Blake the Milkman, with Smith Brothers Farms, has been serving Laurelhurst customers with milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, and more for almost 20 years.
You may be a customer with a milk box outside your front door or you may have seen the black and white truck driving around the neighborhood.
Just like the olden days milk and other products are delivered right to your door through a very simple and flexible ordering system.
Blake tells us that most people assume that home delivery is more expensive, but he says it's actually up to 50 cents cheaper per half gallon than driving to PCC where it is also available.
And best of all, the milk is delivered to customers within 24 hours of being processed and Smith Brothers guarantees that no growth hormones or antibiotics are used on the dairy cows.
Blake told us that when he first started there were less than a dozen customers in Laurelhurst.
Now he has just over 100 customers in Laurelhurst that he serves weekly. And he even still has a couple of customers from 20 years ago when he first started the route.
And one 25 year customer who began her service 5 years before Blake took over the route, "hence a 25 year customer and still going, " Blake tells us.
Blake purchased his route 20 years ago from a milkman who was retiring. When he first started the route it was just him driving, processing orders, and doing the billing, but now he has three trucks and three employees, all servicing customers on his route.
What street in Laurelhurst do you think has the most Smith Brothers customers?
It's 46th Avenue NE near the elementary school. He, or his driver, makes numerous stops at houses on that street on the very early Friday morning deliveries. A reader on that street said his milk comes promptly at 3:45am every Friday morning.
And specifically 65% of his current customers in Laurelhurst live north of NE 41st Street and 35% live south of NE 41st Street.
Blake also serves several daycares and private schools in the surrounding area. He told us that he sells more of the small school size lunch cartons of milk in Laurelhurst than in any other area he serves.
An interesting fact he told us was that when he first started, "2% was the #1 milk customers ordered. Now Laurelhurst customers drink more non fat milk than 1% and 2% combined. "
Smith Brothers milk is known for being delicious. "If you ever talk with a Smith Brothers milk drinker they will most likely tell you Smith Brothers milk tastes fresher and creamier than other milk on the market," Blake says.
It tastes fresh as it is delivered from the dairy in Kent to your door within 24 hours after being processed.
"It does not sit on a grocery store shelf waiting to be rotated to the front of the case.
And Smith Brothers Dairy does not double pasteurize like other dairies, which can give the milk a burnt aftertaste.
The dairy’s philosophy is to provide the home delivery customer with the highest quality product so they package the milk in half gallon paper cartons. Milk that is packaged in plastic can lose its nutrients and also change the taste of the milk," Blake says.
Blake says he carries carry about 50 different products on the milk truck which you can check out here. It's quite a selection.
"My biggest seller behind the milk is the eggs. I carry regular extra large dozen white and large organic brown eggs. The eggs come from a local farm in Yelm and are very fresh. The dairy is continually adding new products."
Some recently added products are Greek Gods yogurt, Vashon Island coffee, and Erin Baker breakfast cookies and granola.
Doggies are also happy customers as Blake says he goes through about 100 dog treats per week during his entire route from Ballard to Laurelhurst. "In many cases the dogs are happier to see me come up to the door than the customers are," Blake tells us.
Delivery service works very simply as Blake explains, "There are no contracts, no extra delivery charges. We provide you with a milk cooler/box.
The customer sets up a standard weekly order of items. We deliver that same amount every week. However, the customer is always welcome to make changes/additions."
If you want to make changes to your weekly delivery, you have up until 9pm the night before by just emailing or leaving a phone message with Blake, or simply leaving a note for the driver in your cooler. You can also skip a delivery any time you want. Bills are put in your cooler monthly and checks or cash are accepted.
"It's a great service and a very easy system for adding or changing your order if you realize you're out of something the night before your delivery. You can just mark what you need on the pad left in your cooler. No running out to the store, you can spend that time doing something else. Really makes life easier", a reader told us.
If you want to try out this awesome service, Blake has a special promotion through the end of this month in which you receive 2 free half gallons of milk and 1 dozen extra large white eggs when you try the home delivery service for one month. Very good deal. Contact Blake at 206-546-9535 or by email at BlakeTheMilkman@gmail.com to receive the promotion.
Blake told us that customers tell him that when they run out of milk in the house and have to run to the local supermarket to get milk, "the kids won't drink it because it didn’t have the same taste as the Smith Brothers milk."
Blake's delivery area includes these neighborhoods: Ballard, Greenwood, Greenlake, Wallingford, Fremont, U-District, Ravenna, Laurelhurst, Windermere, Wedgewood, View Ridge, Maple Leaf & South of Northgate.
Several staffers rave about this great service to their doorstep. "Not only is the milk delicious, but the eggs, yogurt and the butter are the best. And all you have to do is open your door and pull them out of your cooler." says one of them.
Blake the Milkman can be reached at 206-546-9535 or by email at BlakeTheMilkman@gmail.com.
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