Philadelphia — Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard is entering 2026 with strong momentum following a record-setting year; the brand closed 2025 having surpassed 600 locations worldwide, reinforcing its position as the largest Italian Ice concept in the world and setting the stage for continued expansion in the year ahead.
In 2025, Rita’s opened 35 new shops systemwide. U.S. openings increased 10% year-over-year, and new unit signings grew by nearly 10% year-over-year. This year, Rita’s expects to open approximately 45 additional shops.
“Our focus in 2025 was building smarter, not just bigger,” says Linda Chadwick, CEO of Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard. “We leaned into formats, incentives and markets that help franchisees open faster, operate more efficiently and perform stronger over time. That strategy is paying off as we head into 2026.”
Drive-thru development emerged as one of Rita’s most powerful growth drivers in 2025. Across the system, drive-thru locations are delivering over 30% higher performance compared to non-drive-thru shops, fueled by greater throughput, convenience for families and extended operating seasons in colder climates.
That performance gap informed the launch of Rita’s new Drive-Thru Incentive Program (DTIP), introduced in the fourth quarter of 2025 to accelerate new-build development.
With DTIP in place, Rita’s is targeting 25 new drive-thru openings in 2026, representing a five-fold increase from prior years. The brand also announced 2027 new-build incentives.
“These incentives reflect our confidence in the model and our commitment to sharing that upside with franchisees,” says Lawrence Brown, Rita’s chief development officer. “Drive-thrus are performing better, and we want to help operators capture that opportunity.”
Rita’s continued to deepen its footprint in high-growth markets throughout 2025, with new shop openings across the Southeast, Texas and Mid-Atlantic, including the brand’s first-ever location in Louisiana. The expansion reflects Rita’s focus on warm-weather and family-driven markets where its model can deliver longer operating seasons and stronger year-round demand.
Growth was further supported by an increase in multi-unit and area development agreements, signaling growing interest from experienced operators seeking scalable platforms. These efforts were paired with Rita’s continued emphasis on flexible prototypes and adaptive reuse of second-generation real estate, allowing franchisees to enter new markets more efficiently and cost-effectively. Together, these initiatives laid the groundwork for the brand’s corporate seeding and clustered development strategy entering 2026.
In 2025, Rita’s completed a strategic corporate acquisition of stores in Savannah, Ga., allowing the brand to operate select locations directly as part of a market-seeding strategy.
Building on that foundation, Rita’s is preparing to launch five new drive-thru locations across North Texas in 2026, marking the brand’s largest multi-site conversion initiative to date. Each site, a second-generation drive-thru property, will be converted into a Rita’s shop and will anchor key growth markets including Dallas-Fort Worth and Waco.
“Texas continues to stand out as a market where our drive-thru model performs exceptionally well,” says Lawrence. “By establishing a meaningful presence through corporate seeding, we can build brand awareness, optimize site selection and ultimately create stronger opportunities for future multi-unit franchise operators.”
Rita’s continues to evaluate additional second-generation drive-thru opportunities across the Sunbelt and SEC regions as part of its long term development plan.
Rita’s leadership team expanded in 2025 with the addition of Lawrence Brown as chief development officer and Craig Prusher as chief legal officer.
Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard first opened in Bensalem, Pa., in 1984. Now it is the largest Italian Ice concept in the world with more than 600 shops. For more information, visit www.ownaritas.com.
SOURCE: Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard