Shug’s Soda Fountain & Ice Cream is owned and run by native Seattle family Colleen Wilkie and Paul Dormann. Next month, Shug’s will be celebrating their four-year anniversary and expanding to West Seattle. Shug’s is all about delicious sundaes, sodas, floats, and an experience that both indulges nostalgia and creates memories to be nostalgic about. The shop is in the heart of downtown near Pike’s Place Market.
Colleen is not shy about admitting why she first started Shug’s: “The reason we decided to open a shop was that I was pregnant with our firstborn and eating a lot of ice cream. That’s it. During pregnancy, I kept wanting ice cream, and Paul suggested we open up an ice cream shop.” Today, that child is 6 years old and has recently become a big sister.
Like many restaurants in Seattle, Shugs had to close down the shop because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shugs currently runs a grab & go shop in the West Seattle area and recently reopened her Pike’s Place location for pick-up orders.
One of Shug’s proudest accomplishments is their current Pay it Forward Program. As an act of community appreciation, this program has customers purchase ice cream sandwiches for healthcare workers in the Seattle area, which Colleen delivers to various hospitals weekly.
Inspiration for the program came to Colleen when a family friend, who works in the medical field, expressed how stressful and exhausting the present crisis has been. Colleen’s compassion inspired her to display an act of gratitude for her friend and their colleagues in the medical field. Knowing that something sweet can provides a simple moment of joy to one’s day, she decided to make ice cream sandwiches as the perfect too-busy-to-stop snack. This then led to the two coordinating an ice cream sandwich delivery run to medical staff funded by the community of Seattle.
A tiny act of admiration for a friend has led to a community showing appreciation for the healthcare professional.
Over the last 3 weeks, Colleen has delivered close to 500 sandwiches to local hospitals such as Overlake Hospital, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Harborview, and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. Colleen has various other hospitals in mind for future deliveries as the program expands.
Starting this week, Shugs is partnering up with the Girl Scouts of America, which will be donating their new “Lemon-up” cookies to be used for the program.
These cookies are more than just a new flavor. It’s treat with a motivational self-reminder: each cookie comes with an encouraging message such as, “I am a leader,” “I am a go-getter,” and “I am an innovator.”
Donors can purchase ice cream sandwiches for medical professionals from Shug’s online via their Instagram page and website. Additionally, customers with a craving for some excellent ice cream can purchase pick-up orders from their Pike Place location through Tock. Available products include eight different flavors of ice cream, to-go Kits for floats, Do-It-Yourself sundaes, and champagne floats (bottle and all).
