A quick stop for cheesy bowls and sandwiches is now open at Point Ruston
Point Ruston has restaurants focused on seafood, burgers, pizza and ice cream. Now it also has one slinging mac and cheese — in bowls with veggies or even lobster and between bread with beef.
I Heart Mac and Cheese opened the doors to its Tacoma-area location just ahead of the busy Fourth of July weekend. The grand opening was July 7, when the first few handfuls of guests received free swag and mac and cheese for a year.
The menu leans on the namesake food, made with cavatappi pasta and a custom cheese sauce. Bowls (most $15.49-$15.99) come in several flavors, including chicken parmesan, short rib Philly and Buffalo Blue. You can also build your own or swap noodles for broccoli, cauliflower or quinoa. Sandwiches (most $13.99-$17.99) range from “the best of both worlds” with both mac and beef or a Cuban with pulled pork and ham to a bacon-and-tomato or a lobster-studded one with Muenster. There are also flatbreads ($10.99-$14.99) with various toppings, as well as a few vegan options. Sides ($2.49-$7.49) include tater tots, mac bites and tomato soup.
It’s the first Washington state location for this Florida-based franchise that started in 2016. Kaysser and Jay Lim have been working with her sister, Rayza Surigao, on the Point Ruston outpost since signing a lease for the former South Sound Running shop in 2022.
They also operate IC Poke and Cham Garden Korean BBQ in Lakewood.
I Heart Mac and Cheese has 13 locations in seven other states. Like Tacoma, a few took a long time to open, while others have closed or never happened at all.
The company said in 2020 it was on track to open dozens of stores, yet only 36 were in operation in 2024, according to Franchise Times, a trade magazine.
In the intervening years, former franchisees have alleged that the company promised a proven concept with a low cost of entry and operation. Some said they were losing money and serving a product that wasn’t creating regular customers, leading to several lawsuits, as Franchise Times and Restaurant Business have reported. The founder, Steve Giordanella, also is facing a lawsuit for allegedly misusing funds for an event venue he co-owns in Long Island, New York. Meanwhile, he has launched another franchise concept, Pilar Coffee Bar and Iced Treats, also in Florida.
Earlier this year, Lim and Surigao said they had considered walking away from the plan as the company reviewed the lease. (It’s common for franchisees to sign a contract and pay some fees upfront.) Then Point Ruston considered whether a fast-casual concept made sense. Outside of the Waterfront Market, which is separately owned and operated from the development, I Heart Mac and Cheese is the only quick-service restaurant that’s not an ice cream shop (Ice Cream Social has that one covered). Through permitting and construction delays, they pushed forward.
Signs went up in the storefront’s windows last summer, and construction began this spring. In addition to managing their two Lakewood restaurants, they have kept busy with fun promotional videos on their Instagram teasing the Summer 2025 debut, leading to the Monday opening attended by a long line of customers and even Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards for a ribbon-cutting.
“We wanted something that everybody would eat,” said Lim in February.
I HEART MAC & CHEESE
▪ 5109 Grand Loop, Tacoma, 253-800-0022, iheartmacandcheese.com
▪ Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
▪ Details: new, fast-casual spot for mac and cheese dishes at Point Ruston; indoor seating and online ordering available