capsule. There were still glasses on the tables. Nothing had been touched and, thankfully, Ray did not renovate. However, he put in a lot of effort into getting the business up and running and he focused just on the ice cream part.
3) What made you want to start making your own ice cream for the shop?
What made you want to start making your own ice cream for the shop?At the time my wife had just delivered our third child. She was concerned that when the kids were old enough and at school she would be bored at home. Now we have five children and being bored is no longer a concern! At the time, however she wanted to buy a kid based business. We looked at a lot of businesses and they were all losing money. There was a theme, however, the landlords were getting rich. So I told Desi if she wanted to buy a kid friendly business, the building would have to come with it. A couple months later Klavon's came up for sale. We had taken the kids there before and we really liked it. In June 2013 we closed on the building and reopened the shop on National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday in July) that year.
4) What can we expect moving forward from Klavon’s ?
To take the business to the next level, we started making our own ice cream after Maya, the shop manager, and I took the Penn State Ice Cream Course in 2015. Since then, our business has grown tremendously and at times it is very difficult to keep up with demand! We are still trying to figure out how to serve people efficiently in the tiny space we and make certain we have enough staff to provide excellent customer service. These two things alone are difficult to keep consistent! Our customers can count on us to constantly be improving and innovating. We will bring new ice cream flavors and ideas to our shop. We will also have a number of mini-locations throughout Pittsburgh, our newest one opening up in Sewickley in the Spring of 2017.
5) What is your favorite item on the menu?
A fan favorite and my wife's and my personal favorite is Blue Monster which is blue ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream. My daughter likes vanilla with sprinkles and the boys love chocolate.
Nicole Leckenby is the driving force behind the Holiday Café blog spot. She also works full-time and runs after two very energetic boys at home.
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