Four years ago, a bright blue and green soft serve truck parked itself smack dab in the center of Walnut Hills. With its colorful branding and playful slogan, “Life is hard enough, your ice cream should be soft,” Green Man Twist quickly became a soft serve staple in its community. However, this ice cream food truck serves more than just creamy whip, slushies and hot dogs — Green Man Twist’s core mission is to serve its community as well.
Green Man Twist was co-founded by R.H. Sweeten, Anne Leeman, Mark Leeman and Katy Dietz, all of whom have been working in Walnut Hills for more than a decade. In 2007, amid the recession, the group was working on rehabilitating housing properties that previous landlords had either lost or given up on. As Walnut Hills slowly began to revitalize and housing became more expensive, the group’s core mission has shifted to preserving affordable housing for long-term and lower-income residents.
It wasn’t long before the idea of opening a business that aligned with this vision sparked between Mark and Sweeten. As a Walnut Hills native, Sweeten has become a valued mentor and consultant for Green Man Twist to ensure that nothing “unnecessary or unhelpful” happens to the neighborhood. Mark says the co-founders wanted to open up a business for many reasons, including to raise up social entrepreneurs.
“We were living in a neighborhood with a lot of poverty and we just knew a lot of people and a lot of young people who needed work,” he says. “We wanted to run a business where everyone gets to experience what it’s like to be an entrepreneur and to leave their mark on a business.”
Green Man Twist was also built on the foundation of bringing people of all different backgrounds together by providing a platform where neighbors can meet and get to know each other. Its public and central location aids in accomplishing this mission.
The desire to connect people across races, religions and cultures is also seen in the way that Green Man Twist is managed. As a nonprofit, Green Man Twist gives 100 percent of all profits back to the community through entrepreneur training, affordable housing and education initiatives. But, Mark says, they do not sacrifice the quality of the product to do so.
“We think that one of the ‘bottom lines’ for any organization ought to be to address the inequalities that exist,” Mark says. “We seek to run our business by consensus, where everyone has a voice and is given dignity and a safe place to use it.”
Green Man Twist’s current menu has been adjusted “for this unusual time,” and features vanilla, chocolate, twist and a weekly soft serve flavor, which guests can top with options like sprinkles, Krunch Kote, pineapple and cookie dough. They also offer sundaes, slushies, glaciers — ice cream plus a slushie mix — and a “green man cup,” a soft serve cup or cone with a face made of candy and sprinkles.
You can also read about their current COVID-19 response and health precautions here.
Green Man Twist is open 3-9 p.m. Fridays-Sundays. 770 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, greenmantwist.com.
This article appears in May 6 – Jun 14, 2020.