Kim Malek, Salt & Straw Ice Cream: Building community through handcrafted ice cream

You can also watch this interview by video on YouTube!

Kim Malek is CEO and visionary behind Salt & Straw and cofounder with her cousin Tyler. We talked about how she has created an amazing, people-driven company with community at its core.

She teamed up with her cousin Tyler to start Salt & Straw, which has become known for small-batch, chef-driven ice cream, handmade using local ingredients. Did I mention that every flavor is delicious?

Salt & Straw is not just an ice cream store, though. It’s a community builder. Kim was drawn to Portland because it’s community focused, innovative, and collaborative.

“ I could just clearly see an ice cream shop would be a good way to reflect that because you'd run into your friends and have that experience hanging out with your family. I really loved the creativity of food and flavor work we were doing at Starbucks, and I thought ice cream would be that on steroids…we could really go crazy on that front.”

Kim shares about her initial fears about starting her own business and how she shelved the ice cream idea for 15 years until she finally decided to take the plunge.

Not only is community being created in Salt & Straw’s long lines (they’ve even had some in-line marriage proposals and job offers!), but the employees create a spirit of hospitality and fun once you enter the store. You can try as many samples as you like before choosing a flavor. And Salt & Straw forms strong relationships with local schools and businesses, too. 

Every year Salt & Straw partners with a local fourth-grade class at the elementary school closest to each shop. Tyler Malek visits the school to talk ice cream, and they host a competition to create new ice cream flavors.

Salt & Straw’s website states: “Using ice cream as a platform, we pioneer and start experiences that inspire and connect us all…We use our menu to shine the light on issues we care about.”

 They use their revolving ice cream menu to focus on issues that matter, such as food waste.

Kim has always been drawn to social justice, but eventually she realized she could incorporate that into business.

“As I formulated this idea over the years of Salt & Straw, it was really important to me to provide a community gathering space that felt safe and open to everyone. And to use the company to have a voice for different things.”

For example, Kim walks her talk by serving on boards of the Oregon Justice Center and the Avel Gordly Center for Healing. Her husband and three children are Black, so she feels especially passionate about Black Lives Matter.

Next week on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast, I interview Gresh Harkless Jr., founder of CBNation and Blue 16 Media. He’ll talk about his experience as a Black man in the corporate world and how he built on obstacles like getting laid off multiple times to build a successful media company. 

I alternate the Companies That Care podcast with my original podcast, Finding Fertile Ground, which shares personal stories of grit and resilience. On both my podcasts I strive to highlight voices from historically excluded populations, people who don't always get a platform. 

I help professional services companies avoid BORING by making communications painless and boosting employee engagement, productivity, and brand recognition. I turn lackluster, jargon-filled, or technical prose into clear dynamic narrative. Look us up on fertilegroundcommunications.com. 

Transcript

Kim Malek

[00:00:00] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Honey Lavender, Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Pear & Blue Cheese, Arbequina Olive Oil, Cold Brew Coffee Cashew Praline, vegan Marionberry Coconut Sherbet, Strawberry Honey Balsamic w/ Black Pepper…these are just some of the flavors you can sample at Salt & Straw Ice Cream.

If you know Portland, you definitely know Salt & Straw. It’s the most popular ice cream in town. And if you’re an Oregonian, you might not know that Salt & Straw actually has MORE shops in California now than in Oregon…still locally made in small batches! They are growing by leaps and bounds.

Today I interview Kim Malek, the CEO and visionary behind Salt & Straw and cofounder with her cousin Tyler. She is an alum of Pacific Lutheran University like me, and the first time I met her was in 2016, when she was just beginning to expand outside of Portland. 

We talk about how she's created an amazing people driven company with community at its core. 

[00:01:01] Welcome to Companies that Care. I'm your host, Marie Gettel-Gilmartin. And this podcast is brought to you by Fertile Ground Communications.

[00:01:09] We help companies avoid boring by making communications painless and boosting employee engagement, productivity, and brand recognition. I turn lackluster, jargon-filled or technical prose into clear dynamic narrative. 

[00:01:22] I alternate this Companies that Care podcast with my other podcast, Finding Fertile Ground, which is about personal stories of grit and resilience and finding one's firm ground. On both of my podcasts, I strive to highlight voices from historically excluded populations, people who don't always get a platform.

[00:01:40] You can find information about both podcasts on my website and social media. Now let's meet Kim and talk about ice cream. 

[00:01:48] Hello, Kim. I'm so excited to talk to you today. 

[00:01:52] Kim Malek: Hello. Thank you. Me too. 

[00:01:54] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah, so much has happened with Salt & Straw since the last time we met. So we'll talk a little bit about that.

[00:01:59] [00:02:00] It's like your business has completely exploded, so let's start back at the beginning. 

[00:02:05] Can you tell our listeners, how did you get here in your life, down your career path? 

[00:02:11] Kim Malek: Gosh, you said the business has exploded. I feel like it melted down, regrew and then exploded.

[00:02:16] Like we've been on such a roller coaster along with everybody else. And we're so, so, so, so grateful to be standing tall right now. Gosh, whenever somebody asks me how you are, I take a deep breath and I smile and I'm like, I'm good. I can't believe I get to say that. I feel really fortunate.

[00:02:33] Just thinking back, it's funny. Cause we just had an alumni meeting with Starbucks alumni. And I really started my career at Starbucks. I started when there were 30 stores, it was a tiny company. And I always say, people, especially my mom felt sorry for me because I didn't get a very good job coming out of college.

[00:02:52] This tiny company that no one had heard of. And I was like, oh, it's going to be big someday. I know, I really believe in this guy, [00:03:00] Howard Schultz. So I was there working in new markets and marketing. And when I left, I think there were 3000 stores. And so it was a pretty cool experience for me to see this entrepreneurial business kind of turned into a real thing.

[00:03:15] And I was there when we went public, all kinds of incredible experiences. From there I went to work for a few different fortune 500 companies. And the last thing I was doing was working for Red, which is the company Bono started to raise money for aids in Africa. I was about to move to New York, which is where the headquarters are.

[00:03:35] And I was living in Seattle. I came to Portland for a birthday party and I met a guy in a bar, which doesn't usually end well, but we're still together. And we have three children and, I moved to Portland instead and was able to realize this dream that I've had forever of opening an ice cream shop here.

[00:03:52] So that's the reader's digest version of how I ended up here. 

[00:03:57] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Oh my gosh. I love that story. That your mom thought [00:04:00]Starbucks wasn't a very good job.. 

[00:04:01] Kim Malek: Well, yeah, 

[00:04:02] she's like, I'll save your bedroom for you. You can go home. I said, come on mom. I really passed up some good jobs, you know, when I took the job at Starbucks.

[00:04:13] So I think there was a job with a developer and real estate and, you know, all kinds of things. It was the big decision that I look back at and really laugh.

[00:04:23] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: That’s an amazing story. And you graduated from PLU like I did. What was your major? 

[00:04:28] Kim Malek: So I majored in communications. Wanted to be in the PR world. I really loved journalism in general. And then I had an almost minor in business. 

[00:04:38] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Who knew how much you would use that? 

[00:04:41] Kim Malek: I know! I really nailed it. I was inspired. I remember when I was in grade school, I read of all books, Peggy Noonan's books. She was a speech writer for Reagan. And that's really what kind of got me excited about the communications world. And my parents were always really into politics. So that was something that sparked for me when I [00:05:00] was really, really young. My parents are on a different side of the aisle than me, but I still am grateful that they sparked the interest in politics and passion.

[00:05:09] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Peggy Noonan now probably would seem like a liberal if you read her now, right? Everything's changed so much since then, right? 

[00:05:17] Kim Malek: Thank you. That's a good point. I should go back and read it. Now that you say that. 

[00:05:20] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Well, and I have to say that going through PLU as a parent was a really good experience. The university has evolved so much since then, and they're doing some really good stuff,

[00:05:28] Kim Malek: they are, I'm really impressed and proud. It's cool to see everything that they're doing. So nice that you get to see the other side of that through being a parent. 

[00:05:37] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah, definitely. So for our listeners who have not heard of Salt & Straw, who don't live in Portland, who have not had the luck of being able to go into one of your stores, can you just tell us about your company?

[00:05:49] Kim Malek: Yeah. I had this dream when I was working in first Starbucks. I ended up living in Portland for a little while and, I was just struck by the community feeling here. One of my [00:06:00] best friends, I literally met walking down the street. I was trying to pay for parking and we'd struck up a conversation and she was the founder of Oregon Chai.

[00:06:08] So we became friends and it's just an example of how close knit people are here. I always say they bring you in and lift you up. And we don't have a lot of big Fortune 500 companies here. So it's very innovative and collaborative. And for some reason I could just clearly see an ice cream shop would be a good way to reflect that because you'd run into your friends and have that experience hanging out with your family. And I really loved the creativity of food and flavor work that we were doing at Starbucks, I thought, oh, ice cream would be, you know, on steroids.

[00:06:39] Like we could really go crazy on that front. And so in 1996, I was working on a plan and looking for real estate. When I was in college, my father had gone bankrupt. And so the idea of starting my own small business was really scary because it had been very traumatic for our family. So, you know, although I had a lot of passion for the idea, I [00:07:00] just decided, I should stick to my really great day job and shelve that plan.

[00:07:06] And I did, and I always kind of had it in the background. And when I landed back in Portland, I remember one morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table with Mike and we were reading the New York Times. And on the front page of the New York magazine was an article about Humphrey Slocombe in San Francisco.

[00:07:22] And they had just started their ice cream shop with these incredible flavors. And I remember holding the article up to Mike and putting my fist to the sky and saying it's my idea. You know, we've all had that moment where you're like, I had a great idea to somebody else's doing it.

[00:07:37] And he said, well, you should do it. You've been carrying this around since 1996. Gosh, it's really hard when someone calls you on your dream and, you know, kind of puts your feet to the fire like well then go do it and if you really are, so I'm passionate about this. And I started the process of putting the pieces together, trying to get funding in the middle of a recession, which is insane. And you know, [00:08:00] basically I, cashed in my 401k, sold my house, had a garage sale, maxed out my credit cards and was able to kind of scrap things together to open a little shop on Alberta.

[00:08:10] And my cousin moved from north of Seattle to Portland to help me. And he started making all the ice cream and turns out he was really good at it. You know, this idea of a community gathering place quickly started to be reflected in our ice cream, which caused us to have really unique flavors because they were all in collaboration with people we met locally and fast forward from 2011 to today, we have 25 stores up and down the west coast, two in Miami. And we're about to open in Disney world! I think any minute I'm going to wake up and say, like I had the craziest dream that we were going to open in Disney world cause I can't believe we get to do it. I’m really, really excited!

[00:08:53] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: You already have one an Anaheim I read. 

[00:08:55] Kim Malek: We do. We've been there for about three years and it's just been a [00:09:00]smashing success.

[00:09:00] And so the folks at Disney called and said we have an opportunity in Orlando. If you're interested in, this was kind of in the depth of the pandemic. And I don't even think I could really appreciate or enjoy the opportunity very much. I was like, of course we'll do it. Thank you. But, man, now the days are upon us.

[00:09:21] We'll open soon and we're really excited. 

[00:09:24] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Wow. So the last time that I met you was when you came to speak at an IABC meeting that was 2016. And at that time I remember clearly you were opening up your first store outside of Portland in LA. Now you have 25 stores. I mean, that is amazing.

[00:09:41] And I remember you talking about the difficulty in creating small batch, and having to develop local relationships and all that. And do you do that with every one of your stores still? 

[00:09:51] Kim Malek: Yeah. So that would have been our fourth store. When I met you. We were about to open our fourth store, which in some way is probably harder than opening our 26th [00:10:00]store.

[00:10:00] Those were hard times. Yeah, it was interesting because, we could've just made more of our Portland flavors and shipped them down to LA and it probably would have been really appreciated and done really well. But we thought instead let's work with local artisans and farmers and producers and chefs and create flavors that are local to Los Angeles.

[00:10:21] And man, did people love that? Like they really sparked to that. It was almost like we were exporting the ethos of Portland instead of our flavors. We even had people in LA like a chocolate maker and a donut maker start to collaborate. Cause they met through a project that they were doing with us.

[00:10:36] And so it was so fun to just to be part of that local community. And I think it really caused the city of LA to take ownership of our brands. Cause you know, it kind of felt like them. And we just had this thought like, gosh, it's, central to everything we do. And you know, growth doesn’t have to mean mass sameness. It can be unique. And so, yeah, we did the same when we opened in San Francisco and [00:11:00] Seattle and Miami. And, it's a lot harder. If you open any business book, it says, you know, to grow, you should leverage what you're doing and make more money off of it.

[00:11:08] And I always say, if there's a harder, more expensive way to do something, we'll find it, and here we are doing it, but I think it's just more fun and, you know, people seem to really respond nicely to it. So we're still doing it. 

[00:11:22] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Wow. And let's talk a little bit about what makes Salt & Straw unique because it's not just any ice cream store. Right. I mean, it's, you have your flavors, talk to talk a little bit about your flavors, which are very unusual. 

[00:11:35] Kim Malek: Yeah. All of our flavors are reflective of people we've met in collaborations that we've done. And so, we have, I think the best vanilla ice cream you can ever find. So we have really simple traditional flavors.

[00:11:47] It's with Singing Dog Vanilla out of Eugene, Oregon, which we're about to open this store there, which is really exciting. We have a really nice gooey brownie chocolate that's very simple and wonderful. And then [00:12:00] we change our menu every four weeks. And so when you come in, you'll find, it's almost like you're reading a magazine.

[00:12:07] So like that month there's a theme and it's telling a story. We just launched a series of five flavors that are all cereal, ice cream. Soon we'll be launching five flavors that are in partnership with five children who wrote their own original stories. And then we turn their stories into ice cream flavors, like, gosh, and then May brings May flowers.

[00:12:32] And so we have five flavors, made it of different edible versions of edible flowers. And so, you know, people coming in, they're like, wow, I'm learning something new about the world around me, my community, sometimes it's social issues. Like Tyler did a menu.

[00:12:47] That's my cousin, using, all food that was going to go to waste. So it was a food waste series to shine a light on the fact that we throw away 40% of our food in the United States, but there's people around us going hungry. And if we use [00:13:00] that food, we could really make a big difference.

[00:13:02] So ice cream is kind of fun cause it's disarming if there's something for everyone and you can learn about, I think a lot of this stuff, in an unusual way. So our flavors you'll find. I mean, I always hear when I'm serving ice cream at our shops, people are like, I did not think that would work.

[00:13:19] That is so that, you know, bone marrow instead of dairy or really unusual ingredients that you might not normally think of an ice cream. And, you know, our goal is to never be shocking, but to have it be part of a narrative and make sense and to have it be really, really delicious every time.

[00:13:36] That's what you'll find. And then our stories are really beautiful. Like we try to create a transformative environment with real carved wood that you can put your hands on while you're sampling every flavor. And our team, they're like, you know, wine stores, they know every detail of every flavor that's coming out and that we've ever had.

[00:13:56] And so it's a really special interaction from that perspective too, which [00:14:00] is, just such an honor to get, to spend that time with people, especially nowadays.

[00:14:05] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: And I know that when you first started your store , it was all about building communities. Tell our listeners about how that is important to you. 

[00:14:12] Kim Malek: Early, in my days at Starbucks, I actually tried to give them my resignation because I wanted to go into the Peace Corps. I always have had this real draw to politics and social causes and really wanted to dedicate my life to doing that work.

[00:14:27] And I think slowly through my work in corporate America, I realized there is a window to do that type of work and make a difference through business. And that business should actually be at the table. They have to be in order for our societies to move forward in the way hopefully we all want them to be.

[00:14:43] You know, this was in the early days the late eighties, early nineties when I was having some of these realizations , And so as I formulated this idea over the years of salt and straw, that was really important to me, to provide a community gathering space that felt, safe and open to everyone.

[00:14:59] [00:15:00] And to use the company to have a voice for different things. I'm on the board of the Oregon justice resource center. And, I, was able to bring forward almost 40 business leaders to sign a letter demanding, that, the Oregon state legislature passed this bill that had been put forth to compensate wrongfully convicted folks who had spent time in prison.

[00:15:23] And when they get out, we need to compensate them Oregon is one of only a few states that doesn't do that. Just as an example of, we in the business community, if we're not standing up telling our politicians this is important to us and this is the kind of society and community we want to live in, it doesn't maybe make it out of committee, like we've gotta be showing up and having a voice.

[00:15:44] And you know, we're translating that to some other work we're doing with them to help with education programs in the prisons. So people can get jobs in the hospitality industry when they come out. I use these as examples of ways that, I think community can run really deep and have deep roots and obviously [00:16:00] benefit the business community.

[00:16:01] We're looking for great employees. They're really hard to find right now let's go out and train people and then it feeds itself and it's good for everybody. 

[00:16:10] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah, I really do think businesses often had a louder voice when it comes to making changes in politics or, government definitely. They listen to businesses sometimes more.

[00:16:20] Kim Malek: I was just watching about Florida, you know, Disney's standing up, to some state politics that are going on around LBGTQ laws that are hopefully not going to be enacted. And it's so great to see businesses using their voice.

[00:16:37] And they always have, but I just think, whether it's in politics or showing up and doing the work and being part of the solution, there's so much opportunity and, this new generation, I don't mean to sound like an old lady here, but, you know, I mean, they're demanding it, you know, both as customers and as employees that, we're showing up that way as a good corporate citizen.

[00:16:58] I think it's good for [00:17:00] business all around. To be on this path. 

[00:17:02] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yes, absolutely. Young people don't want to go work for companies that are not walking their talk. They see through all that bullshit. Totally 

[00:17:10] Kim Malek: It is bullshit. Yeah. 

[00:17:12] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: I really liked the statement. I saw your website, using ice cream as a platform.

[00:17:16] I love that. Using ice cream as a platform, we pioneer and start experiences that inspire and connect us all. I think that's a beautiful description of what Salt & Straw is, because often your shops have long lines, because it's so popular. 

[00:17:32] Kim Malek: Especially coming through the pandemic, we've never been more grateful for those lines 

[00:17:37] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Did the lines go way down or what happened during the pandemic? The height of the pandemic? We're still in the pandemic.

[00:17:43] Kim Malek: I know. Let's just try to pretend or not, just for a minute, Gosh, the pandemic was really terrible for us because we are where these community gathering places, hundreds of people coming every hour. I guess we're not a super tiny business anymore, but we're still a pretty small business.

[00:17:58] And when you're growing, like [00:18:00] we are, you don't have deep pockets and big cash reserves cause you're really reinvesting all your money into the company. And so it was a really dangerous time for. We had to shut all of our shops down for quite a while. So we had no business at all.

[00:18:14] We started selling again online and manufacturing once we could figure out how to make ice cream safely, because manufacturing was such a hot spot early in the pandemic. And we wanted to make sure that we were responsible about that. And our ice cream is made in small batches with people hovering around in really close quarters.

[00:18:31] So, we recrafted all of that and then kind of slowly opened again And just at the start of last summer, we reopened all of our shops. So we're coming up this summer on a year of full operations and it's great, you know, I think people now, as we come through this pandemic are looking for community again.

[00:18:49] And so we hope to play a really important role in that. And we talk about what an honor it is to have people come out and spend that time. You know, we talk about offering a moment of full face attention to people looking [00:19:00] them in the eye, making those connections, telling stories about all the people who came together to make our ice cream.

[00:19:06] And those lines, you know, they're usually pretty fun. Like we have stories of people getting marriage proposals and job offers, and all the time people get to the front and they say, oh, I'm going to buy the person next to me, a scoop. I just met them in line and they're from out of town or having a hard day or celebrating.

[00:19:24] If you look at our lines, one of my favorite things is it's one of the few places you don't see people looking down at their phone, they're looking up and they're talking and like, have you tried these new flavors? And what are you going to try? And are you excited? Are you nervous?

[00:19:38] And they kind of meet and talk. That's what I love about it. 

[00:19:41] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: They're trying to decide what, what flavor to try out 

[00:19:44] Kim Malek: And have you tried ___? And so it's fun and we have sampling now again, I mean, people sample all the flavors when they come in. Sometimes it's really fun.

[00:19:54] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: All the flavors, really. 

[00:19:57] Kim Malek: We call it going around the world. You can try all the flavors. [00:20:00]

[00:20:01] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Uh, well, it's definitely a favorite spot for us to take out of towners too. 

[00:20:05] So let's talk a little bit about Portland. I like to ask Portland business leaders, how they feel about Portland, because there's been a lot of criticism about, our homeless population is ballooned and we've had some challenges with some of our local politicians and acting appropriately on things. What do you see. For the future of our city. 

[00:20:26] Kim Malek: Yeah. Gosh, I know it's, heart-wrenching to see what Portland's been through, I'm also really proud of Portland in a lot of ways. The protests that went on I think were really important. We have a history in Oregon that I think none of us are really proud of when it comes to race and race relations and laws that have been on the books.

[00:20:47] And so starting to tear that scab off and talk about it, I think that that's good. I worry now, as I've been spending a lot of time up and down the west coast and in lots of different [00:21:00] cities and coming back to Portland, as I said earlier, like we don't have a lot of big, huge companies here in a big economic base.

[00:21:07] For us to get that wheel turning again. We were in such a special place right before the pandemic hit. Just with lots of attention from all over the world and being really this sweetheart destination where people could come and find, you know, really special jewels and nuggets and undiscovered things and very independent.

[00:21:27] It's fiercely independent here. And so, you know, getting back to that place I think is going to be really hard. And if we don't. Quickly, I think it's going to take longer. So I don't envy the position our politicians are in. I don't think there's one magic bullet. It's going to take all of us, you know, coming together to talk and figure this out and, you know, deal with the problems we have.

[00:21:50] We'll deal with them differently than any other city. And you know, gonna hopefully find a way to take care of people and ensure that our businesses are prospering [00:22:00] and the city is prospering again, because again, the two should go hand in hand, you know, businesses are prospering, we should be able to invest in our local society and get the services that we need for people.

[00:22:11] But, gosh, my family and I are out and about in Portland every day. And it's lovely. So I, think, the news likes to have headlines and, it's not as bad as people think. I know we have a bright future and hopefully it'll come sooner than later. 

[00:22:26] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yes. I agree. I interviewed Lisa Schroeder last year and she was talking about how, the people who have complained about downtown have always complained, you know, really 

[00:22:37] you have people from the suburbs that think that downtown is big, dangerous place, 

[00:22:41] It's always going to be there 

[00:22:44] Kim Malek: you know, it is kind of cool though. This isn't unique to Portland necessarily, but going through this pandemic, I have seen the suburbs really start to get a little bit more of a soul. I'll call it we're all investing more in where we live with, whether it's restaurants or [00:23:00] shops or activities, demanding more almost of those kinds of locals.

[00:23:04] So it's not just nameless, faceless strip malls, but they have more of a spirit to them. I think that's a cool thing. 

[00:23:11] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah, you're totally right. I grew up in Beaverton and it's definitely more of a vibrant place and a more community-based place than it used to be.

[00:23:20] So that's totally right. Yeah. Yeah. So the restaurant industry can be really challenging for, as you mentioned, you have a hard time getting employees right now. It's very high stress and it can be a brutal work environment. I learned this cause, my 18 year old worked at Shalom Y'All last summer as a line cook. He loved it there and a great experience, but I had no idea how brutal the hours could be like and how people often don't get breaks. So I see that you offer benefits to your employees who are there for over 30 hours a week, which is pretty unusual in the restaurant industry. So what else do you do to make sure your employees are well taken care of and engaged.

[00:23:58] Kim Malek: Yeah, we've been so [00:24:00] fortunate throughout this whatever they're calling it, this labor crisis , we've been able to have maintained, really good, staffing levels, I guess. And I think so much of it is, being part of a purpose-driven company, where it's important that we always say, it's kind of bullshit that you check yourself at the door, we hired you to be your whole self and feel safe and included.

[00:24:21] And so setting that culture, I think has really been our competitive advantage and look at what an advantage it is when we all hit rocky times. So we're so grateful, to our team and, to be able to lean on that. I mean, in terms of benefits, we offer paid parental leave and an employee assistance program. That's really robust that will help with anything from legal issues to mental health issues. Just helping find resources that you might need. We just launched a tuition assistance program, which for our size we're really proud of. And that's wonderful. 401k program. And so, these are all things that our [00:25:00] team has asked for and we are always, serving them to see what benefits they would want.

[00:25:04] And anytime we are able to make investments back into the company, benefits are a top thing. So I set schedules, we don't do really long, schedules, like even our general managers have limited shifts that they work to make sure that there's a lot of good life balance.

[00:25:21] And I always say, you know, working that hard is okay until it's not okay. And then, you know, then you lose people. And so I would rather you be here for the long run than put on extra hours right now. You know, we're not perfect, but we're trying really hard and we're always making improvements and our team's satisfaction, especially those general managers they make or break the success of our company and we want to do everything we can to invest in them and make sure they feel supported.

[00:25:48] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah. I'm sure that you get a lot of employee retention because of the great benefits you offer. I mean, it's hard to find that right now especially for young people who are fresh out of college, it's hard to find those really good jobs. [00:26:00]

[00:26:00] Kim Malek: Yeah. I think a lot of talented people are also attracted to our growth, and that can be a double-edged sword where people are like, oh, I want to be part of something really small, you know?

[00:26:10] But if you have a big career in mind, it's so cool to see the progress that people have made, 10 years later they're working here and, they've lived in multiple cities and they have these, you know, really, impressive, experiences and jobs now. And that's probably the biggest honor I have in being the owner of the company.

[00:26:30] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: I bet. Can you tell us about how Salt & Straw partners with nonprofits and local schools? 

[00:26:37] Kim Malek: Yeah, so we have done a program with school specifically, every year, since we started where, we partner with the local fourth-grade class at the elementary school closest to each of our shops. And, Tyler, my cousin goes into the school. And it's so fun because he gets to talk to them about careers. And when they hear that his job is to make ice cream, [00:27:00] like that's a job, that's your job every day. You make ice cream. They're like, okay, I'm changing my, aspirations here. But learning about jobs and careers and how you get a job and what he did to prepare the science of ice cream, so learning about that and we hold a competition and they all create, they kind of write an overview of what ice cream flavor they would make and why.

[00:27:25] And they draw a picture and then we pick five and then the proceeds go back to that local school just to invest in that local community. And so then they even get to like, come in the store and see like how it's marketed and just sort of learn about the whole, business process through ice cream, which is really fun.

[00:27:40] They come up with some wacky flavors. 

[00:27:42] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Can you give us an example? 

[00:27:44] Kim Malek: Well, one of my favorite is, there was one that was, fish and chips and Tyler made like in molds, Swedish fish. Oh yeah. And then we, chocolate covered, potato chips for the chips and it was [00:28:00] delicious, but, you know, partnering with them to creatively come up with ideas and concepts.

[00:28:04] It's really, really fun. 

[00:28:06] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: It is so cool. You talked about the series he created about food that is often discarded. What were some examples of foods that he used? 

[00:28:14] Kim Malek: I mean, everything from, popcorn…believe it or not with a local movie theater that they're going to throw away, they just saved it for weeks and weeks and weeks.

[00:28:22] And we turned it into different ice cream flavors too. Um, there was barley that was being discarded from a big brewery that they were going to just throw away. There were, pieces of, vegetables from a big processing plant that were going to be thrown away like the stems and things like that.

[00:28:39] And also we worked with a company that salvages misshapen fruit. So, it's perfectly fine, but it doesn't look like it's supposed to. So all kinds of different foods, you'd be surprised. And then we started working with Urban Gleaners, which is a local Portland company and they actually will go to. Like, let's say the Blazers have a [00:29:00] game. And then at the end of the game, they will show up with trucks and collect all of the food that wasn't sold and they repackage it and deliver it to families who need food. And, in past times that would have just been thrown away. It was all thrown away. So it's a perfect example of different kinds of enterprises coming together to solve these problems and so innovative and really, really cool.

[00:29:22] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: That's great. You probably don't have a lot of leftover ice cream

[00:29:25] Kim Malek: Leftover ice cream. Yeah. No, we use all that--people eat that!

[00:29:33] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: And do you ship all over the world now? 

[00:29:35] Kim Malek: No, but you can order ice cream to be delivered to your home anywhere in the United States. We're not to Canada yet. We’ve got to figure that out. 

[00:29:44] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: They can go on your website and just order the ice cream to be delivered.

[00:29:47] Kim Malek: It's so funny when we first were getting started, the Wall Street Journal calls and this reporter said, we want to do a story about your ice cream and we were still a little cart but you have to have national [00:30:00] distribution.

[00:30:00] And I was like, what are you talking about? I can literally touch both sides of my cart. And my cousin just drove up in his blue Subaru with a cooler on the roof, like of ice cream, like national distribution. And she said, well, could you ship it? You know? And I think she even used the word mail order.

[00:30:16] Cause we're both, you know, of that generation. And I was like, I think we could figure that out. And she said, okay, you've got three weeks. The story will run in three weeks. So we were still a little ice cream cart and we were doing shipments and we got all these orders and we've been doing it ever since.

[00:30:31] And now of course it's a much more real business, but, we've been doing it since day one. Shipping ice cream on dry ice. It's almost like magic. It doesn't seem like it would actually be possible that you could get, 

[00:30:43] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: oh, that's amazing. I should think of that. If I ever have somebody out of town, who's, having a hard time.

[00:30:49] Kim Malek: It's a fun gift to get. Cause you're like ‘ice cream!’ I just opened this box and I have ice cream. It's so weird. 

[00:30:55] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: I love that. So the other thing that I really like to your website is a phrase that you, 

[00:30:59] because I'm a [00:31:00] communicator, I'm always looking for these types of things. We use our menu to shine the light on issues we care about.

[00:31:06] That just is so cool. So can you explain a little bit about how you use your menu to shine a light on issues you care about 

[00:31:13] Kim Malek: yeah. I think the food waste issue as a perfect example, and then issues even you could say it's an issue sort of like local artisans and makers.

[00:31:22] So one example, we work with a woman who lives in in the bay area, in Oakland, actually. And she, started the first ever edible bug farm in the United States. And she's a first-generation immigrant and she brought this practice with her and we candy her crickets and aunts every year and put them in a matcha ice cream.

[00:31:42] It is during Halloween. But we've become her biggest customer and I mean, how cool is that, to really help, give rise to these businesses that we get to work with over a period of years and years and years, and, shine a light on the incredible work that these folks are doing, that the [00:32:00]artisans are doing at a local level.

[00:32:01] And, as we grow to use that power for good is really fun and she's incredible, and people love the ice cream. Believe it or not, even in Disneyland, they were ordering that ice cream, more than anywhere else in our company. We couldn't believe it. 

[00:32:15] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Wow. 

[00:32:17] You know, Jonathan Van Ness has a new Netflix show Getting Curious...very fun. He did one on insects. And, and he went to some chef who makes everything with insects

[00:32:29] Kim Malek: I did see like a little trailer for that or something. Yeah, I know. I have to watch that. I'm very sure. I like the ice cream. My 12 year old daughter really likes it. And she brought a bag of the candy insects to her class once.

[00:32:44] And it didn't go over well, not everyone is as into it.

[00:32:49] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: no. I remember when my middle son was in kindergarten and back in the old days now I don't think they do that any more. You would bring cookies or cake for a birthday. He loved lemon from a very early [00:33:00] age .

[00:33:00] He was the only one who ate the lemon cookies. Yeah. I mean most younger kids don't like lemon. He's always been a foodie. So it started at a very young age. It's so cool. 

[00:33:12] He's the one who worked at Shalom Y'all. He's always been interested in food, but he has a gift. That, you know, I've learned a lot from him. 

[00:33:22] Kim Malek: That's a real thing. It's so cool to see kids, when they're that young, I mean, we see them coming into our shops and they're like, yeah, we don't order the brown ale, bacon ice cream. I'm like, you're eight, are you sure? Yup. My mom says she's right here. That's what I want.

[00:33:36] And, but they just want to try all these different, flavors. It's really cool to see. 

[00:33:41] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah. And I think our children are much more adventurous about food that we probably, I mean, I remember my mom making teriyaki beef. I'm 57 and that was a big deal back then.

[00:33:52] Kim Malek: Good job, Mom 

[00:33:52] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: And she made gazpacho one of my favorite foods was gazpacho when I was in high school and my classmates had never heard of it.

[00:33:59] Kim Malek: [00:34:00] Whoa, that's impressive. 

[00:34:02] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah. So she was good at exposing us to different things. 

[00:34:05] Kim Malek: It's funny. I mean, I remember my mom made like a tuna stuffed tomato once and I just thought this is like out of this world, born in billings, Montana. Yeah. We didn't have a lot of different cuisines going on. 

[00:34:21] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: So yes. Meat and potatoes. So you've talked a little bit about this, but are there other challenges that you have faced in building your business, especially so quickly? 

[00:34:31] Kim Malek: Yeah, I mean, it's funny. Cause on one hand it can be seem kind of quickly. And another hand, if you compare us to a lot of people out there though, like what is taking you so long, you know, here's 25 stores, but, um, gosh, I mean, I think everything pales in comparison to this pandemic.

[00:34:49] So I don't even know what challenges, I mean, everyone will say funding is a big challenge and we really we're so fortunate on that front. [00:35:00] I self-funded, the first few stores just kind of bootstrapped it and then friends and family helped us.

[00:35:05] And then this man who became a friend, he, is a restauranteur in Los Angeles and he was vacationing in Portland and really fell in love with Salt & Straw. He got me on the phone. I mean, he, this is the kind of guy he is. He hunted down my phone number and he was like, I'm gonna fly back up to Portland. I want to meet you. We hit it off. Next thing I know he's flying back with this fellow who I didn't quite comprehend who it was. Anyway, this guy is a really big time investor has this other person he brought. And so over the years I got to know him and we'd always meet up when I was in New York or LA and California.

[00:35:40] And, long story short, what I found was, as an entrepreneur, you can find money. Money is out there. You can generally find it, but to find someone who has your shared values like that, and to get to know them over years and years, and really make sure that they're there and they understand who you are, and they understand that you make ice cream [00:36:00] in a way that's probably not the most economical.

[00:36:02] And you're going to spend time, working in the prisons and they're going to support you when you close your stores for a month, because there's a pandemic and you're running out of money, you know, and they can take your company away if they want to. Because, what are you going to do about it?

[00:36:16] You've got no ground to stand on, but he's been there through and through every step of the way. And so I always, folks call me, they come in to go get funding, I'm looking, I'm like, just, just take your time and you'll know, like, find that person who really aligns with your values.

[00:36:33] That's one of the most important things that we've probably ever done. 

[00:36:36] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: That's really good advice. And since you're giving advice, do you have other advice for people who want to create companies that care and any kind of field, not just in food. 

[00:36:47] Kim Malek: I always tell this story that when I was working on my business plan, when I, kinda, um, reviving things in probably 2009 and it was during the great recession.

[00:36:57] And so I walked my business plan [00:37:00] around to all these banks thinking someone would probably loan me money during the recession to open an ice cream shop in Portland, Oregon. I was sure of it. And, no one did. But I got, a lot of good feedback on my business plan. And, I had a really solid plan.

[00:37:16] And then I started emailing it to different people who, oh, this is person might invest. And I remember I got in the U S mail, a manila envelope, and I pulled it out and it was my business plan. And someone had written all over it in red ink. You can't do this. Who do you think you are? Starbucks? 

[00:37:35] And I was like, oh my gosh, I threw it away as fast as I could. Cause you know, when you're starting a business, you don't want to let that doubt like seep into you too much because it's already impossible, you know? And you can't be thinking it's impossible or you'll never make it work.

[00:37:48] But what his point was, we had, built into the economics and the business plan, higher wages, higher food costs and investing in local artisans benefits [00:38:00] for our team. And he just thought you can't do this. So, I mean, way that we kind of thought about it was, well, then we're not going to do it this isn't about, like a, get rich quick.

[00:38:11] Sure. Isn't about that. Um, it's about, you know, building something that's enduring and makes a difference. And so we built that into the plan from the very beginning. We've been challenged, over the years of making that stick. But, always coming back to that initial intention and keeping our eyes on that and try, and when we do falter, working hard to build back to that, 

[00:38:32] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: I love that. And I think if you're going to build a company, you want to build a company that has your own values, you're chasing your dream to build a company that has your values, right. 

[00:38:41] Kim Malek: You're exactly right. And I have a big value around treating people fairly and taking care of each other. Like, just because you're a human on this earth, I think you deserve respect and dignity. And so that was an important tenet of why we started the company and how we want people to feel when they come into contact with us. 

[00:38:59] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: I [00:39:00] so agree with you. In my entrepreneurial world of business to business service providers, a lot of people nowadays are hiring virtual assistants from overseas and they get them for $4 or 5 an hour.

[00:39:12] Hmm. People are recommending that and I just don't feel right about that at all. So even though it would be a benefit to me in many ways to have a virtual assistant, you know, obviously it would save a lot of money, but I'm with you, it doesn't match with my values at all.

[00:39:26] And I believe in pay fair wages. So it doesn't feel right. 

[00:39:30] Kim Malek: You're happy to do it. 

[00:39:31] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Even though it might be harder for us. That's really important. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners? 

[00:39:38] Kim Malek: I mean, the only thing that's been on my mind lately as a woman and, you know, women's history month, then all international women's day and all these things. One thing that keeps ringing true to me, I mean, I told you I had this idea in 1996 and then we opened in 2011 and I keep hearing this consistent issue, whether it's been politics or sports [00:40:00] or business of women, really trying to perfect things before they put it out into the world.

[00:40:06] And I think it just holds us back so much and I did it, and I see women around me doing it. And then my entrepreneurial brethren, the guys wake up in the morning and they're like, I had the best idea. I'm gonna blow your mind. Like, here we go. I'm gonna grace you with this. You're so lucky. And I really am trying to figure out how we can take a page out of their book and put ourselves out there more.

[00:40:30] Just try it, get that one step out, learn, try the next thing, try the next thing and let it be iterative versus perfecting it and letting that perfection hold you back. I think women, we have so much to offer, to the world and, finding our voices and putting it out there. Couldn't it be more important now more than ever.

[00:40:49] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: I so agree. It's like the phrase about having as much confidence as a mediocre white man. Have you heard that? And then one of the best pieces of business [00:41:00]advice I got was when I got 

[00:41:01] a huge promotion and one of my male mentors, I had some great male mentors. So I'm going to be taking on this really big, new role, but they're not talking about doing a salary increase.

[00:41:12] And he said, Marie, you need to think like a man. So that was really good advice, like how would a man go into this? 

[00:41:18] Kim Malek: It's so true. And maybe that's a question we have to ask ourselves. It's funny, I'm new to a lot of the reform work for our political justice in the prisons and things like that.

[00:41:28] And I was on the phone with someone who's really well known in the industry and partway through the call. I said, gosh, I just feel like I'm wasting your time. I don't know enough. And you know, I think we should just cut this call short and I'll come back to you. And she started laughing and she said, you know, a man would never say that.

[00:41:45] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yes. 

[00:41:46] Kim Malek: And she said, why are you saying that? And I said, oh my God, I'm walking around telling people that, and now here I am doing it. And she really gave me a stern talking to, I think we have to remind ourselves that. 

[00:41:58] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yes, that's a great [00:42:00] story. Well, thank you so much for your time. Kim, this has just been such a pleasure. It's been fun to get caught up and hear about all the amazing things you do. I'm so excited for you. 

[00:42:08] Kim Malek: Oh my gosh. Thank you. Well, it means the world to me. Thanks for having me. 

[00:42:13] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Yes. And I think that definitely Salt & Straw just totally epitomizes companies that care. So thank you for all that you do for our community. 

[00:42:20] Kim Malek: Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for this important venue to share this. Cause we all got to band together and do the work]

[00:42:29] Marie Gettel-Gilmartin: Change the world. Totally agree. 

[00:42:31] Thank you so much, Kim. I really need to go get some ice cream. 

Kim Malek: This is all a ruse so you will get some ice cream! 

[00:42:42] Don't you wanna run out and buy some ice cream? Now I do. I love Kim's philosophy about using business to build communities and connections with local schools and the creativity it took in pursuing her dream.

[00:42:57] Even though someone barfed all over her business plan, she's [00:43:00] such an inspiration. 

[00:43:01] Thanks for listening to Companies that Care. Let me know what you think about this episode, or if you have ideas for other people I should interview by emailing marie@fertilegroundcommunications.com. Our music is by jazz pianist Jonathan Swanson. This podcast is brought to you by Fertile Ground Communications.