Everett store’s the place to go for salt in all forms

It’s tucked in a beige industrial strip on Everett’s Airport Road, along a stretch boasting a gun range, adult video store and Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall.

There’s a subtle orange glow behind a window, but otherwise it’s pretty easy to pass it by.

That is, unless you happen to catch the sign: “Sea Salt Superstore, Purveyors of Exotic Salts.”

Purveyor of justice, sure. Purveyor of fine wine, certainly.

But of salt? Since when did salt attain either exotic or superstore status?

What’s up with that?

Salt is no longer just the cheap white crystals that are a fixture in every kitchen, standing loyally next to the shaker with the P.

Salt and Pepper are still a couple, sure, but with their own careers.

Sea Salt Superstore owner Scott Mackie sees only continued growth for the business he started eight years ago on the gamble that salt would become gourmet and trendy, just like coffee beans, jelly beans, doughnuts and beer did.

Yes, but this is salt, a dirt-cheap mineral. A dollar buys enough Morton Salt that lasts a person a year or three.

“People are switching over from processed salt,” Mackie said. “Sea salt is more potent. Everybody wants flavor. Everybody watches a cooking channel where they’re using these great rubs and great salts. People at home now have the opportunity to cook like Bobby Flay.”

The store has salt in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins does ice cream.

Espresso. Vanilla. Chocolate fleur de sel. Applewood. Cyprus citrus. Smoked bacon chipotle.

There are Himalayan salt bricks for cooking on. Salt bowls for mixing in. Salt stones to heat and put on your achy back. Dead Sea salt to dip your body in which, by the way, isn’t the same salt as dipping your truffles in.

Want a hand scrub? There’s a demo station bowl set up for that. Free.

The store has a salt tasting bar and flavored olive oils to sample.

That inviting orange glow in the window is from Himalayan salt lamps that are all the rage due to the ambient light and purported holistic qualities.

“I’m kind of like the old salt traders of years and years ago,” Mackie said.

Prior to purveying salt, his specialty was amusement parks. He started Funtasia in Edmonds in 1991. “Go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, laser tag, adventure miniature gold course, all kinds of fun stuff,” he said. “I wanted to do something different. My son (Sean) was in Europe and he came back with all these great salts.”

Boom. He started the salt company in Everett and sold Funtasia to Family Fun Centers. Instead of 80 employees and 7 acres of excited youngsters, he has 13 workers and 20,000 square feet of solitude.

Wholesale and online sales are the bulk of his business, which has its own product brand, Caravel Gourmet, and does private label for many companies.

For five years, he ran a retail salt store outlet on Highway 99 in Lynnwood, across from the Costco business center. When the front space in the Everett warehouse building complex became available a month ago, Mackie closed the Lynnwood store and set up shop here.

Ann and Dave McCrea of Lake Stevens saw the salt sign at the new store from the road and wondered what’s up.

“We thought we’d check it out,” she said.

“It is interesting there is so much difference in salt,” he said.

Who knew?

You can get in the know. Sea Salt Superstore is at 11604 Airport Road, Everett. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call 425-249-2331 or go to www.seasaltsuperstore.com.

Send What’s Up With That? suggestions to Andrea Brown at 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.