email: agilitynut@hotmail.com
Loading

Giant Food: Twistee Treat (page 1)

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

Twistee Treat buildings are 28 feet tall and 20 feet wide fiberglass ice cream cones topped with cherries. The design was created by Robert G. Skiller who opened 23 units around Florida, starting with one in North Fort Myers in 1983. The buildings were produced in Cape Coral, FL. The company filed for bankruptcy in early 1990 and a new company was formed in 1996.

It is believed that about 90 of these buildings were produced over the years. About half of them have been demolished. In 1999, the new Twistee Treat Corporation still managed 35 locations in Florida and Missouri and planned to expand to Georgia and Texas. These new locations were to offer gourmet coffee, burgers, and other food. The interiors were to feature swivel stools, white fiberglass counters, and a white and magenta color scheme. However, I don't believe any of these new buildings were ever built. The company ceased to exist around 2000. The only way to acquire a Twistee Treat building is to buy a used one (see the list at the bottom of the next page).

Before becoming defunct, Twistee Treat sold the franchising rights to a company in Canada. Using the name of Twirlees, the company is now producing similar, smaller mobile units and trucks. There is (or was) one of these units at the Twistee Treat in Ocala, FL. I believe there may be a couple others in Florida. There are also several others in West Chester, OH (see below).

In 2010, an Orlando-based company was established to revive the Twistee Treat chain. In 2011, Twistee Treat USA opened a location in Orlando, FL. The company is producing about a dozen other stands which will probably be distributed around Florida. In 2012, three more buildings were erected: in Kissimmee, in Davenport and another one in Orlando. For more, see this website.

Twist o' the Mist
Niagara Falls, NY
King Kone
Perry, MI
The Twist o' the Mist was originally part of the Twistee Treat chain. The light fixtures on the property are made from ice cream piggy banks. Around 2005, green awnings were added to the building. I believe this location is for sale (see bottom of page 2). For more, see this website.

The Twistee Treat in Perry goes by the name of King Kone. It has been there since at least 2006.

Whippy Dip
Hemlock, MI
Twistee Treat
Clyde, OH
The Hemlock Twistee Treat goes by the name of Whippy Dip. The building has been here since at least 2007.

The Twistee Treat in Clyde might have been one of the buildings brought up from Florida by Russell Draime. There is a Twistee Treat gravemarker in Clyde.

The Cone
West Chester, OH
The Cone's Twistee Treat building was brought here from Florida in 1993 by Russell Draime. It opened in 1995. In 2005, the Twistee building was partially enclosed with an addition which includes a dining area. That same year, the owners brought the Mobile Cone up from Louisiana. It is believed that it was produced in Florida in the 1980s or 1990s before the Twirlees mobile units were developed. The owner has several Twirlees units. He also had a 13 foot tall mobile Snowman stand which has moved to Portersville, PA in 2013. For more, see this website.

Twistee Treat
Lincoln Way East
Massillon, OH
Twistee Treat
Amherst Rd.
Massillon, OH
Twistee Treat
Lincoln Way West
Massillon, OH
Massillon has three Twistee Treat locations. The Amherst Rd. location is currently for sale (see bottom of next page). The abundance of Twistees in Ohio can be credited to Russell Draime who bought and brought 13 of them from Florida many years ago.

Twistee Treat
Brownsville, TX
Twistee Treat
Pflugerville, TX
Twistee Treat at The Gravel Pit
Batavia, NY
The Brownsville Twistee Treat is officially named the Ice Cream Factory. This building was originally located in Port Isabel, TX. It had been in storage since 2006 and was installed here in 2010. For more, see this website.

The Pflugerville Twistee Treat now houses Nana's Treat House. The roof had been painted red when this place was known as Twisters Ice Cream. This photo is from in 2011. I'm told this business is closed and the building is now for sale.

The Batavia Twistee Treat is part of "The Gravel Pit" which also features bumper cars, an arcade, mini golf and a driving range. This Twistee Treat was moved here in 2002 from northwestern NY.

Falls Twistee Treat [gone]
Newton Falls, OH
Chubby's Treats
Canton, OH
Falls Twistee Treat opened in 2010. The building was previously located in Florida. In 2012, the building was sold on eBay for $35,000. It will be moved back to Florida.

Chubby's Treats is the most sundae-like Twistee Treat of all the remaining locations. I don't know if the cherry red plastic ball was original or added later.

South Shore Sweet Spot
Clear Lake, IA
Kris & Kate's Ice Cream Treats
St. Joseph, MO
The South Shore Sweet Spot opened in 2011. The top half of the building came from a Twistee Treat. Around 2010, it was moved to Iowa from North Fort Myers, FL where it was last used as a barber shop in the 1990s. The bottom half had already been demolished. It was recreated here with concrete.

I'm not sure when Kris & Kate's Ice Cream Treats opened but this building was still a Twistee Treat back in the mid-1990s. It was painted pink when it became Kris & Kate's.

Twistee Treat
Philadelphia, PA
Christine's Twistee Treat
Levittown, PA
The Twistee Treat building in Philadelphia was moved here from Florida around 1990 by the owners of Captain's Choice which is located next door. They brought two other Twistee Treat buildings to the area at the same time. Christine's Twistee Treat was one of them. The third was probably the one in Bristol, PA which was later destroyed.

Twistee Treat
Collegeville, PA
Turtle Twist
Canonsburg, PA
The Twistee Treat in Collegeville is part of the Collegeville Pitstop which also features go-karts, mini golf, and a video arcade. The Collegeville Pitstop opened in 1997 after being brought up from Florida. For more, see this website.

Turtle Twist is a former Twistee Treat. This building was previously installed in 1992 at an amusement park in Lakewood, NY. It was reassembled here in 2004. The turtle is a reference to one of the owners alma mater: the University of Maryland, home of the Terrapins. For more, see this website.

Twistee Treat
Wernersville, PA
M&M Twistee Treat
East Peoria, IL
Twistee Treat
Princeton, WV
The Wernersville Twistee Treat is known as the Wertz Ice Cream Cone. The building was previously located in Iowa. It was moved here in the late 1990s. For many years, it was tucked away next to a larger building which served as a restaurant and ice cream parlor. In 2007, it was moved a couple blocks away to a more prominent location. In 2012, the stand was put up for sale. For more, see this website.

The M&M Twistee Treat has been here for many years. I don't know when it moved here or how it wound up so far from its Florida birthplace.

The Princeton Twistee Treat has been here since around 2004. It is believed that this building was previously located in Pennsylvania.

Twistee Treat
Mattoon, IL
Twistee Treat
Livingston, IL
The Mattoon Twistee Treat is also known as Rhoadside Custard, named after the owners of Rhoads Refrigeration who bought this stand and moved it here from Florida. I believe this stand serves frozen custard rather than soft-serve ice cream.

The Livingston Twistee Treat is located at the Pink Elephant Antique Mall.

Twistee Treat
Windsor, ON
Twistee Treat
Windsor, ON
There are two Twistee Treat locations in Windsor. There was at least one other that is missing now.

Twistee Treat
page 2
Main Food Page

copyright: all photos contained at this website are copyrighted and may be used only with consent

RoadsideArchitecture.com