ABOUT
Molly Moon Neitzel has been passionate about making ice cream since her college gig at The Big Dipper -- a scoop shop and neighborhood institution in Missoula, Montana – but never dreamed ice cream could take over her life. After a crazy career in the political and music industries as the executive director of Music for America, Molly decided to give in to her creamy, frozen obsession. In the spring of 2008, aiming to give the people of Seattle what they were missing most, she opened Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream in Wallingford, a great neighborhood hang-out where families, kids, hipsters, and ice cream addicts alike could congregate and celebrate their favorite dessert.
At Molly Moon’s we combine creamy dairy from happy, healthy, hormone-free Western Washington cows with sweet and savory local ingredients. Our attention is focused on seasonal fruits and herbs in combinations that are both familiar and surprising producing all kinds of flavors from childhood favorites to avant-garde adult-only fare. From Skagit Valley's strawberries to Sequim's lavender and Eastern Washington’s cantaloupes, Molly Moon's is committed to using the best ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and occasionally we reach a little further south for Northern California fruit like organic Meyer Lemons and Napa Valley's Blood Oranges. Our shop is a place where classic flavors like Vanilla Bean and Chocolate live alongside the creative and exotic Cardamom, Balsamic Strawberry, Rosemary Meyer Lemon, and even Maple Bacon in the winter!
We just know the cozy atmosphere of our shops will make you want to stop by for a cone and hang a while with friends and neighbors. And don't be fooled by the cute cups our gourmet treats are served in or the stylish design of our Wallingford & Capitol Hill shops; the dishes are 100% compostable and Seattle's latest favorite hang-outs were built with sustainable materials and reclaimed timber from local historic buildings.
Drop in... we can't wait to hand you a scoop!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where did the name come from? My name really is Molly Moon. For real. My parents were hippies.
Who is the dog on your logo? That's my dog, Parker Posey. She's half French Bulldog and half Boston Terrier. You may see her around the shops from time-to-time. Her favorite park in the whole city, Cal Anderson Park, is right across the street from our Capitol Hill shop. Lucky dog!
Do you ship your ice cream? No. We have decided not to ship our ice cream, hoping that those outside of our area will find ice cream local to their part of the country in keeping with our locavore ethics. And if you can't find it, make it yourself! Find some great recipes at www.davidlebovitz.com/recipes
My organization is hosting an event, will you donate Molly Moon's ice cream or a raffle or an auction item? Please email your request here and we'll see what we can do. We have a monthly budget for donations, so try to email us early in the month, and if we can't accommodate you that month, try again the next month.
I am interested in serving Molly Moon's ice cream at my restaurant. Whom should I contact? Please contact Sophia, our lovely wholesale manager here
Are all of your ingredients organic? No. My priority is to purchase locally-grown ingredients from great Northwest suppliers. I try to use local AND organic, but when faced with situations where I have to choose, I choose healthy local options that are not always certified organic. Some of our organic ingredients include organic vanilla, peppermint, maple, ginger, and orange extracts, organic coconut, organic lavender from Sequim, Washington, organic baby beets, carrots, and rosemary from Full Circle Farms, organic Meyer lemons from the Napa Valley (as close to us as they grow), organic mint and cantaloupe from eastern Washington, organic bacon and cherries from Vashon, organic sugar cones and cake cones, and organic sprinkles.
Do you use locally grown ingredients to make your ice cream? Absolutely. All of the dairy products used to make Molly Moon's ice cream are from local cows living on farms in the valleys near Monroe & Duvall, Washington where the cows are happy and healthy and the milk is the best I've ever tasted. And all of the dairy is hormone free, of course! Some other local ingredients include the aforementioned lavender, beets, carrots, rosemary, mint, cantaloupe and bacon, plus local hazelnuts, walnuts, chukar sour cherries to top our sundaes, Tahuya River Apiaries honey harvested from the foothills of the Olympic Mountains, strawberries & raspberries from the Skagit Valley and Kennewick peaches. To find out more about eating local, visit www.eatlocal.net
Do you have vegan choices? Yes! We always have two vegan sorbet flavors available. As I type, they are Pomegranate Curry & Chocolate Mandarin.
What's the difference between ice cream and sorbet? Ice cream is made with milk and contains between 10% and 18% milk fat. Ours is right at about 14.5%. Sorbets are water based and do not contain milk fat, though they are not always vegan, as some manufacturers include egg whites. Molly Moon's sorbets don't use egg whites.
I have/my child has allergies. Do your products contain nuts/soy/corn/wheat/eggs? While we try to be very careful about allergies, we do have some of those items in our shops. We use walnuts, but never in the ice cream machines, so we can pretty easily keep nuts out of your or your child's ice cream. There is a small amount of soy lecithin in the sorbets, cones, and chocolate ice cream. Our dairy provider does currently add a small amount (less than 1%) of corn syrup, but we're trying to work on getting it out. The cones all have wheat in them, as does the Scout Mint, and the cones also contain egg, as does the lemon curd topping.
Do you offer franchises? No.
Are you looking for investors? Not at this time, but growth is in the future for Molly Moon's and we may seek additional capital when we're ready for our next growth spurt.
Do you cater? No. But Sophia, our wholesale manager, can work with the caterer of your upcoming event. Email her here
Do you have nutritional information for your ice cream? Not yet.
What's your favorite flavor? That would be like asking me to pick my favorite song. I can't answer that. What's yours?
Are you going to open additional stores? I hope so. Where would you like to see the next Molly Moon's? Let me know where by clicking here
Do you give factory tours? Darn it! No. I used to think I would be able to do this, but our team is just too busy running the shops, so for now, no tours are happening.
How do I apply for a job at Molly Moon's? We would love to see your resume! Please email a resume and short cover letter email to us at jobs (at) mollymoonicecream (dot) com.
Can I buy a gift certificate for Molly Moon's without coming into the shops? Yes! Please email my assistant, Kendal, and she will arrange to take your credit card info over the phone, program gift cards for you, and mail them out. Thanks for thinking of Molly Moon's as a gift!
