PORT CLINTON, Ohio — A man who spent the better part of a decade playing drums for Sammy Davis Jr. has settled down in Port Clinton.
Ray Porello grew up in Cleveland Heights, and through family connections became the travelling drummer for Sammy Davis Jr.
"And we went wherever he went. All of the TV shows he did, we did the Tonight Show, stuff like that," said Porello.
Once his career as drummer wrapped up, Porello began visiting Port Clinton on a weekly basis to play at Slaters Madison Street Pub jazz night, where he met Julie, his long-time girlfriend.
He then moved to Port Clinton and rented a corner property to set up his drum kit. After a while, Porello thought that he and Julie could use the rest of the space for a new business venture.
"You know, we started saying, 'what can we do with this place, we should figure something out,'" said Ray.
Thus, the couple opened, RJ's Ice Cream and Desserts on on 2nd street.
The shop offers items like Toft's Ice Cream, Mama Jo's pies out of Amherst, Gelato, Cannolis, and soups and sandwiches.
"There's ice cream all around, but the downtown doesn't have an ice cream dessert place. So, that's how we came up with this one, because it is a nice tourist town and a nice local town," said Julie Miller.
Even though December is a considered a slow business season in Port Clinton, the two business owners wanted to get shop up and running now, as the city continues to grow with new business with the opening of their outdoor refreshment area.
"And we have more stores opening up downtown, which is really nice bringing that back. And the MORA thing helps a lot, some people can cruise around with a beer in their hand, so it's nice. It's a really good place," said Julie.
Currently RJ's Ice Cream & Desserts is using the winter months as a sort of soft opening, and will expand their hours once the weather begins to warm up in April.
