has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . august 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . august 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message rita s italian ice type private subsidiary of falconhead capital partners industry dessert quick service founded may 7 1984 ; 32 years ago 1984 05 07 philadelphia pennsylvania u.s. founder bob tumolo headquarters trevose pennsylvania united states number of locations 600 2014 key people jeff moody president and ceo ice guy mascot products rita s italian ice parent falconhead capital website ritasice.com rita s italian ice also known as rita s water ice is an international franchise based in trevose pennsylvania selling mainly italian ice frozen custard as well as specialty creations . 1 contents 1 history 2 products 2.1 partnerships 3 references 4 external links history edit rita s was founded in may 1984 2 by former philadelphia firefighter bob tumolo with a recipe that he purchased from an elderly neighbor that he then adjusted to enhance the flavors and include real fruit . rita s originally advertised its product as water ice using the colloquial term for what is sometimes called italian ice in other areas of the country . by 1987 a second store was opened and in 1989 the family decided to franchise their business . today there are over 600 locations in 25 states and the district of columbia . in may 2005 the company was sold to mcknight capital partners a private equity group with extensive franchise experience . 3 4 mcknight capital partners recognized the organization s growth potential and set into place plans to take the company to the next level . 1 in april 2007 rita s moved its bensalem headquarters to the trevose section of bensalem township . 5 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 . 6 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 water ice on the first day of spring . 7 products edit italian ice 8 frozen custard 9 gelati italian ice in between frozen custard 10 misto a drink of liquid custard blended with italian ice 11 blendini a combination of frozen custard and italian ice blended with crushed oreo pieces nilla wafer pieces pretzel pieces heath candy bar pieces reese s pieces reese s m & m s minis or wonka nerds . 12 cream ice 13 slenderita fat free soft serve 14 milkshakes partnerships edit in march 2010 rita s italian ice announced it would partner with bethlehem based just born inc. to introduce a seasonal peeps brand marshmallow candy flavored ice . 15 the partnership between rita s and peeps would provide new flavor combinations such as peeps chocolate covered gelati peeps chocolate covered misto and peeps pie blendini . 15 the peeps flavor was discontinued in 2011 . rita s partnered with cadbury in july 2009 to introduce its swedish fish italian ice flavor . on june 29 2012 rita s partnered with cadbury once more to release its sour patch kids red italian ice flavor . other companies involved in rita s italian ice flavors alex s lemonade stand foundation alex s lemonade italian ice . nabisco oreo cookies and cream cream ice and mint oreo cream ice . references edit a b hartford jamie september 2009 . rita s water ice celebrates 25 years of success qsr magazine . qsr magazine . retrieved 2009 09 16 . rita s celebrates 30th anniversary with giveaways politicians . phillymag . 2014 05 07 . retrieved 2016 03 29 . philadelphia business journal may 4 2005 pittsburgh business times may 4 2005 rita s franchise company 2007 04 13 . rita s franchise company press releases detail rita s italin ice set to relocate its cool support center . retrieved 2010 03 11 . associated press bloomberg businessweek 1 december 2011 . falconhead capital acquires rita s water ice . accessed 7 december 2011 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company events & promotions first day of spring . retrieved 2010 03 11 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company cool treats menu italian ice . retrieved 2010 03 14 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company cool treats menu custard . retrieved 2010 03 14 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company cool treats menu gelati . retrieved 2010 03 14 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company cool treats menu misto . retrieved 2010 03 14 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company menu blendini . retrieved 2010 03 14 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company cool treats menu cream ice . retrieved 2010 03 14 . rita s franchise company . rita s franchise company cool treats menu slenderita . retrieved 2010 03 14 . a b huth kelly 2010 03 09 . rita s italian ice to offer peeps flavored dessert . pennlive llc . retrieved 2010 03 14 . external links edit philadelphia portal companies portal official website v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box johnny rockets krystal mcdonald s roy rogers shake shack smashburger sonic steak n shake wayback wendy s whataburger white castle asian l & l hawaiian barbecue manchu wok panda express pei wei asian diner pick up stix sarku baked goods au bon pain auntie anne s bruegger s cinnabon corner bakery cafe dunkin donuts einstein bros. great american cookies honey dew donuts krispy kreme mrs. fields nestl toll house panera bread pretzelmaker pretzel time shipley do nuts tim hortons t.j. cinnamons wetzel s winchell s beverages argo tea biggby coffee caribou coffee bean & tea leaf coffee beanery dunn bros gloria jean s jamba juice juice it up orange julius peet s planet smoothie robeks seattle s best coffee smoothie king starbucks teavana tropical smoothie cafe tully s frozen desserts baskin robbins ben & jerry s braum s bruster s carvel cold stone culver s dairy queen dippin dots fosters freeze friendly s golden spoon graeter s h agen dazs handel s kiwi yogurt maggiemoo s marble slab menchie s pinkberry red mango rita s sweet frog tastee freez tcby tropical sno tutti frutti yogen fr z yogurtland hot dogs hot dog on a stick nathan s famous portillo s wienerschnitzel mexican style tex mex baja fresh cafe rio chipotle del taco el pollo loco freebirds green red burrito moe s pancheros qdoba rubio s taco bell taco bueno taco cabana taco del mar taco john s taco mayo taco time wahoo s fish taco noodles fazoli s noodles & company sandwiches arby s atlanta bread blimpie capriotti s charley s cos cousins d angelo daphne s erbert & gerbert s firehouse subs great wraps jason s jerry s subs jersey mike s jimmy john s lenny s sub mcalister s deli miami subs mr. hero newk s eatery penn station port of subs pdq potbelly quiznos rax runza sandella s schlotzsky s steak escape subway togo s tubby s tudor s biscuit world which wich seafood arthur treacher s captain d s h. salt esquire ivar s long john silver s skippers seafood & chowder house defunct bresler s ice cream brigham s burger chef carrols d lites druther s henry s hamburgers hot n now hot sam pretzels naugles red barn sandy s zantigo v t e philadelphia area corporations including the delaware valley list of companies based in the philadelphia area philadelphia based fortune 500 corporations rank in the 2015 list comcast 43 aramark 207 crown holdings 318 delaware valley based fortune 500 corporations rank in the 2015 list amerisourcebergen 16 dupont 87 lincoln national 223 universal health services 324 campbell soup 342 ugi 349 burlington stores inc. 500 other notable philadelphia based businesses amoroso s beneficial bank chemtura day & zimmermann fmc corporation independence blue cross pennsylvania real estate investment trust pep boys philadelphia media network radian group urban outfitters notable philadelphia based professional partnerships ballard spahr blank rome cozen o connor dechert drinker biddle & reath duane morris morgan lewis & bockius pepper hamilton saul ewing white and williams other notable delaware valley based businesses actua corporation airgas alliedbarton ametek aqua america asplundh bentley systems brandywine realty trust boscov s carpenter technology cephalon chemours christiana care health system crozer keystone health system david s bridal epam systems enersys hamilton lane liberty property trust penn mutual penn national gaming rita s italian ice sei investments slm sungard susquehanna international group vanguard toll brothers triumph group unisys viropharma vishay intertechnology vwr wawa wilmington trust w. l. gore and associates wsfs bank notable delaware valley based us headquarters of foreign businesses aberdeen asset management ace agustawestland astrazeneca delaware investments glaxosmithkline ing group keystone foods sap america siemens medical shire pharmaceuticals subaru teva pharmacueticals td bank notable delaware valley based division headquarters of us corporations acme cerberus capital management centocor johnson & johnson colonial penn conseco delmarva power exelon gsi commerce ebay hercules ashland mab paints sherwin williams mcneil laboratories j & j neoware hewlett packard peco exelon qvc liberty media rohm and haas dow chemical sunoco energy transfer tasty baking flowers foods retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title rita % 27s italian ice & oldid 743597570 categories fast food chains of the united statesfast food franchisesfrozen custardcuisine of philadelphiacompanies based in philadelphiaamerican companies established in 1984retail companies established in 1984ice cream parlorshidden categories articles lacking reliable references from august 2013all articles lacking reliable referenceswikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from august 2013 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated 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