But it’s no secret to East Lansing what happened with Tasty Twist. King was told in November by property owners that they planned to tear down his soft serve shop to expand the adjacent Citgo gas station. He obliged, but not long after, East Lansing Tasty Treat moved into Tasty Twist’s former location, imitating the latter’s blue awning and white typeface, King said.

What followed was a Facebook group with membership that even made King wonder how a shop so small could have possibly served as many people who signed up — more than 11,200 as of Tuesday. During the winter months when King and his crew had no idea what would become of Tasty Twist, it was the Facebook group that had them yearning for warm weather and cold ice cream.

“In reality, as heartwrenching and as down as we were all winter, that was kind of the thing that kept us going,” he said. “We’d see that and we couldn’t help but get excited for the future.”

Loyal customers said they were upset and angry when they heard about how Tasty Twist lost its original home. But in the move, the store has gained vocal spokespeople.

Ana Lesmez, a Lansing Community College student who grew up in East Lansing, was one of the people who joined the Facebook group. She said she raised awareness about Tasty Twist’s new location so people don’t get confused with the establishment down the road.

“I’m trying to tell everyone I know, ‘This is the right Tasty Twist, that’s the wrong Tasty Twist,’” she said.

Chris Bell, an MSU master’s student in digital rhetoric and professional writing, has frequented Tasty Twist for several years and said Tasty Treat’s signage could confuse people.

“Not only is it an ice cream place in the same place, but the way they branded that place, it looks very similar,” he said.

Bell said he would like to see more outdoor seating at the new location, noting the old site had several picnic benches to enjoy ice cream in the summer sun. King said he plans to incorporate those picnic benches at the new store.

But for Jordan Jackson, an LCC student whose family has roots in East Lansing so far back that his parents were regulars at Tasty Twist when they attended MSU, said there are some things that cannot be replicated at the new spot.

“It wasn’t even about the benches, but that thin cement wall that they have right there splitting their parking lot with the bank’s parking lot, that’s where we used to sit,” Jackson said of his days at East Lansing High School.

“Everyone used to say, ‘Why don’t we go skip (class), sit on the wall and eat some Tasty Twist?’”