I remember the first time I had Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream. It was 2008, not long after I’d moved to Seattle. After sushi with friends in Wallingford, we joined the line that wrapped down the block. I got a scoop of honey lavender with lemon curd and a very fancy cherry on top. It was so delicious, unlike like anything I’d ever had. I still think about it.

Seventeen years later, the Seattle chain is heading downtown.

On May 23, Molly Moon’s will open its newest shop at the Waterfront Park in the historic Washington Street Boat Landing Pergola. It’ll be the 10th location for the company, following the opening of its shop in Edmonds at Main Street Commons in the summer of 2023.

Molly Moon Neitzel opened the original Wallingford shop in 2008. The company sources 90% of its ingredients from the Pacific Northwest, and every location partners with a neighborhood food bank through its Anna Banana Milk Fund. The new waterfront shop will support Union Gospel Mission, which has run a soup kitchen in Pioneer Square since 1932.

“Molly Moon’s represents exactly the kind of local, community-rooted business that makes our waterfront shine,” says Joy Shigaki, president and CEO of Friends of Waterfront Park.

Opening day at the shop includes a 3 p.m. ribbon-cutting, plus free scoops for kids 12 and under from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

I can’t wait to get over there on a sunny day, cone in hand, for a walk along the water.

The new location will open daily at 11 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.