Rita’s collects $1,500 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand
By John Tredrea
What goes good with July?
Ice, custard, happiness. That three-word motto is on the official logo of Rita’s, which sells Italian ice, old- fashioned frozen custard, gelati and other treats at about 500 retail outlets nationwide.
One of the newest, if not the newest, Rita’s opened to a waiting line of customers in the center of Hopewell Valley a few weeks ago. This Rita’s is in the Pennington Shopping Center, on Route 31 near East Delaware Avenue.
“It’s a good product people can afford,” said Dawn Wooden, a partner in the new Rita’s with here lifelong friends Laura Graper and Kim Bragg. “Laura and Kim and I talked to people running other Rita’s around the country. They all raved about it. It’s a fun business.”
Just walking in picks up the mood because Rita’s is so brightly colored, spacious, immaculately clean and pleasantly lit. The gleaming floor tile alternates big white spaces with colored spaces. The overhead lights behind the counters have cone-shaped red shades.
Also, no matter when you go, there seems to be plenty of youngsters inside, sitting at tables and standing near the counter, in a good mood and showing it as they take care of a blendini, misto, gelati, custard or Italian ice.
“The kids were so grateful we opened this place,” Ms. Bragg said. “They were waiting out there for us the first day. We opened the door, and the place filled up with them, right away.”
Ms. Bragg, 35, lives in Flemington. A certified public accountant, she and her partners decided to leave the office life of the corporate world to go into business for themselves.
A part-time job the trio had in common during their high school days gave them idea to try Rita’s.
“We all worked together at a Stewart’s Root Beer Stand, at ýPage=003 Column=001 OK,0000.00þ
Route 31 and Route 518, when we were teenagers,” said Ms. Wooden, 36, who lives in Ringoes. “It was a good time for us together there.”
Ms. Graper, 40, also lives in Ringoes. All three women are married with children.
Ms. Wooden went to Hopewell Valley Central High School.
Ms. Bragg and Ms. Graper went to Hunterdon Central.
Rita’s had a grand opening on June 25. DJ Chris Rollins of WPST-FM was there, along with an “air guitar booth,” in which youngsters (or adults) could play air guitar along with the music Mr. Rollins played.
Ice Guy, dressed as a glass of Italian ice, also was on the scene.
On the walls and windows of Rita’s are hundreds of small paper lemons, each with a name on it. The name is of the person who donated one dollar or more to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which is working for a cure for childhood cancer.
“Our goal is to raise $1,500 in June,” Ms. Wooden said last week. “We’re getting close. I’m sure we’ll make it. Ten percent of the profits from our grand opening day went to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.”
Nationwide, Rita’s goal is to raise $530,000 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
As at all Rita’s outlets, the Italian ice is made fresh daily here, with fresh fruit, using big mixers in work room at the back of the store.
“The custard is very creamy. I think the fat-free tastes as good as he regular custard,” Ms. Bragg said.
Also sold is gelati, which is layers of custard and ice that folks often call Italian ice cream.
“It’s probably our biggest seller,” Ms. Wooden said.
Then there’s the misto, which is a shake of blended custard and ice, and the blendini, which combines ice, custard and cookies.
Yo, keep that ice coming! But it’s July. But what about my wake-up beverage? Ritaccino, that’s all. Vanilla plus ice plus coffee plus custard. The Pennington Shopping Center will look a little like a piazza after that.