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Twistee Treat buildings are 28' tall and 20' 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 company filed for bankruptcy in early 1990 and a new company was formed in 1996.
It is not clear how many stores the original company produced or how many went independent and began using their own name. In 1999, the new Twistee Treat Corporation managed 35 locations in Florida and Missouri and planned to expand to Georgia and Texas. They added gourmet coffee to the menu and planned to add Express Grills with burgers and such. The new interiors would feature retro swivel stools, white fiberglass counters and a white and magenta color scheme. However, I have not heard of any new buildings being constructed. I believe the only way to acquire a Twistee is to find a used one (see the listing at the bottom of this page).
Somewhere along the line, Twistee Treat sold franchising rights to a company in Canada. I don't believe any of these newer buildings have been exported to the States. For more, see their website.
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Twist o' the Mist [for sale]
Niagara Falls, NY |
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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. As of 2007, the owners are looking to sell the business and/or building. For info, contact Bill Glasgow at (716) 773-3801 or email him at WGlas52674@aol.com.
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King Kone
Perry, MI |
Twistee Treat
Clyde, OH |
The Cone
West Chester, OH |
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The Perry King Kone is just south of this small town. For more, see this website.
The Clyde Twistee Treat is another example of these identical structures which are scattered across the country selling soft-serve ice cream.
The Cone is a former Twistee Treat, brought here from FL in 1993. It opened in 1995. For more, see their website. [photo thanks George Feinthel]
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Twistee Treat
Lincolnway East
Massillon, OH |
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Twistee Treat
Amherst Rd.
Massillon, OH |
Twistee Treat
Lincoln Way West
Massillon, OH |
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Massillon features three Twistee Treat locations. The one on Lincolnway East added a white fence in 2006. It is currently for sale. [photo thanks Doug Wilcox] The abundance of Twistees in OH can be credited to Russell Draime who bought and brought 13 of them from FL.
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Chubby's Treats
Canton, OH |
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Chubby's Treats is another Twistee Treat in Ohio.
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Twistee Treat at The Gravel Pit
Batavia, NY |
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The Batavia Twistee Treat is part of "The Gravel Pit" which offers bumper cars, an arcade, mini golf and a driving range. It has only been here since 2002 and the Twistee Treat was moved here from another part of northwestern NY.
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Kris & Kate's Ice Cream Treats
St. Joseph, MO |
Twistee Treat
Philadelphia, PA |
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Kris & Kate's Ice Cream Treats also features car shows and live entertainment.
The Philadelphia Twistee has pink ice cream which looks especially enticing. In 2003, when these photos were taken, the windows were boarded-up. However, as of 2006, I'm assured the place is still open. This Twistee Treat building was moved here from Florida around 1990 by the owners of Captain's Choice (next door). They brought two other Twistees to the area at the same time including "Christine's" shown below. The third, I believe, was in Bristol, PA and was later destroyed.
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Christine's Twistee Treat
Levittown, PA |
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Christine's Twistee Treat was closed for many years and has reopened. For more, see this website.
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Turtle Twist
Canonsburg, PA |
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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.
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Twistee Treat
Collegeville, PA |
Twistee Treat
Wernersville, PA |
M&M Twistee Treat
East Peoria, IL |
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The Collegeville Twistee Treat 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.
The Wernersville Twistee Treat is known as the Wertz Ice Cream Cone. For many years, it was tucked away next to a larger building which served as a restaurant and ice cream parlor. As of 2007, it was moved a couple blocks away to a much more prominent location. It will reopen there in early 2008. 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 FL birthplace.
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Twistee Treat (moving)
Lakeland, FL |
Twistee Treat
Lakeland, FL |
Twistee Treat
Plant City, FL |
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These Lakeland and Plant City Twistees were owned by the same family. The one on the left has been sold to new owners and is moving to Orlando. Nathan's Hot Dogs are offered at all three locations. [first photo thanks Wendy Scott]
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Twistee Treat
New Port Richey, FL |
Twistee Treat
St. Petersburg Beach, FL |
Twistee Treat
Sarasota, FL |
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This is one of two Twistees in New Port Richey.
I believe there was another Twistee in St. Petersburg Beach. It seems Twistee structures are transportable enough and have frequently been moved around. Also the quantity of ice cream flavors seems to vary from one location to the next. [second photo thanks Mark Comstock]
The Sarasota Twistee was also known as Mel's Drive Thru. The building has been closed and up for lease since 2005. The deer-like figure on the roof might have been a leftover Christmas decoration or something that was up year-round. There is also a polar bear in front of the building. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
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Twistee Treat
Kissimmee, FL |
Twistee Treat
Fort Myers, FL |
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I believe this Kissimmee Twistee is still up for sale (see contact list below). For more, see this website. [photo thanks Steve Campbell]
This Fort Myers Twistee features cool-looking picnic tables. [photos thanks Jason Koffman]
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Hob Nob Hot Dogs
Manteca, CA |
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Although Hob Nob Hot Dogs was never a Twistee Treat, it must have been inspired by their buildings. However, this giant cone seems to be made of concrete rather than fiberglass. As far as I know, there were never any Twistee Treats in California. Hob Nob Hot Dogs has been here since at least the 1980s and probably much longer. It may have had a Twistee-ish name when it first opened.
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There is no official list, but these are other locations that I know of:
FL: Bithlo, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs, Clermont, Dade City, Englewood, Estero, Eustis, Hudson, Jacksonville, Ocoee, Okeechobee, Orlando (2), Palatka, Panama City, Pompano Beach, Port St. Lucie, Saint Augustine, Seminole, Stuart, Tampa (2), Tavares, Winter Park, Zephyrhills (as Dave's Treats)
For some photos of Twistees in Orlando and Tampa, see this website.
IL: Mattoon
KS: Oakley: 1, 2
MI: Hemlock
MO: Kansas City, Knob Noster
NC: Dillsburg [relocated from Spencerport, NY; not yet reassembled]
SD: Aberdeen
TX: Port Isabel: 1, 2 [demolished]
Puerto Rico: Hatillo
If you know of others or if any of these are gone/have moved, please let me know.
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Twistee Treats looking for buyers:
in Kissimmee, FL: Robert Rivera, longislandking@netscape.com, (407) 870-6338 or (407) 383-1954
in Zephyrhills, FL: Greg Sausaman, greg@topperscreamery.com, (813) 767-9644
in Niagara Falls, NY: Bill Glasgow, wglas52674@aol.com, (716) 773-3801
in Brownsville, TX: Eugene Fernandez (956) 455-5452
in Chatham, ON (Canada): Daniel Davis, dkkddav@aol.com, (804) 722-0465 or (804) 892-1189
Looking to buy a Twistee Treat:
in AK: John Iverson, unreel@ptialaska.net
in CA: Steve Shaughnessy, shaunycal@hotmail.com
in FL: Cat Baker, kostas986@wmconnect.com, (727) 252-8862
in FL: Greda Coller, greda24@yahoo.com, (407) 718-6166
in FL: Chris Cooper, chris@4leases.com, (813) 649-0800
in FL: Mike Darley, sigmd1@aol.com
in FL: Alex Garcia, alex@commodorerealty.com, (305) 365-2600 x29
in FL: Steve Mace, steve.mace.49@verizon.net
in FL: Bob Orlando, borl2000@aol.com,(407) 538-7521
in FL: Bradley Prucha, fulltimelighters@aol.com
in FL: Faon Rodriguez, faontherod@earthlink.net
in FL: Gwendolyn Viccaro, gwendolynviccaro@aol.Ccom, (407) 276-4147
in FL: John Voss, floridayankee2@aol.com, (352) 516-2209
in FL: Guillermo Yepes, guiyepes@yahoo.com
in FL: Cathy Zampella, zz1175@bellsouth.net, (352) 279-1098
in GA: Charlotte, charlottescleaningsvc@tds.net
in IL: John and Kelly Wood, kelly.wood@sanofi-aventis.com, (419) 575-4055
in LA: James E. Kelly, jameskelly8@aol.com
in MI: Gary Hatfield, hgaryh1@peoplepc.com
in MI: Don Jones, dancer10@chartermi.net, (231) 779-0118
in NC: Matt Eggleston, matteggleston@earthlink.net, (336) 993-2580
in NJ: Brandy & Bob White, wanderlust.home@verizon.net, (609) 884-0488
in OH: David Bausch, castercon@aol.com, (614) 561-6950
in OH: Thomas Cross, thomcross7@aol.com, (330) 245-1911 or (330) 753-7921
in OH: Doug Wilcox, wilcox7@juno.com, (330) 834-9316
in PA: Melody Dull, gogo_gidget@hotmail.com
in TX: Brad Farr, lala1988@sbcglobal.net
If you are looking to buy or sell a Twistee, I'd be happy to list your name and email here. Please let me know when you have sold your building or are no longer looking for one so I can update the listing.
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