Capitol Hill’s Tiny, Hyperlocal Ice Cream Shop Is For Sale — But in No Hurry [Updated]

Kurt Farm Shop, the hyperlocal ice cream shop supplied by Vashon Island’s Kurtwood Farms, is looking to sell its wee 285-square-foot storefront in Capitol Hill’s bustling Chophouse Row, according to an email to members of Seattle Made, part of the Seattle Good Business Network, but owner Kurt Timmermeister expressed patience. “I am always looking to the future and have considered selling the shop, although I am in no hurry at all,” he said.

Chophouse is home to a number of food business, including Bar Ferdinand, a cafe from Good Weather bike shop, and French siblings Marmite, Amandine Bakeshop, and Petite Galette.

Timmermeister didn’t clarify why he might be looking to unload his retail space at 1423 11th Ave. Ste C2, which sells cheese and neon-yellow bricks of butter for $15 a pound alongside (and sometimes in) the custard, all produced from the milk of the Jersey cows displayed in the shop’s beautiful, cheeky pin-ups. Has the lease gotten too expensive in this hot commercial market? Has it become too difficult to manage a Vashon Island farm and a Capitol Hill store? Would he rather focus on wholesale? Has the Goop endorsement lost its cachet? Has the neighborhood gotten too crowded?

Quite the opposite of that last concern, Timmermeister said. There are at least half a dozen ice cream competitors within a few dreamy blocks of Kurt Farm Shop, though Timmermeister’s offerings are some of the most unique in the city, delicately flavored with mostly farm-grown herbs like lemon verbena, bay laurel, and rosemary. And Timmermeister said his shop has had an excellent summer with all the hot weather, and the competition has only helped. “The addition of new ice cream spots on the Hill have actually brought more attention, people and press to the neighborhood as people come just to taste the largest selection of ice cream in the city.”

For the right offer from the right person, Kurt Farm Shop may well change hands, but for now its unique ice creams and cheeses remain available at Chophouse Row. “I am thrilled that tourists and residents alike love what we are producing and have made the Farm Shop a great success,” Timmermeister said.

Update: August 28, 2018, 10:40 a.m.
This article was updated to include comments from Kurt Timmermeister.

• All Coverage of Kurt Farm Shop [ESEA]
• Kurt Farm Shop [Goop]