“If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s very true.” Tolga Seymen’s path to co-owning Nutty Squirrel Gelato with wife Alev began with an opportunity to learn about gelato in Rome and a desire to spend time with his family. As a result of their hard work, we get to enjoy traditional Italian and innovative gelato recipes in three Seattle neighborhoods.
For the Seymens, gelato isn’t just a sweet treat but a way to connect with community. They pride themselves on providing a quality product in a welcoming place to celebrate all phases in life. Gelato, claims Seymen, is “a medium that carries through happy moments, sad moments, meeting somebody, breaking up with somebody, new work, you’re tired, you’re energetic. It just connects in every level of an emotion.”
After 15 years in business, Nutty Squirrel Gelato grew from small venture to multiple locations or “Scoop Shops” in Ballard, Magnolia, and Phinney Ridge. The family chose these neighborhoods because they lived and built community there.
Unfortunately, Nutty Squirrel Gelato had a surge of break-ins with a few attempts damaging their entryways this past year. Seymen received a Storefront Repair Fund grant, part of our Back to Business Program, to help cover the costs of repairing this property damage. They used the funding to replace the door, locks, and glass windows.
“Obviously it’s very disheartening, but it was incredible to actually find support. I was able to connect with somebody from City of Seattle very fast,” said Seymen. “I felt cared for at a time that we needed the support. It meant a lot.”
Nutty Squirrel Gelato keeps a strong connection to their heritage and abides by certain requirements set by the Italian Heritage Foundation. They’re strict about keeping the traditional side of gelato, but love experimenting with local flavors and favorites. Most of their key ingredients are local. Seymen believes they “were able to find that happy medium in formulation and those wonderful ingredients to bring the local palates alive in the tradition of Italian frozen dessert.”
Their shops have monthly flavors and permanent menu favorites as well as other treats like macarons and affogatos. With flavors like Nutty Squirrel, Northwest Hazelnut, Rainier S’Mores, Turkish Coffee, Strawberry Dream, and Banana Nutella, you’ll find something delicious to try. “I kind of have a soft spot for hazelnut,” said Seymen when pressed to choose his favorite gelato.
We recently announced the Back to Business Program is increasing the grant amounts business owners can receive to meet their needs. The Storefront Repair Fund now offers grants of up to $5,000 per incident, up to three incidents per calendar year, to reimburse business owners for the cost of fixing damages from vandalism or other property damage. The other change is to the one-time grant through the Storefront Security Fund, which will reimburse the costs of improving security measures to prevent future storefront damage up to $10,000.
Seymen shared that when he experienced the incidents, he felt alone. Being heard by the City and the support helped his business a lot. He wants other small business owners to reach out about this program as there are people willing to support small businesses during their time of need. “It just requires one outreach and they always come through. I experienced that,” said Seymen.
Learn more about the Back to Business Program. Applications are open through December 2026 or until funds run out.