WASHINGTON 鈥� It should be clear by now that any trip to the beach involves more than just sand and surf. The reason people keep visiting the Delmarva coast has as much to do with the food聽as it does with taking a聽cool dip in the mid-Atlantic ocean.
And whether you鈥檙e on the boardwalks of Maryland or Delaware, you have no shortage of beach-cuisine staples 鈥斅� the enormous buckets of french fries, greasy slices of pizza and, of course, the ice cream cone.
For decades, one cone, in particular, has stood out as a favorite for visitors to Ocean City, Maryland: Dumser鈥檚 Dairyland, the ice cream parlor founded in 1939 by the late Gladys Dumser.
鈥淗er main point was fresh ice cream. Everything is made and sold the same day, and that鈥檚 our main product, just making it and selling it the same day, keeping it fresh,鈥� said Donald Timmons, who owns the iconic ice cream stands that started on Ocean City鈥檚 boardwalk and now dot the resort town.
Asked just how many ice cream cones get scooped and served every day in the summer, Timmons said he could only estimate a number in the thousands.
鈥淥ur biggest sellers are the hand-dipped ice-cream,鈥� Timmons said. 鈥淲e have a factory on Worcester Street right now where we make everything here and ship it out to each of the stores. We鈥檙e only in Ocean City. You have to come here to get it.鈥�
What started as a simple stand on the boardwalk has now grown into seven locations up and down Coastal Highway and U.S. 50 in West Ocean City.
鈥淚 bought the Dumser name in 1981,鈥� Timmons said.
Timmons, who鈥檚 originally from Ocean View, Delaware, said his first job in town was making saltwater taffy with Dolle鈥檚. He later ran another ice cream stand on the boardwalk before taking over Dumser鈥檚, which, at the time, had only one leased location on the boardwalk.
Since then he鈥檚 expanded the company, growing to seven locations. Dumser鈥檚 has restaurants at 49th Street and 123rd Street, as well as in West Ocean City and smaller stands on the boardwalk.
Judging by the lines you have to wait in to get a cone, it鈥檚 not seen as too much of a good thing.
He said that by catering to families who 鈥渞eally built Ocean City,鈥� Dumser鈥檚 has been able to sustain the sort of success few other businesses know.
鈥淵ou just keep everything honest. Our business is based on quality, quantity, at a fair price,鈥� Timmons said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not a cheap price, but we鈥檙e a fair price for what we give.
鈥淲e buy the best of everything that goes into the ice cream. We don鈥檛 cut any corners, and we try to give a fair amount.鈥�
While many businesses have tried to profit beyond the beach by offering to ship their products around the country to nostalgic visitors who might not be able to get there anymore, Dumser鈥檚 is content with being an Ocean City staple.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not looking to put anything in the grocery stores,鈥� Timmons said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not looking to expand outside of Ocean City. We want to keep it an Ocean City tradition.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what Mrs. Dumser had originally started. We want to keep it that way.鈥�
