Salt & Straw — the burgeoning ice cream shop helmed by cousins Kim and Tyler Malek — is opening another location this spring at the former Forage space in Silverlake: 3823 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026.
The incoming outpost will be the company’s eighth LA store, with dozens of others residing in Oregon, Seattle, Florida, Orange County, NoCal, and San Diego.
Salt & Straw opened as a Portland food cart back in 2011 after Kim Malek conceived the idea of “a community gathering place…where you could run into neighbors, spend time with family, or treat yourself.”
It wasn’t long before Tyler, Kim’s cousin, wanted in on the project. Shelling out $16 for four used ice cream makers, Tyler got to work. Per the company’s website, he spent hours “endlessly testing flavor ideas in his own personal Wonka-verse (a.k.a., Kim’s basement).”
Three months later, the duo opened their first brick-and-mortar, both solidifying Kim’s original concept and setting the groundwork for what would become a prolific ice cream empire.
Today, Salt & Straw slings a slew of decadent scoops, with flavors ranging from sea salt and caramel to honey lavender, while also offering nationwide delivery.
As for Kim and Tyler Malek’s newest locale, it will find itself wedged into an already crowded ice cream community on Sunset Boulevard. However, their rotating and eccentric flavors are primed to set the brand apart, even from the nearly next-door Pazzo Gelato.
