Summer has officially arrived, and one local business has left ice cream lovers around the South Sound in a true state of bliss. In fall 2018, sisters Theresa Fouquette and Stacie Leaf officially opened their eagerly anticipated ice cream shop, Bliss Small Batch Creamery, which serves up 32 freshly made flavors daily at their scoop shop in University Place.

Having grown up in Snohomish County, both sisters learned about the dairy industry early on. During their teenage years, Stacie was crowned a Snohomish County Dairy Princess and took a greater interest in the industry, becoming a 4-H dairy cow enthusiast. When the two sisters took on their first jobs at their hometown Baskin Robbins, they didn’t yet know the impact it would have on their lives. From celebrations to gatherings of family and friends, the two got to witness the joy that ice cream brought to their community day in and day out.

Bliss Ice Cream
Bliss features 32 flavors in-shop each day, including 11 flavors which are dairy, egg, nut and gluten free. Photo credit: Gabriella Kinner

“Even as teenagers, we still had that passion for supporting the dairy industry, but also, people just love ice cream,” Stacie says. “They are always happy when they get ice cream and we always remembered how fun that was.”

Eventually the two grew up to pursue different careers and raise families of their own, but even as adults, the sisters never forgot how that first job at their local Baskin Robbins made them feel. For years, the sisters dreamed of opening up a shop of their own, and in 2017 Theresa and Stacie made the decision to follow their passion of owning and operating their very own local ice cream company. But their creations wouldn’t be just any ice cream. Their small batches are made from only the best all natural, high quality ingredients.

“We both have children with food allergies, and Theresa has a daughter with a food dye allergy, so we really knew that clean ingredients were super important,” Stacie says. “Ice cream is a splurge. It’s not a diet food. But you can still have it be healthy and really enjoyable.”

In the beginning stages of Bliss, the sisters began creating their ice creams at a commercial kitchen in Fircrest, transformed a number of tricycles and a small vintage trailer into a mobile ice cream shop to bring to local events, and even sold their ice cream to the public on UberEats for $10 a pint. Soon enough Bliss began popping up all around town, allowing locals to fall in love with their frozen sweet treats. After much anticipation, Bliss finally opened the doors to its new home in The Village at Chambers Bay in 2018.

Bliss Small Batch Creamery
The Bliss vintage trailer and tricycles can be found serving their fresh ice creams around town at local farmers markets, food festivals, events, and more. Photo courtesy: Bliss Small Batch Creamery

Staying committed to using only the best ingredients, each of the shop’s ice creams features all-natural components and are free of any artificial dyes, flavoring and preservatives. Bliss also offers a variety of 11 rotating options that are free of dairy, egg, gluten and nuts, and have passed the taste test of locals with dietary restrictions with flying colors. The sisters proudly use Snoqualmie Ice Cream Company as a base for their own ice cream products due to the fact that it is free of artificial flavoring, is all natural, and allows them to skip the process of pasteurization.

Inside Bliss, 32 flavors line the interior of the scoop shop ranging from Summer Strawberry to the fan-favorite Cookie Monster, and their batches are made fresh each day in the same commercial kitchen where they first hit the ground running. From decadent flavors like Salted Butter Carmel and Fudge Brownie to a refreshing scoop of Toasted Coconut or Sour Cherry Amaretto, Bliss truly has a little something for everyone. Many of their ice creams include ingredients from other local Tacoma businesses like fresh baked crumbles from Crumbly Bits and award-winning raw honey from Honey’s Healthy Hive

Bliss University Place
From seasonal flavors to decadent and refreshing options, Bliss has something for everyone. Photo credit: Gabriella Kinner

“We love being a part of this community and have always wanted Bliss to be a fun place where people can come gather with their family and friends,” Stacie says.

From working behind the counter at Baskin Robbins all those years ago, to bringing their dreams of one day opening their own ice cream shop to reality, Theresa and Stacie’s small batch ice creamery has earned the love of locals, becoming a new staple in the community.

Bliss is located at 3556 Market Place W. in University Place and their tricycles and vintage trailer filled with fresh ice creams can be found around town at local parks, farmers markets, festivals and events. For more information on Bliss Small Batch Creamery, please visit their website, Facebook and Instagram.