The Eastside Ben & Jerry’s has a conundrum. The downtown Kirkland development of Lake Street Place is forcing the store to vacate its waterfront location during the upcoming summer months. This puts an obvious damper in the store’s business plan. On numerous summer days, we have walked past a long line of ice cream addicts salivating out the Ben & Jerry’s door.

How will the downtown Kirkland staple re-coup its forecasted summer losses? Find a new, equally awesome, location ASAP? Maybe. Lobby to stop Kirkland urban sprawl? Not really. Solicit money from patrons? Cha Ching! Currently Ben & Jerry’s is asking for donations from local communities to save the store from its doom.

From the Ben & Jerry’s "save our store" plea:

Many of our customers have been concerned over these last months about our future in this building due to downtown development. They have asked if they could write letters or help us in any small way. The answer is yes, we need the communities' financial help to survive losing summer revenue. We will be accepting donations to hopefully insure that we return for years to come.

The Kirkland Ben & Jerry’s is a franchise, so corporate financial backing during this predicament is likely slim. This is a tough situation, but is asking for donations the right move? Will it be enough? Local owner Jen Greene says no, while donations help, timing for the redevelopment project plays a larger role. Construction is set to begin this July, but could be postponed until next spring. Greene's lease is up March 2009, and she cannot renew the lease because of the pending redevelopment timeline.

This is the only dedicated ice cream store in the downtown Kirkland area, so perhaps the thought of losing convenient access to milk shakes and Free Cone Day is enough to loosen pocketbooks. Don’t tempt the power of Cherry Garcia and Phish Food.

To help save the Kirkland Ben & Jerry's, you can donate here or at the downtown Kirkland Washington Mutual.