- May 6, 2026
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Just as saltwater taffy is a staple of the New Jersey shore and New Orleans is famous for its sugar sprinkled beignets, the sweet treat most synonymous with Manatee County has to be the Mixon swirl — orange juice swirled into vanilla soft serve ice cream.
The signature ice cream treat was introduced in 1986. In July 2025, Mixon Fruit Farms was sold to Manatee County after it had closed, but the swirl survived.
Janet and Dean Mixon launched a food truck that November and named it after the farm’s most treasured treat, the Mixon Swirl. Now the food truck and the ice cream by the same name are headed to Polk County.
The Mixons sold the truck to Polk Sheriff Charities Inc.
Now 75 years old, Janet and Dean met in kindergarten at Manatee Elementary School, graduated from Southeast High School together, then married over 30 years later. They are finally retiring together — perhaps.
“We’re supposedly retired … until we figure out what else to do,” Janet Mixon said.
The truck had become too much work. Once the Mixons couldn’t store the truck at the farm anymore because Manatee County was the new owner, they had to run a generator to keep the soft serve machine cold.
To keep the generator going, Dean Mixon found himself on constant runs for more diesel fuel.
On top of that, the Mixons went from three employees down to one — Anita Stanley, who is 84 years old.
Kaliah Muck and Marie Lovy moved away after the hurricanes in 2024. The trio were former employees of the farm. Stanley ran Mixon’s Groveside Cafe. Muck drove the tram, and Lovy worked in the office and gift shop.
“They could be retired, too…we enjoy being around each other,” Janet Mixon told the East County Observer three months after taking the Mixon Swirl on the road.
The proverbial band was breaking up, so the Mixons listed the truck for sale. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was looking to buy an ice cream truck and when he saw the Mixon Swirl for sale, he jumped at the chance to buy it.
“The Mixons are an institution,” Judd said. “We are proud to carry on their tradition of serving ice cream and making people happy. Our deputies are looking forward to creating lots of good will and having great interactions with kids throughout Polk County through the use of this truck.”
Janet Mixon said Grady wanted the truck sooner but agreed to the Mixons holding an “official goodbye” at the Mixon Farms Market April 19.
“(Running a food truck) was hard,” she said. “It was time to retire, but we’re very excited about the sheriff taking it.”
Scott Wilder, director of communications for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, said the truck’s graphics will be redesigned and the menu will no longer include loaded BLTs or the "Mixon’s Renown Cuban." But not everything is changing.
“We will definitely be using the soft serve machine, and we will definitely continue the orange and vanilla Mixon swirl,” Wilder said. “It will be more of an ice cream and sweets-type truck — not hot foods."
The truck will be used at various community events to give Polk County deputies a fun way to interact with the community.
The truck made its debut at the Polk County Operations Center for a law enforcement pre-hurricane training exercise April 24. The Mixons were on hand to teach the staff how to use the equipment, and of course, how to make a Mixon swirl.
Wilder said the equipment worked great, and the ice cream was fantastic.
