POULSBO – “As we say in Argentina, I’m as happy as a dog with two tails,” said Jerry Perez, founder and CEO of Mora Iced Creamery.

That’s how Perez describes coming to work every day to Mora’s new production plant on Viking Way in Poulsbo, and yes, that’s a good thing. He sees himself as a kid with a new toy, enjoying every moment and every new thing happening to the building, even the installation of the new security system.

Perez and his wife, Ana Orselli, opened Mora in 2004 after moving to America from Argentina. They felt like there was a niche market for extraordinary ice cream. Yes, there are great American industrialice creams, but not made from scratch with such ingredients as hand-cut fruit or shaved Belgian chocolate or French cognac.

“Americans are highly sophisticated today. They know what they like in a way unlike ever before,” Perez said.

Perez uses Starbucks as an example for his vision for Mora. He explains how Starbucks heightened the ability of American’s to appreciate their coffee. People went from drinking the same “umbrella juice” coffee, morning and night, until Starbucks changed the game. Now, people can tell you what kind of roast they like, where it is from, the temperature they like it, etc.

“People can tell you that they only drink a specific roast that is harvested exclusively by nuns in the Himalayas only on cloudy days and it’s acceptable because Starbucks elevated the coffee experience,” Perez said. “Americans are highly sophisticated. That’s our vision for Mora, to elevate Americans’ appreciation of ice cream.”

Mora opened three stores before looking to build a franchise production facility. They have stores in Bainbridge, Poulsbo and Kingston, respectively. After constantly being asked by customers how they can get involved, Perez and Orselli made plans to open this new facility to really expand Mora’s reach.

Their goal is 50 stores in the next four or five years. One of their main projects is working on wholesale distribution. Perez and Mora’s business manager have talked with several different groups, such as casinos, cruises, restaurants and hotels, who are interested in the Mora business.

“That’s a big focus right now that is new and not a lot of people know about,” Perez said. “We’re excited to be able to offer our ice cream in wholesale for bigger places and this facility helps us to be capable of that.”

The building is home to administrative offices as well as the production facility. The facility is set up with a perfect flow for ingredients to go from dry storage to preparation to freezing to transport. In the entry way next to the reception area, there is going to be a small tasting bar for visitors to the factory.

The ice cream made on site is frozen for an unspecified amount of time (“We have to keep some secrets,” Perez said) before the ice cream is transported to the different stores in individually tempered stainless steel containers, to make sure each ice cream is at the perfect temperature for customers.

“We let our ice cream age like a wine or whiskey, obviously shorter than those, but it helps marry the flavors in a way to let them shine,” Perez said. “Some places talk about freshness of ice cream, when they just made the pre-packages stuff right there in the back of the store. We believe in freshness too. It’s not the freshness of the ice cream being made, it’s the freshness of the ingredients we use and their quality.”

“People come here and taste and they immediately say this is amazing, there’s nothing else like that. You feel like a little boy in an ice cream shop again, you’re simply mesmerized,” said Jim Rowell, director of franchise development.

Having worked in franchising for 10 years, Rowell has been with Mora since November, and said that he has never worked for a company with such a high end product.

“When I first came out to meet with Jerry and Ana, we were in the store and this 6-year-old girl was telling the server that they came all the way from the far side of Seattle just for the ice cream,” Rowell said. “Being from Texas, I’ve driven 12 hours for some barbecue, but I’ve never known people to be so passionate about ice cream. It’s a devotion you don’t see often.”

Perez pays tribute to the customers and the ingredients they use, as well as the “remarkable people we get to work with,” as the key to their success.

“We don’t say we are better [than other ice cream], we say we are different,” Perez said. “We let the flavors talk for us and if customers say we are the best, then great. If we have to say it, it’s because our customers aren’t saying it enough.”

Mora uses real ingredients that can “shine” through the milk and cream  which, in turn, makes the flavors stronger and the calories less. They even have several non-dairy sorbet options for those who are lactose-intolerant or vegan.

“We let lemons do what lemons do, and we leave room to let our strawberries shine,” Perez said. “And you can taste it in our ice cream.”

Perez assures that these strong flavors won’t diminish when they make big batches for wholesale and distribute to franchises.

“We use the best products, no matter where they are from,” Perez said. “Chocolates from Belgium, oranges from Florida, French cognac, Washington blackberries, whatever we feel are the best. We want to be all over America one day, so we want to be local to everybody, not just one place.”