Come to Rita’s Italian Ice for a little summertime fun all year round, East Coast style.  

Owner Salvatore Raccuglia opened the Austin area’s first Rita’s franchise this spring, choosing Round Rock’s Shops at Forest Commons as its home at 3720 Gattis School Road, Suite 200. 

Founded in 1984, Rita’s has become the largest Italian Ice concept in the world, with more than 550 locations across the United States.  

Originally from Pennsylvania, Raccuglia saw Rita’s grow to other parts of Texas, including Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, but missing the Austin area. He jumped at a chance to introduce Rita’s to Central Texas, and is glad he did.  

“It’s usually an East Coast thing. It’s making its way down to Texas, Arizona, and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s fantastic. I feel I picked a really, really good spot, right next to H-E-B.” 

Raccuglia signed a five-store deal with Rita’s and plans to open four more locally. He’d like to “spread them out” throughout the Austin area but a second Round Rock location isn’t out of the question, he added.  

Rita’s of Round Rock offers walk-in counter service, as well as a mobile app with a rewards program, location mapping and a look at the store’s flavors of the day. The brand also offers Door Dash, Grub Hub, Uber Eats and its own delivery service.  

Its menu includes a mix of Italian ice flavors, frozen custard, milkshakes and its signature Gelati, which combines Italian Ice and custard flavors.  

“Our mango Gelati is our bestseller,” said Raccuglia. “I advise people to try the [Italian] Ice, try the custard and we have a product that’s both.” 

Raccuglia noted there are no alcoholic drinks on the menu, despite assumptions based on Rita’s name. Founder Bob Tumolo, a firefighter from Philadelphia, actually named the company after his wife.  

Ranked 260 in Franchise Times’ list of top 400 franchises of 2024, Rita’s has seen sales climb steadily recently. In 2020, sales were at about $117 million, but had reached the $181 million mark by 2023.