OCOEE, Fla. – A longtime ice cream shop in Ocoee is celebrating a big anniversary with a deal for customers on Friday.
Customers at Twistee Treat of Ocoee will be able to get small cake, sugar or waffle ice cream cones at the location on Maguire Road for 29 cents in honor of the owners’ 29th anniversary.
Recommended Videos
“When we first purchased the store, our children were 5 and 7 and would help out around the store,” said Royetta Ginther, who has owned the franchise store with her husband, Dennis, since 1994. “Now their children are all around the same age and are beginning to do the same as their parents and spouses now begin to take over our family business.”
Find every episode of Florida Foodie on YouTube:
The children were why the Ginthers first bought the location, which was originally on the corner of Maguire Road and State Road 50. Dennis Ginther was a director of operations for the Pizza Hut chain at the time and he and his wife were looking for a way to be home with the kids more.
That’s when they learned the original owner of the Ocoee Twistee Treat was looking to sell. They said they were able to make a deal for the business and have been running it ever since.
In 2006, they opened a location in Lake Buena Vista. Eight years later, they opened a shop with their name on it, Ginther’s Swirls, on International Drive.
When the landlords of the original property decided to sell it to the gas station, they allowed the Ginthers to move the shop to the parking lot and put in a drive-thru, which can be quite busy, especially during the summer months.
Aside from now offering vegan and dairy-free options with their popular soft serve, the Ginthers say not much else has changed for their business, and they partially attribute their success to their longtime employees and customers. They say they still hear from employees who now have families of their own.
“The managers of our Ocoee store, Angie, and Erika, the manager of our Lake Buena Vista store, both started with us when they were 16 years old and have been with us approximately 22 years. We owe much of our success to them and the scores of others that have worked with us over the years,” Ginther said.
The Ginthers say they are hoping to complete a remodel of the store in the fall so they can start selling scoop ice cream, in addition to soft serve.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: