Rita's Italian Ice facts for kids
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Trade name
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Rita's Italian Ice |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Dessert shop |
| Genre | Quick Service |
| Founded | May 4, 1984 |
| Founder | Bob Tumolo |
| Headquarters |
Trevose, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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Number of locations
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540 |
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Area served
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31 U.S. states, mainly in the Mid-Atlantic |
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Key people
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Kirk Griswold, Chairman Linda Chadwick, President & CEO |
| Products | Italian ice frozen custard frozen treats |
| Revenue |  US$51 million (2019) |
| Owner |
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Number of employees
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5,000 (2021) |
Rita's Franchise Company, LLC, known as Rita's Italian Ice, is a popular American restaurant chain. It started in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is now mostly found in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The chain is famous for its delicious Italian ice (also called "water ice") and creamy frozen custard. They also offer many other frozen treats and special creations.
Rita's first opened in 1984 in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The company slowly grew throughout the Philadelphia region. Later, it began opening stores in other areas. Today, Rita's main office is in Trevose, Pennsylvania. As of 2022, there were 538 Rita's stores in 31 states. Most of these stores are in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The Sweet Story of Rita's
Rita's was started in May 1984 by Bob Tumolo. He was a firefighter from Philadelphia. Bob used a special recipe from his mother and made it even better by adding real fruit. He named the restaurant after his wife, Rita Tumolo.
At first, Rita's called its product "water ice." This is a local term used in Philadelphia for what others might call "Italian ice." By 1987, a second store opened its doors. In 1989, the family decided to let other people open Rita's stores, which is called franchising. Now, there are over 600 Rita's locations in 30 states and Washington, D.C.. These stores serve about 45,000 people every day!
In May 2005, the company was sold to a group called McKnight Capital Partners. They saw how much Rita's could grow and made plans to expand the company even more. In April 2007, Rita's moved its main office to Trevose, Pennsylvania.
In 2013, Rita's opened its very first store outside of the United States. This store was in Shenzhen, China.
Free Italian Ice Day
For many years, Rita's has given out a free regular-sized Italian ice on the first day of Spring. This tradition started in 1984. They continued it every year until 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not have the free water ice day in 2020 and 2021. But it returned in 2022!
Cool Partnerships
Rita's Italian Ice has worked with other companies to create fun new flavors.
- In 2010, Rita's teamed up with Just Born to offer a special Peeps Brand Marshmallow Candy flavored ice. This flavor was stopped in 2011, but some stores brought it back in spring 2017.
- Rita's also partnered with Cadbury in July 2009. Together, they introduced the Swedish Fish Italian ice flavor. On June 29, 2012, they worked with Cadbury again to release the Sour Patch Kids Red water ice flavor.
- Other companies have also helped create Rita's flavors. These include Alex's Lemonade Stand for "Alex's Lemonade" water ice. Nabisco helped create "Oreo Cookies and Cream" cream ice and "Mint Oreo" cream ice.
See also
