Salt & Straw is an ice cream company based in Portland, Oregon. The company was launched in 2011 by cousins Kim Malek and Tyler Malek.[2]
Company history
Salt & Straw began as a food cart in the Alberta Arts District of Portland, Oregon. Three months later the company opened its first brick-and-mortar location. Since opening in 2011, Salt & Straw has opened three other locations in the Portland area and offers a home delivery service throughout the US.[3] In order to ship ice cream nationwide delivery, the company packs its ice cream in dry ice and kraft paper.[4]
In 2014, Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Salt & Straw with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley.
Since opening, Salt & Straw has gained national media attention for its exotic ice cream flavours, some of which are seasonal. Standout flavours, such as Bone marrow with Bourbon Smoked Cherries and Arbequina Olive Oil, have served as some of the main reasons Salt and Straw has been included on lists of America's best ice cream.[10][11][12][13][14] Flavours offered at the ice cream shop vary depending on the seasons and ingredient availability, as all main ingredients are locally sourced. A list of regular Salt and Straw flavors follows (though these differ by location):[15]
Chocolate Babka with Hazelnut Fudge *New York Exclusive
In 2015, Salt & Straw partnered each shop with different elementary schools to create flavours designed by children. Stop, Guac & Roll (avocado-vanilla ice cream with cinnamon-sugar-dusted fried tortillas) and Honey Bear (vanilla custard with chocolate honeycomb candy and edible glitter) were two of the flavours created.[16]
In 2016, Salt & Straw developed new flavours from "food waste"—edible by-products of the food production process. New flavours were made with overripe strawberries, spent brewing grains and near-expiration date vegan mayonnaise. Proceeds from the sales of the featured flavors from its Portland stores ($3,000) were donated to Urban Gleaners, a Portland nonprofit. Salt & Straw creates little food waste or scraps, because its products are frozen. When an item is no longer offered on its menu, any leftover ice cream is donated to a nonprofit.[17]
In 2022, on National Ice Cream Day, the company introduced edible perfume as an ice-cream enhancement.[18][19] Malek worked with Imaginary Authors to create cocoa, citrus and floral scents that can be spritzed on scoops.[18]
.jpg)
