Salt & Straw facts for kids

Salt & Straw

Industry	Retail
Founded	2011; 14 years ago (2011) in Portland, Oregon
Founders	Kim Malek Tyler Malek
Number of locations	40 (2024)
Products	Ice Cream

Salt & Straw is a super popular ice cream company. It started in Portland, Oregon, a city in the United States. Cousins Kim Malek and Tyler Malek created the company in 2011. They wanted to make unique and delicious ice cream flavors.

The Story of Salt & Straw

Salt & Straw began as a small food cart in the Alberta Arts District of Portland, Oregon. A food cart is like a mini-restaurant on wheels! Just three months later, they opened their first real ice cream shop. This is called a "brick-and-mortar" location.

Since 2011, Salt & Straw has grown a lot. They now have many shops in different cities. You can find their ice cream in Portland, Eugene, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Francisco, San Ramon, San Diego, Orlando, Sacramento, Seattle, Miami, and Las Vegas.

They also send ice cream all over the United States! To keep it frozen during shipping, they pack it with dry ice and special paper. Did you know that famous actor and wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson even owns a part of Salt & Straw?

Amazing Ice Cream Flavors

Salt & Straw ice cream often has unique flavors.

Salt & Straw is famous for its creative and sometimes surprising ice cream flavors. Some flavors are only available for a short time, depending on the season. They use ingredients that are grown or made close by. This helps them get the freshest and best-tasting ingredients.

Some of their well-known flavors include:

Creative Flavors by Kids

In 2015, Salt & Straw did something really cool. They teamed up with elementary schools! Children helped create new ice cream flavors. For example, some kids invented "Stop, Guac & Roll." This was avocado-vanilla ice cream with crispy, cinnamon-sugar tortillas. Another fun flavor was "Honey Bear," a vanilla custard with chocolate honeycomb candy and sparkly edible glitter.

Helping the Planet with Ice Cream

In 2016, Salt & Straw found a clever way to help the environment. They made new flavors using ingredients that might otherwise be thrown away. This is sometimes called "food waste," but Salt & Straw turned it into something delicious! They used things like very ripe strawberries, leftover grains from brewing, and vegan mayonnaise that was close to its expiration date.

The money they earned from these special flavors in Portland ($3,000) was given to Urban Gleaners. This is a group in Portland that helps feed people. Salt & Straw tries not to waste food. If they have leftover ice cream that's no longer on the menu, they donate it to groups that help others.

Ice Cream That Smells Good!

On National Ice Cream Day in 2022, Salt & Straw introduced something totally new: edible perfume! You could spray these special scents on your ice cream scoop. Kim Malek worked with a company called Imaginary Authors to make cocoa, citrus, and flower-like smells. It made eating ice cream an even more fun experience!

See also

• List of restaurant chains in the United States