By: Lisa Bicknell
For decades, kids wearing brightly colored baseball and softball uniforms have been lining up at the windows of The Twin on summer evenings for post-game treats.
They order milkshakes, slushy iced drinks, and ice cream cones.
Opened in 1959, The Twin is the longest running restaurant in Irvine, and the second longest running restaurant in the county, just behind the Wigwam in Ravenna. Located beside River Drive, The Twin was built before there was a River Drive.
Now only a drive-up and order style restaurant, there once was a come inside and sit down area on the side.
In recent weeks, Darren and Shannon Muncie have purchased the business from Jimmy and Sheila Wise.
Jimmy’s father and mother, Otha and Ruth Wise, were the original owners and operators of the Twin, so it has been in the family for more than sixty years.
Jimmy said his father built the place because he wanted it to be a place where everyone could go and enjoy themselves. He laughed that his father was an electrician and worked on refrigeration, etc., so people weren’t always happy about having to call him.
Jimmy thinks his father would be happy and tickled for the Muncies to be taking over.
“It’s what Dad would have wanted. He always respected people who work hard,” said Wise.
“I’m excited for them, too.”
Darren says he has been close friends with Jimmy Wise since they were “little kids,” and an EMS co-worker of Jimmy’s for 27 years. They also serve together in several other organizations.
Shannon worked in health care for 21 years as a lab technician, but she has always had a dream of owning her own business or restaurant.
“I’ve always wanted something of our own,” she said. “A little family business.”
Long-running restaurants are something of a tradition in Shannon’s family, who own Bruens in Powell County, another iconic and long-running restaurant.
Besides themselves, the Muncies employ eight people, and they hope to add more staff in the spring and summer months.
They also plan to install some picnic tables at the end of the building so ball teams can hang out while they enjoy their milkshakes, icees, and cones. They want to see the place become a local hangout again.
The Muncies will continue to teach their employees to use the old school cash drawer, take orders on a pad, and count back the change.
They also plan to keep offering the same staples for which the Twin has been known for decades: Chili dogs, BBQ sandwiches, hot ham and cheese, and milkshakes.
However, they plan to offer weekly specials, and if those are well received, they might become part of the regular menu. For example, last week the Twin began offering roast beef and cheddar sandwiches, which have been very well received.
Shannon said the hot fudge cake remains a local favorite as well. The cake is baked fresh, not from a mix, but from scratch.
To keep up with their weekly specials, the Muncies suggest you follow The Twin on their new Facebook page.
Or simply pull up and check out what’s new.