NEW YORK STATE, USA — Portland ice cream maker Salt & Straw is headed to New York City with its first scoop shops opening before the end of this summer.
One shop is slated for 540 Hudson St. in the West Village and the other is 360 Amsterdam Ave. on the Upper West Side. Both are corner locations that have been carefully scouted to ensure that the shops fulfill the company’s vision: to be community gathering places.
“I’ve been looking (for the right New York location) for about six years, and that’s not an exaggeration,” said co-founder and CEO Kim Malek.
Part of that work has been carefully building relationships with artisans, farmers, chefs and the broader community so that when the right location is available, a shop can open and it can immediately become part of the neighborhood tapestry.
“Tyler, my cousin who started the company with me, he and I are usually on the ground for years and years getting to know other local business people, artisans, makers and that will eventually lead to the right opportunity presenting itself,” she said of how new markets are selected. She added that the work to open new shops is a “combination of art and science.”
Salt & Straw has held various pop-up events in New York over the years and each has been a success. One of the company’s investors, Danny Meyer, who founded Shake Shack (NYSE: SHAK), is also based in New York which is another tie to the city.
The Portland Business Journal, a KGW News partner, has more on the New York strategy here.
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