#405 Tyler Malek - Salt & Straw's Growth

Tyler Malek is the Chef and co-owner of one of Portland's now most iconic brands and restaurants, Salt & Straw.  Now with locations cornering the continental US, Tyler and his cousin Kim have made some serious noise in the ice cream world.   In this episode, Tyler talks about the longshot pitch to Disneyland to be their official ice cream vendor, and how quickly the folks at Disney decided they wanted Portland's Salt & Straw vibe over some of the big, more well-known ice cream brands, like Ben & Jerry's.   Tyler talks about the process of building the store and all that was involved with that with the input from Disney.   Also, Tyler talks about the business of building and using the Salt & Straw brand to its advantage, and what that has meant for growth.   We cover sampling, flavors, staffing, as well as some of the places Tyler loves to go in Portland right now.   This is our third interview with Tyler and that's because he's one of the good guys who has represented the Portland psyche so well.   Right at the Fork is supported by: Zupan's Markets: www.Zupans.com RingSide Steakhouse: www.RingSideSteakhouse.com Portland Food Adventures: www.PortlandFoodAdventures.com