Rita's Italian Ice

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rita's Italian Ice" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Rita's Franchise Company, LLC

Trade name	Rita's Italian Ice
Company type	Private
Industry	Dessert shop
Genre	Quick Service
Founded	May 4, 1984; 40 years ago (1984-05-04)
Founder	Bob Tumolo
Headquarters	Trevose, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Number of locations	570
Area served	31 U.S. states, mainly in the Mid-Atlantic
Key people	Kirk Griswold, Chairman Linda Chadwick, President & CEO
Products	Italian ice frozen custard frozen treats
Revenue	US$51 million (2019)
Owner	Argosy Private Equity (50%) MTN Capital (50%)
Number of employees	5,000 (2021)
Website	ritasice.com

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 chain originating in the Philadelphia metropolitan area that expanded throughout and now operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The chain is known for its Italian ice or "water ice"^[1] and frozen custard,^[2] but also offers multiple types of frozen treats and specialty creations.^[3]

Rita's opened its first restaurant in 1984 in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, a township outside of Philadelphia, 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. As of August 1, 2024^[update], the chain had 574^[4] restaurants in 31 states, mostly located in the Mid-Atlantic.