The days are getting longer, (slightly) warmer, and sunnier, which means frozen treats like Rita’s Italian ice and gelati are just around the corner. In fact, you may even be counting down to the opening date of your local Rita’s franchise.
When is that opening day, exactly? If you guessed the first day of spring — which falls on Tuesday, March 19 this year — you’re wrong.
Let’s take a step back. Rita’s has a decades-long tradition of handing out free Italian ice on the first day of spring. But that’s not the first day that Rita’s is open.
The Morning Call reached out to Rita’s for clarification. “Rita’s Franchise Company requires all seasonal shops to be open by March 1st, with the exception of resort locations,” the response read. “It is an individual shop owner decision to open up earlier than March 1st.”
Of the 25 locations in the Lehigh Valley, 16 locations were open prior to the March 1 requirement.
One was in Upper Macungie Township, at 7525 Tilghman St. Greg Rhoads owns this franchise, along with the two Dorney Park, Macungie, Wescosville, and future Coca-Cola Park in Allentown locations. Of all his stores, he chose to open his Upper Macungie Township shop — listed under Fogelsville in Rita’s online directory — first.
“It’s a walk-in-slash-walk-up,” he said of the location’s unusual indoor facilities. Rhoads owns Nick’s Bistro & Pizzeria next door, and he finds that the two eateries pair well together.
Still, despite being an indoor facility that could be open year-round, he has to fight against the myth of Rita’s opening up on the first day of spring. “It’s a [myth] that we shut down and it’s tough to get past that,” Rhoads said. “We get people coming in all the time saying, ‘I didn’t know you were open!’”
Even though the location can — and does — serve ice cream nearly all year long, Rhoads said he purposely shuts down the location for some time every year, “because then guests come in excited and looking forward to the ice cream.”
Rhoads would prefer not to shut down, and he finds the association of Rita’s and the first day of spring a double-edged sword. “With Rita’s [headquarters] requiring March 1 as the opening date, these stores are open for two to three weeks before the first day of spring, and it’s kind of slow,” he said.
There’s a benefit for franchise owners with the slower start, Rhoads said: “I can train my employees and get all the bumps and kinks out so we’re ready to go when the season starts,” he said. “But I’d like to have guests in the store, as a business owner.”
Another newer shop with indoor seating is the Kutztown location at 478 W. Main St., owned by Dennis and Michelle Udicious, who also own a location in Hamburg.
The couple opened the Kutztown location in July 2023. “Having indoor seating provides us the opportunity to extend our seasons by opening earlier and closing later,” Dennis Udicious said in an email. But the couple, who struggled with letting customers know that the business was open even if snow was falling, came upon an idea.
“We chose [to open] on Valentine’s Day, both as a day people would remember and a great place to go on that day that doesn’t break the bank,” Udicious said. “It has been a very successful decision.”
That doesn’t mean that the stretch between Valentine’s Day and the first day of spring is bustling. “It’s still very weather dependent,” Udicious said. “So yes, it’s slower than spring or summer, but busy enough to justify the early open. Without the indoor seating, I don’t think it would work.”
But even if a Rita’s locations doesn’t have the warmth and ambiance of indoor seating, franchises are opening up earlier simply because people want a frozen treat.
Twelve years ago, Jim Tavianini was doing what he always does in February: getting on his hands and knees waxing and buffing the floors, cleaning machinery, and getting his Wind Gap location at 501 E. Moorestown Road ready for a March opening. “There was snow on the ground,” Tavianini remembers. “I was at the final buffing stage after many coats of waxing and buffing, and people were knocking on the window.”
The moment was a key one for Tavianini: If the store was clean and ready to go, why not open it? For the past 12 years, he’s done just that, opening the last weekend in February. “I don’t care how much snow is on the ground, I’ll open that weekend,” Tavianini said.
Last weekend, as he has for years now, he opened his Wind Gap Rita’s. “And you know what? It was pretty cold but we had a good day,” he said. “We did a lot of business on Saturday and a lot of business on Sunday.”
Tavianini said that while he agrees it’s slow for the first weeks of March, it’s worth it. “At least I’m open and people can have their Italian ice,” he said.
