Spotlight: Ice Queen
Ice Queen offers vegan paletas and soft serve in Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood, near Ladd's Addition. Each Ice Queen paleta is handmade with love and care, using only the finest plant-based ingredients. Below, owner and founder Rebecca Smith shared her journey of starting and growing the business.
How does Portland shape your business?
Rebecca: Portland shapes my business in really practical ways. It’s a city that loves small-batch, experimental flavors and supporting local makers, so I get to be creative. People are usually down to try something new. The food scene here is phenomenal, which keeps me on my toes and constantly pushing myself. That energy is a big part of how Ice Queen was named Best Vegan Ice Cream Shop in the country by VegNews in 2023 and second in 2024.
If you could go back to the beginning, what would you have done differently when you first started the business?
Rebecca: I honestly wouldn’t change much about the pop-up stage. It was essential and the lessons I learned there shaped everything that came after. A little further in, though, I struggled with saying no. I took on things that technically made money, but they cost me time, energy, and focus I should’ve been putting toward the bigger picture. I’ve learned that not every opportunity is worth the hours it takes, and that growth isn’t always about chasing every dollar.
What do you enjoy most about having a small business?
Rebecca: What I enjoy most about having a small business is the freedom to make my own schedule and create a workplace people actually want to be in. There’s something really meaningful about building a space where the team feels good and the vibe is right. It definitely comes with heavy days, but the moments when everything clicks and customers are excited about what we make remind me why I do it.
What role does your community play?
Rebecca: When I think about “community,” it has a lot of definitions. In the broadest sense, Portland is the community that let me build this business in the first place. It has given me the space to experiment, fail publicly, learn, and try again.
More specifically, organizations like Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), the Northwest Native Chamber, Built Oregon, and New Seasons Market have played the role of opening doors for me through grants, opportunities, and education that literally built the foundation of Ice Queen.
My customers play their own role too. Some have been with me since the pop-up days, and over time they’ve become part of the story — people whose kids I’ve watched grow and whose lives I know pieces of.
Community, in all those forms, is what pushed this business forward when I couldn’t have done it alone.
What's your best advice for someone just starting a business?
Rebecca: Be flexible. What you start out doing may not be the path forever. Always pivot when necessary and move with the ebbs and flows. Almost all of my shortcomings happened when I tried to control too much.
