Hubrath and De Moss (Image: CHS)

Out of a commercial kitchen space on Capitol Hill, Keith Hubrath created Treatbox, Seattle’s only cookie delivery service. Treatbox might be ready to help you romance somebody with sweet treats this Valentine’s Day but Hubrath isn’t ready to settle down in a brick and mortar cookie shop on Capitol Hill just yet.

Treatbox puts prepackaged, love-less sweets to shame by offering “fresh baked, scratch made, home style cookies.”

“They’re the first thing I learned how to bake and they’re my favorite — and don’t let me understate favorite,” Hubrath said.

You may have already heard word of Treatbox cookies buzzing around Seattle after their successful booth run at Pride Fest last summer, or you may have bought one of their most popular cookies, the sea-salted chocolate chip, through Slate Coffee in Ballard or Victrola, but Treatbox is still in its infant stages as a business, with less than a year of delivering under its belt. 

Despite its recent development, Hubrath and his production assistant Rachel De Moss are showing signs of steady growth. They have five staples and are now offering a Valentine’s Day special, which includes red velvet and white chocolate chip cookies. “I’m hoping to eventually get into some funky flavors, like maple-bacon,” said Hubrath. 

In December, they sold nearly 5,000 cookies, 27 dozen delivered on Christmas Eve.

Like Hello Robin before him at 19th and Mercer, Hubrath hopes to eventually find a designated site to open up a storefront where he can accommodate walk-in customers while also maintaining the delivery aspect. 

His search for a storefront location includes downtown and South Lake Union, but he has a desire to stay in Capitol Hill where he currently bakes his cookies out of Capitol Hill Kitchen.

“I have this ingrained relationship with the Hill I’d like to maintain, so there’s part of me that would like to stay here,” he said.

But what’s preventing him from planting the company’s roots is what halts most entrepreneurs: finances. “Everything I’ve put into this company is out of my own pocket,” he said. This includes baking ingredients, building a website and reserving a space in the commissary kitchen.

Thinking an eight-year relationship with Wells Fargo would help him lock down a SBA loan only proved futile. Hubarth says the bank cited his business’s relatively small revenue totals weren’t enough to warrant the loan amount he was asking for. He’s currently seeking out private investors for financial backing, which De Moss hopes will allow the company to hire year-round employees and focus more on events and marketing.

You can learn more — and order some cookies — at treatboxseattle.com.