Tin Pot Creamery pivots to grocery store sales, closes Campbell, Palo Alto, San Mateo shops

Your next indulgent serving of Tin Pot Creamery’s ice cream will be a new experience.

Ten years into the venture, founder Becky Sunseri is taking the business into a new direction, switching from selling at her own scoop shops to selling at grocery stores and through other channels.

“We’ve made the hard decision to close scoop-shop locations,” she said. “The business is tough: Margins are slim, the risks have become more apparent since the pandemic, and operational intensity is high. Also, a lot has happened in my life since opening: My husband and I have three children.

“Tin Pot is evolving in a way that will allow us to bring delicious ice cream to more people, and do it in a way that is sustainable for the business and for my family.”

A former Facebook pastry chef with a lifelong passion for ice cream, Sunseri in 2013 started seling her small-batch, organic ice cream in flavors that speak to cake, cookie and candy lovers — even tea aficionados. She’s launched the new business model with a fresh new brand design and eight bestselling flavors: Coffee with Cocoa Nib, Blue Jasmine Tea, Salted Butterscotch, Malted Milkshake, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Mint Cookie and Cookie Monster.

Seasonal flavors will join the mix. “Recipe development always begins in my home kitchen,” she said, and the ice cream is made in a San Carlos commercial kitchen.

The line is currently available at Whole Foods and Bianchini’s stores. “In addition to grocery stores, we are also at Chase Center and The Clement Palo Alto Hotel, and have some new partnerships in the pipeline. We are also expanding outside of Northern California.”

Her scoop shops at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto (her first), downtown Los Altos, Campbell and San Mateo have closed. The one at Campbell’s Pruneyard is being taken over by Humphry Slocombe, another creative small-batch specialist.

Sunseri added her thanks to her customers, employees and suppliers: “I am so grateful to the community and everyone who made Tin Pot what it is today, and excited about what’s to come.”

Find updates on other sales channels for Tin Pot ice creams as they are announced at https://tinpotcreamery.com.