Black Owned: The Melon Seed Deli & Frozen Yogurt

The Melon Seed Deli and Frozen Yogurt holds a special place in my heart because of the timing of their opening. It was right as we were opening eTcTacoma that we learned about the Melon Seed and that it too was a Black owned establishment. Located on Center St. not far from our high school Alma Mater, Henry Foss, the Melon Seed specializes in frozen yogurt and sliders both hot and cold. The owner Mac really showed he cared early on, this was when a majority of the eTc crew was still eating meat. We tried several of his sandwiches and during our first couple of anniversary celebrations at our 907 Pacific Ave location we plotted on how it could make sense for him to be around for our customers to be able to engage in our lifestyle. We couldn’t seem to make it work for all parties involved. But eTcTacoma store manager Dazjon was able to facilitate working with Mac and the Melon Seed through a Summertime day-party he throws annually called Watermelon Sundae, it is a Black owned rooftop party and brand. The best thing about Mac is initially his goal was to blend into the community that gravitated towards him, he didn’t fight the tide. Mac was open to ideas about catering for Black owned art galleries and working alongside other Black owned businesses early, the Melon Seed contributed food to an Urban League event right shortly after opening in 2015. It has true ties to the neighborhood it lives in. It was the first place I hung out with my wife and on a day date it’s often packed with familiar faces. We can’t wait until Mac starts talking expansion and we can get one in downtown Tacoma. Fingers crossed. If we had to send you there with an order it would be for the BBQ chicken slider and vanilla frozen yogurt with captain crunch on top. By word of mouth you might get the impression Melon Seed’s specialty is desserts because of the rumbling that sparked from their oversized strawberries stuffed with cheesecake on a bed of whipped cream. They were even featured in the popular South Sound magazine for the unique dessert in April of 2020. It even got the Teena Thach “Hey WA Foodies” treatment by popular demand. The Melon Seed is for sure a Black owned business at the top of our list.