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Rita's Franchise Company, LLC, doing business as Rita's Italian Ice (originally and now informally known as Rita's Water Ice), is a privately owned and operated American
quick service restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...
chain originating in the Philadelphia metropolitan area that expanded throughout and now operates primarily in the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
. The chain is known for its Italian ice or "water ice" and frozen custard, but also offers multiple types of frozen treats and specialty creations. Rita's opened its first restaurant in 1984 in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, a township outside of
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and the company gradually expanded throughout the Philadelphia region before eventually opening locations beyond the Philadelphia area. The company is currently headquartered in Trevose, Pennsylvania. , the chain has 594 restaurants in 30 states, mostly located in the South.


History

Rita's was founded in May 1984 by former Philadelphia firefighter Bob Tumolo with a recipe that his mother made that he then adjusted to enhance the flavors and include real fruit. Tumolo named the restaurant after his wife, Rita Tumolo. Rita's originally advertised its product as "water ice", using the Philadelphia regional term for what is sometimes called " Italian ice" in other areas of the country. By the summer of 1984, Bob had opened his second store on the opposite side of Pennsylvania, Lake Erie. In 1989, the family decided to franchise their business and expand in other territories. In May 2005, the company was sold to McKnight Capital Partners, a private equity group with extensive franchise experience. McKnight Capital Partners recognized the organization's growth potential and set into place plans to expand the company. In April 2007, Rita's moved its Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania headquarters to Trevose, Pennsylvania. In 2011, Falconhead Capital purchased a controlling interest in the company from an investment group led by Jim Rudolph. Falconhead named their operating partner Thomas Christopoul as the new chairman and interim chief executive. In 2013, Rita's opened its first location outside of the United States in Shenzhen, China. Rita's has traditionally given out a free regular-sized Italian ice or water ice on the first day of Spring from 1984 to 2019, and since 2022. Rita's did not host a free water ice day on the first day of Spring in 2020–21, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. In January 2017, Argosy Private Equity and MTN Capital acquired controlling stake in Rita's from Falconhead Capital. In June 2025, a Florida-based franchisee of Rita’s Italian Ice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing debts up to $1 million.


Partnerships

In 2010, Rita's Italian Ice began a partnership with Just Born to offer a seasonal Peeps Brand Marshmallow Candy flavored ice. The Peeps flavor was discontinued in 2011, but was offered in some stores in spring 2017. Rita's partnered with
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...
in July 2009 to introduce its Swedish Fish Italian ice flavor. On June 29, 2012, Rita's partnered with Cadbury again to release its Sour Patch Kids Red water ice flavor. Other companies involved in Rita's water ice flavors include
Alex's Lemonade Stand Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (previously known as Alex's Lemonade Stand and currently abbreviated as ALSF) is an American pediatric cancer charity founded by Alexandra "Alex" Scott (January 18, 1996 – August 1, 2004), who lived in Connecticu ...
("Alex's Lemonade" water ice) and
Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...
("Oreo Cookies and Cream" cream ice and "Mint Oreo" cream ice).


See also

* List of frozen custard companies


References


External links

* * {{authority control 1984 establishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1984 Cuisine of Philadelphia Culture of Philadelphia Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food franchises Food and drink companies based in Philadelphia Frozen custard Ice cream parlors in the United States Private equity portfolio companies Restaurants established in 1984