They make some of region’s best ice cream. New shop will also have a smashburger window

From a scary-spicy ghost pepper ganache to the flagship buttermilk with honey brittle, the ice cream at the aptly named IScreamery in Gig Harbor quickly won my sweet tooth after it opened in late 2021. To imagine the team behind it also grilling smashburgers? Well, let’s just say I think we’re in for a serious treat this fall.

Tucked into the back of Brimstone, the barbecue restaurant from the owners of the ever-popular Netshed No. 9 and waterfront dinner destination Brix 25, IScreamery was destined to move out at some point. For owners Katie Doherty, her husband Thad Lyman and chef-partner Will Rieck, it was a matter of finding the right location.

That prospect reached full-form over Labor Day weekend, as the shop debuted its new storefront a few doors down at 7806 Pioneer Way in downtown Gig Harbor. The space was most recently occupied by the short-lived Kettlefish but is better remembered as Kelly’s Cafe.

Equipped with a full kitchen and hood, the new location will double as a smashburger restaurant affectionately called Hole in the Wall. You won’t find a sign outside, though; like its older sibling once was, it will be more of an if-you-know-you-know situation.

Now you know!

The menu of five burgers, two hot dogs and two fries (regular and garlic-herb) launches Sept. 13.

“It was something that just wasn’t in town,” said Doherty — something that’s “not too fancy” but good, and that can easily be taken to the park, the brewery, the office or back home.

While the “Gig Harbor” will be their classic American burger, the theme focuses on regional styles, said Rieck: a Kansas City-style onion burger, where thinly sliced rings are smashed into the meat, one topped with sauteed mushrooms and another featuring sriracha ketchup and a miso mayo.

Perhaps the most intriguing is the Sonoran-inspired smash with pepperjack cheese. Rieck takes a chopped-up medley of bacon, hot dog and onion and cooks it down until it’s almost crispy, layering it atop the patty.

Guests can order hot food and milkshakes at the counter under the red-neon “hamburgers” sign, but scoops will still happen at the ice cream counter.

Doherty has trained staff in what she is calling “concierge service,” in which an employee will come out from behind the counter, meet you in line and walk you through the flavors, then prepare your order and process your payment.

“That is their person through the whole experience,” said Doherty, alluding to the company’s roots in restaurant hospitality. After many years in California, the couple returned to Doherty’s hometown, opening Brix in 2008, Netshed in 2013 and Brimstone in 2018.

ICE CREAM SHOP EXPANDS

IScreamery stands out in part for its cream-cheese base, which lends a density to the silky scoops, and it doesn’t stop at one: base flavors include buttermilk, brown sugar and chamomile-infused. The add-ins, though, really take it to the next level.

The shop makes everything in-house except for sprinkles and marshmallows. Orange biscotti in the current Sweet Corn Pudding, blackberry jam for the Blackberry Cheesecake, hot-honey candied pistachios for the Cherry Bomb, very dark cocoa cookies for the Muddy Mud Pie and Cookie Crumble. The shop also leans into regional specialties, as in the Sea Salt Huckleberry, featuring crystals from San Juan Island.

The bigger space means a few more flavors, too, jumping from a dozen to 16 at a time (from a repository of more than 80 recipes so far), and the possibility of another scoop shop in the future.

ISCREAMERY & HOLE IN THE WALL

▪ 7806 Pioneer Way, Gig Harbor, 253-858-2709, iscreamerypnw.com

▪ Thursday-Monday 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. (closed Tuesday-Wednesday)

▪ Details : new location for ice cream shop now open; smashburger and hot dog walk-up window opening Sept. 13