Newly-Opened ShoreHouse Brings Coffee, Shaved Ice Magic, and More to the Neighborhood!

If you’ve driven along Cherry over the past few months, you’ve likely noticed a new addition, The ShoreHouse, peaking out of one of the new Restaurant Row spaces. Owners Tim Larson and Josh Brugger opened the restaurant January 5th, just a few blocks West of Leschi (2340 East Cherry). This is their second location (the other is a seasonal pop-up in Ballard).

Their main areas of focus are coffee, shaved ice, breakfast sandwiches, frozen chocolate bananas (at Josh’s insistence), and made-in-house baked goods. They use Lighthouse Roaster coffee as part of their commitment to developing relationships with other small businesses. Their most popular specialty drinks include huckleberry matcha and coconut coffee.

They have over 40 flavors of shaved ice they make with handmade syrups. They use these same syrups to flavor drinks as well. They feature shaved ice drinks called shavers such as cold brew and energy shavers. They make their own baked goods such as ube coconut and chocolate bran walnut muffins. I tried their chai tea muffin which was moist and flavorful.

Tim and Josh met at an office job and became fast friends. They decided they wanted to create an ethical business together and after 10 years, they were able to make their dreams come true. They started with shaved ice before they expanded to their current offerings. In the future they’d like to provide catering and “get something on wheels.” They have space next to their current location that they hope to expand to a dining room. Currently they have a walk-up window and tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front. They start at 6:30 every morning and are open until 4 or 6:30pm depending on the day but will stay open later in the evening as the weather gets warmer. Their full menu is available anytime so you can eat one of their breakfast sandwiches like the Beach Crest-sant or Shilshopotle anytime! If you’re feeling adventurous, try their Eggy Azalea or Meat Me Outback, both of which include Vegemite. I went with the Jacques Pesto (English muffin, sun-dried tomato pesto, roasted red peppers, arugula, egg, and provolone).  This savory delight was well balanced, filling, and delicious!

They are committed to creating a fun experience for their customers and already have quite a following by Nova and Garfield students. While I was there on a rainy day in March, there was a nearly non-stop stream of folks getting their shaved ice and coffee fixes. This included one customer who came by just to thank Josh for his emotional support when she was having a rough day the week before. Tim shared that this was “classic Josh” as he is someone who really connects with people.

Shaved Ice

Do NOT call their shaved ice a sno-cone! How they shave their ice makes all the difference as they cheerfully demonstrated for me. Their shaved ice better absorbs flavors and is very fine, not like chunky sno-cone ice. It compacts the way a snowball does when you have really good, powdery snow to work with. (Yes, they do sometimes use it to have snowball fights!) They make Hawaiian shaved ice which uses sweetened, condensed milk which provides a creamier, richer experience. You can choose from a variety of toppings including fresh fruit, brownie bites, marshmallow fluff (popular in Florida and New Orleans), or li hing mui (salty, dried Chinese plum powder). They make all of their shaved ice syrups themselves from high quality ingredients. Being a shaved ice novice, they made for me a mango and guava shaved ice with li hing mui sprinkled on top. I appreciated the complexity the li hing mui added and how well it paired with the tropical flavors. They recommend trying the tiger’s blood and prickly pear together. They even have shaved ice for dogs! They add chicken bone broth to a mini cup of shaved ice which apparently is very popular with the canines!

Enjoy their outdoor seating when the sun is out and come back often for their weekly specials! Learn more at bestlittleshorehouse.com or on Instagram at @best_little_shorehouse.

~Nikola Davidson