The King of Creams Story
Built from scratch. Backed by faith. Run by family.
Before there was a name, a logo, a truck—or even a plan—there was just a vision: to build something real. Something ours. A place rooted in family, built on hustle, and guided by God.
We’re Courtland and Rebecca. We got married in 2006, each bringing part of our story into the relationship. I had three kids from a previous relationship. She had one. Not long after, we had our first child together, followed by two more—one in 2011 and our youngest in 2019. That’s seven kids total. The first five are grown now, but they were all part of this journey from the beginning.
Back then, we were just trying to provide—working full time, raising a blended crew, and trying to hold onto a dream.
The Roots
We’re local to Duluth. I spent my childhood between Central Hillside, Hermantown, and Duluth East High—though I left in 10th grade. I got my GED through the ALC and graduated trade school the same year I would’ve walked the stage. I’ve worked blue-collar my whole life—mostly HVAC and mechanical maintenance—where you learn to show up, fix things, and keep going.
Rebecca’s childhood was harder. She grew up in instability, moving frequently, with more nights spent on friends’ floors than in her own room. But she never let it define her. She earned her GED, then a degree in Medical Billing and Coding—proving grit runs just as deep in her as it does in me.
We both come from places where nothing is guaranteed. We know what it’s like to struggle. To hustle. To build with whatever tools you’ve got.
The Spark
I always had a thing for food. As a teenager, I dreamed of owning a Steak Escape franchise—but when I saw the $350,000 buy-in, I knew it wasn’t in the cards. That dream went on the shelf, but it never left me.
Years later, I saw a converted postal truck for sale on eBay—an ice cream truck. The opening bid was $5,900. We made a pact: if nobody else bid, we’d take the shot. No one did. We had the truck delivered from West Virginia, and it landed in our driveway with rust, charm, and a whole lot of possibility.
That truck didn’t look like much, but to us, it was everything. We wrapped it, gave it a name, and hit the streets.
King of Creams was born.
The Grind
We didn’t have investors. We didn’t have mentors. We didn’t get any grants. I stacked my vacation time at work just to run the truck at summer events. Rebecca handled the backend—admin, logistics, schedules—all while managing five kids at home.
We bootstrapped. I quietly collected used restaurant equipment for years, storing it and fixing it in my off hours, believing someday it would all come together. The truck wasn’t a side hustle—it was the foundation of something bigger.
Our kids pitched in too: scooping ice cream, cleaning the truck, handing out napkins, learning the value of service and showing up. That truck became our training ground. Our launch pad. Our family business.
The Breakthrough
In 2015, we opened our first brick-and-mortar on East 4th Street in Duluth’s Hillside neighborhood. No blueprint. No connections. Just the same determination that carried us from a driveway to a dining room.
Years later, when we saw a new development going up in Hermantown, we reached out to the property owners. We cooked for them—Joe and Stevie, the landlords—just to show them who we were. They saw what we had built and believed in us. That lease led to our second location, a full SBA loan, and the biggest expansion we’d ever attempted.
Now, we’ve got two brick-and-mortar stores, a growing fleet of food trucks, a branded loyalty program, and a team that feels like family—because much of it is.
Our son James and daughter Aisha now manage the Hillside location. Our son Carlin runs the show at Hermantown. Even our youngest teen, Courtland Jr., helps out at events and absolutely crushes it at the window—at just 14 years old. This business isn’t just ours anymore. It’s theirs too.
What We Stand For
We’re not a chain. We’re not corporate. We’re not polished up in some big-city lab. We’re Duluth—gritty, loyal, stubborn, and proud.
We were the first to bring non-chain smash burgers to the area. The first with a true food truck operation serving authentic Philly cheesesteaks, hand-spun shakes, and those crispy house-seasoned chicken tenders that keep people coming back.
Our burgers are made with grass-fed, grass-finished beef—no fillers, no shortcuts. Our ice cream might not be made in-house yet, but it still makes grown adults grin like they’re 8 years old again. And our goal? Keep raising the bar until it is.
But more than food, King of Creams is about what happens around it—families gathering, kids landing their first job, neighbors reconnecting. It’s a space where hustle gets rewarded and where something real gets built.
THE LEGACY
This business is a reflection of our story—our faith, our family, our grit. We built it for people like us. For people who work hard, dream big, and refuse to give up.
We’re still growing. Still learning. Still working. But we’ve never forgotten where we came from—or why we started.
We’re King of Creams.
And this is just the beginning.