Vegan Darling Seattle Cookie Counter Eyes Crowdfunding Comeback

Seattle Cookie Counter, which closed its Greenwood shop last week after only six months in operation due to what co-owner Chelsea Keene calls a string of bad luck (unscrupulous contractors, a short summer season, her husband's head-on car collision), is potentially coming back by popular demand. The vegan ice cream and cookie company, which has ridden a wave of community support since the beginning when it Kickstarted first a VW bus then its brick-and-mortar, is again raising money via crowdfunding after fans unleashed a flood of goodwill on social media.

Keene and her husband, Chris Olson, say they need to raise the entirety of their lofty $25,500 goal via GoFundMe to pay debts, buy ingredients, and reopen. If they can't reopen, they'll use whatever funds raised to pay off debts. Their campaign includes a note that "We are uncomfortable asking for this and do not feel that we are deserving. There are much bigger things going on in the world. We are just trying our best to make a small difference in our community. That's all we have to say about that." The campaign had raised $3,440 at press time.

Meanwhile, another fledgling Seattle dessert company is also crowdfunding. Sweet Lo's Ice Cream is hoping to scale up its operation by buying a commercial pasteurizer and a new ice cream machine, all of which will enable owner Lauren Wilson to sell wholesale to restaurants and grocery stores. Her target is ambitious, too, at $21,000, and you'll need to reach the $100 donation level before receiving an actual quart of ice cream as a reward. At press time, Wilson had raised nearly half of her goal with $9,155.

Promising no preservatives or stabilizers, Wilson creates outre ice cream flavors from scratch; Sugar and Stamp's Lori Bailey, who contributes to Eater Seattle, has collaborated with Wilson to illustrate some of the wilder options like Movie Night (buttered-popcorn ice cream stuffed with Goobers, Whoppers, and Kit Kat candies) and Strawberry Shortcake.

my friend @sweetlosicecream is on a mission to change how we enjoy ice cream, and her GoFundMe campaign is now live! we collaborated on some illustrations to show off the delightful flavors she's promoting over the next few weeks. head over to her Insta, enter the giveaway (!!!), and donate to the cause! . . . #giveaway #gofundme #smallbiz #madeinseattle #icecream #illustration

A photo posted by Sugar & Stamp (@sugarandstamp) on Nov 16, 2016 at 11:22am PST