Salt & Straw: The Ice Cream Empire Travelers Seek Out in Every City

Salt & Straw has evolved from a Portland scoop shop into a national ice cream destination, with travelers building stops into their itineraries in cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Anaheim. The brand stands out by balancing two things most chains struggle to hold at once: neighborhood warmth and culinary ambition.

At its best, Salt & Straw delivers comfort and creativity in the same cone, pairing expertly executed classics with rotating monthly menus that lean into seasonality, collaboration, and surprise.

From Portland Neighborhood Shops to a Nationwide Obsession

Salt & Straw didn’t become famous by expanding fast. It became famous by feeling personal: a local ritual built on hospitality, storytelling, and flavors that spark curiosity.

That small-shop spirit remains part of the company’s identity even as it scales. As co-founder and head ice cream maker, Tyler Malek puts it, “We kind of fell in love with this idea of expanding really slowly and carefully.”

Not Just a Scoop Shop: Salt & Straw and the Art of Tasting

Salt & Straw is designed around tasting, not speed. Guests are encouraged to sample widely and treat the visit like a mini culinary experience rather than a quick transaction.

Malek says the point is to offer more than dessert: “We want you to sample the whole menu… [and] offer this sense of hospitality and adventure.”

That approach becomes even more powerful in travel markets. “Especially in… tourist-heavy locations, the propensity to sample is actually even higher,” he notes, as visitors tend to have more time and curiosity.

Disney Was the Moment Everything Clicked

Salt & Straw’s opening at Downtown Disney in Anaheim became a defining moment for the brand’s future in destination-heavy markets. Malek admits the tourist environment felt unfamiliar, and he briefly considered shifting toward safer, more familiar flavors.

But Disney encouraged the brand to stay true to its identity. “The Disney team stopped us literally last minute… and they were like… people are coming,” Malek recalls.

The results were immediate. “And it was just like bonkers straight out the gates,” he says. That success confirmed that in places built around escapism, visitors don’t want predictable; they want memorable.

Las Vegas on the Strip: A Dream Years in the Making

After Disney, Las Vegas became the next major leap. Malek describes it as a long-term goal: “For the past eight to 10 years, it’s been a dream to open on the Strip.”

It wasn’t just about opening in Vegas, but opening in the right way, with the right partner and the right foot traffic, in a city defined by movement and spectacle, visibility matters, especially for ice cream.

Why Salt & Straw Works in Tourist Cities (And Still Feels Local)

Tourist markets often push brands toward simplicity. Salt & Straw has found the opposite: travelers are more willing to sample, explore, and lean into the unexpected.

Even first-time visitors quickly understand the brand’s core promise: ice cream as an experience. The act of tasting becomes part of the fun, turning the line into a ritual and the menu into a story.

The Monthly Menus That Keep People Coming Back

Salt & Straw’s rotating monthly menus are one of its most powerful engines. They create urgency, reward repeat visits, and keep the brand culturally relevant.

Malek calls the monthly cadence their “guiding light”: “Every month we have a new menu.”

Those menus range from peak-season ingredient showcases to sustainability-focused concepts. “Three years, we’ve saved over 40,000 pounds of food from going to waste by turning it into ice cream,” he says, underscoring how experimentation can also carry purpose.

Craft Meets Comfort: Why the Classics Still Matter

Salt & Straw’s reputation for bold flavors only works because the fundamentals are strong. The classics are treated with the same obsessive care as the limited editions, building trust with newcomers and giving regulars a reason to return.

Malek is clear about the balance: “We do the classics really, really well.” That quality is what makes the adventurous flavors feel exciting instead of gimmicky.

Why Travelers Put Salt & Straw on Their Itineraries

Salt & Straw has turned ice cream into a travel ritual. People seek it out the way they seek out famous views or signature restaurants: not as a random snack, but as a city-specific memory.

It works because it feels both curated and welcoming, a place where sampling is encouraged and each scoop comes with a story.

Find every Salt & Straw location here!