Oh Yeah, a new shop located at 232 Highland Ave. in
Shadyside, is giving Pittsburghers permission to eat ice cream for breakfast.
Featuring organic ice cream and a dazzling array of palate bending toppings, Oh Yeah is Pittsburgh’s only eatery specializing in
Woo City products, known for their Amish cream, high Omega-3 content and unrefined sugars. “It’s an outstanding company—the best producer of organic,” says owner Ethan Clay, who caught the ice cream bug while working in Boston cafes during college. “The concept is the new American morning—an alternative to grease.” After working in a Houston shelter following Hurricane Katrina, Clay returned home to Pittsburgh and launched what could be called the city’s first ice cream boutique.
Clay, who invested nearly $60,000 in the property's transformation, oversaw a complete renovation of the 900 square-foot shop, which features countertops made from bowling alleys and truck tire floors. “We definitely raised the property value,” says Clay, who built a new patio and entrance, installed energy efficient glass doors and fluorescent lights, and culled recylced materials from
Construction Junction.
Oh Yeah's impressive "mix-ins" menu includes 95 unexpected toppings like fresh ginger and wasabi peas. Specialties include a “fire nuts” and butter pecan concoction, and chocolate ice cream topped with habanero peppers. “You can custom craft your own flavor. I’ve never considered myself a cook, but I see myself as a chef here,” says Clay, 26, who hopes to add a waffle and pancake bar this winter. Open seven days a week, the dog-friendly shop also carries vegan ice cream, fat-free sorbets and free trade coffees and teas.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: Ethan Clay, Oh Yeah
Photograph copyright Jonathan Greene