I believe I first met Michael in 2018. I think... lol, it was a blurry time for me as I was going through hardships in my marriage and business partnerships with my ex-husband. Anyway, Macadons provided "punny" macs at one of the pop-ups held in one of our spaces - Happy Grillmore. The connection was made by one of our mutual friends who was also in the industry.

What do you do outside of Macadons?

I started KRYSE Ice Cream in September 2020, in the height of the pandemic. Prior to that, I had been working with friends as part of the Seattle Community Kitchen Collective, offering chef-made meals for free to the public in an effort to help fight food insecurity here in Seattle. First with Kristi Brown - That Brown Girl Cooks, and then with Tarik Abdullah - Feed the People.

I had a lot of trauma from running a business with my ex-husband. Though we were able to keep up the success of the handful of establishments we were running simultaneously, our behind-the-scenes life was not a pretty picture. All that said, I didn't think I'd want to run a business again. But the public asked. And asked. Chosen family and friends asked, "Will you ever make ice cream again, Kryse? PLEASE make ice cream again."

Being that it was the height of the pandemic, I hopped on the trend of the numerous small businesses and pop-ups starting up as part of the "wild wild west." I converted my garage into a work/production space, having kept some of the equipment from what is now our former locations. I got the socials back up and running, the website, etc., and launched KRYSE Ice Cream. With a "pre-order for pick-up" type business model, dropping a new flavor each week, I didn't realize that the demand would be so high. Thankfully, I still had some of my following from my former businesses and was able to build on that. But I realized that producing in my garage was no longer going to be sustainable for Kryse Ice Cream as my equipment couldn't keep up. In 2021, I was reintroduced to Michael, and he's been gracious enough to allow me to share space ever since. That's Michael, such a humble dude... and he loves to help. It's why he's so loved.

How did you end up working here?

After maybe about a year of producing KRYSE ice cream at the Macadons warehouse, I decided to take on a position at Macadons to relieve some of the pressure off KRYSE Ice Cream, being my main source of income. Having shared space with the Macadons team, I knew they'd be really amazing people to work with. It was a "one-woman show" with KRYSE Ice Cream (with the help of a small team), and it can get to be a lot with having to do the marketing/social media, coordinating with my collaborators, sourcing products, photo shoots, creative development, production, etc. Though my weekly launches are on pause right now, KRYSE Ice Cream is available at Communion Restaurant & Bar in the CD and Sugar Hill in Capitol Hill. It's also available for special/custom orders and events. @kryse_icecream @yes_ma_night.market

What is your favorite thing about being Filipino American?

My favorite thing about being Filipino: EVERYTHING. We wouldn't be who we are today if it weren't for our ancestors and elders, all those who came before us. So, I'm thankful for all of them and all of my kababayan. I love how proud a people we are and how supportive and uplifting we are to one another. And that even through all the generational trauma that we are now trying to heal, we are still able to shine. Filipino Excellence 💙💛❤️ @filipinotown.seattle 

Thank you Kryse for being such an asset to our team, we love having you here and we appreciate all of your contributions and hard work!