Inside Lindsey and Jason Eddleston’s mission to preserve Royal Oak’s sweetest institution
Every year on her grandfather’s birthday, a woman lands at Detroit Metro, drives straight to Ray’s Ice Cream, orders her grandfather’s favorite milkshake, and boards a return flight home.
The ritual speaks volumes about what Ray’s means to its loyal customers. It’s more than ice cream. It’s cherished memories.
Lindsey and Jason Eddleston, the new owners of Ray’s, see themselves more as stewards. Lindsey, ironically, grew up lactose intolerant, but right when the store opened—and while pregnant with their first child, Piper—she magically regained the ability to eat dairy. “Perfect timing,” she laughs. One of their first additions: a line of dairy-free options, which customers were already asking for—and that Lindsey wishes had existed when she was a kid.
Jason’s childhood memories of ice cream are baseball helmet-filled blizzards at the local Dairy Queen with grandfather Victor. An athlete and fan of sports paraphernalia, Jason loved collecting those plastic helmets. Now he’s brought the idea back to life at Ray’s: “We’ve already sold 1,500 of them,” he says, grinning. “Kids get excited by that ‘collect them all’ feeling, just like I did.”
Jason, active on the Chamber of Commerce board, wanted to preserve a small business with real community roots. When he learned that Ray’s, a Royal Oak fixture since 1958, was at risk of closing, the choice became clear. “So many mom-and-pop businesses are disappearing,” he says. “We felt a responsibility to keep this gathering place alive.”
The sense of stewardship shows in how they’ve balanced honoring Ray’s history with modernizing its operations. They refused to touch the iconic 1930s stools and counters, even as they brightened the space with a new floor and fresh paint. “It’s a slice of Americana,” Lindsey says. “We’d never change that.” At the same time, they’ve grown Ray’s social media following from 1.2K to more than 18K, introduced pints into grocery stores, and added promotions focused on storytelling and community engagement.
The community’s “Ray’s stories” often stop Jason and Lindsey in their tracks. Like Skip, a 91-year-old regular whose family celebrated her life at Ray’s after she passed. “These customers are part of the fabric of this place,” Jason notes. Lindsey is moved by these anecdotes: “We could fill a book with all the memories people tell us,” she says.
But the couple have also made sure Ray’s delights new generations. They’ve kept the classic $3.50 kiddie scoop, while enhancing the Ray’s experience with touches like color-changing spoons and the aroma of fresh waffle cones.
They’ve launched cereal-milk flavors like Piper’s Pebbles (named after their daughter), created cookie-inspired collaborations with the Girl Scouts, and even partnered with Detroit’s beloved Dutch Girl Donuts to make Jason’s dream flavor—red velvet donut ice cream—a reality.
“Every dollar we’ve made, we’ve reinvested back into the business,” Jason says. That investment isn’t just financial; for the first 18 months after taking over, Jason was at the shop nearly every day. “Our longtime customers expect the owner to scoop,” he explains. “It reassures them this is still a family-run place.” Lindsey is just as present, executing branding ideas like swapping out styrofoam cups for branded ones that double as social-media magnets, and chatting with customers while tidying up outside. Even Piper hands out sample spoons at the counter. Just seven months old, son Wyatt is too little to pitch in, but you’ll see him at Ray’s too.
“We sell ice cream, sure,” Lindsey says. “But what we really sell is joy.” Jason adds: “Most ice cream places these days are takeout windows. At Ray’s, people slow down.”
In a world that’s lost many of its human-connection touchpoints, maybe slowing down and feeling that ‘thanks for stopping by’ energy…maybe that’s the real sweetness Jason and Lindsey are keeping alive at Ray’s.
Ray’s Ice Cream (raysicecream.com) is at 4233 Coolidge in Royal Oak. Instagram and TikTok: @raysicecreamco | Phone: (248) 549-5256
"We sell ice cream, sure. But what we really sell is joy.”