Architectural Tour of Izzy's

There was a whirlwind of festivities during Izzy's November 9 Grand Opening celebration, including tours and fun activities for kids.  We opted for the Architectural Tour, led by owner Jeff Sommers and award winning architect David Salmela.

Our tour started outside, where David explained the design of the building from all angles.  Unless you've traveled west on 2nd Street South from 12th Avenue, you might not have noticed how the Izzy's building resembles the outline of the Guthrie:

There are so many details to the building - too many to mention, and some that come to life only at specific times of the day.  Take a closer look at the red Izzy's dots and you'll notice they're placed at the end of the slanted frame work in the windows.  If memory serves me, there are three (but memory doesn't serve me often, so there could be four).

The four windowed structures above the main level fill the production area with natural light, while at the same time defuse scorching summer sun.

One reason we jumped at the chance to take the Architectural Tour was the hope of accessing the roof.  It's a photographers dream up there!  :)

This area of the roof, with its gorgeous view of Gold Medal Park, was constructed to accommodate an additional seating area.  Unfortunately, the budget would not allow for completion of this area as part of the initial phase.  You may be familiar with the obligatory scene in every episode of HGTV's 'Love It or List It' in which the contractor gives Hilary bad news, and she in turn has to tell the client that something cool has to come off the list.  Well, Jeff and David had their share of those discussions.

On the roof, looking through a window into the second level seating area:

Back inside, we toured the new production area where Jeff and David explained the creative mechanicals and versatility of the space.

Salted Caramel is their best seller, and one of the staff mentioned they have one machine devouted to that making that flavor.

Below, Jeff and Lara Hammel, Jeff's wife and co-owner, chat with a guest.  In addition to the Achitectural Tour, they conducted a Tasting Tour and an Owner's Tour, hosted kids activities and served up caramel apple sundaes.

We created this progressive slideshow with pictures taken from the start of construction to the first day customers enjoyed the scoop shop: