Rita’s to open on Rehoboth Avenue in August

Already two months into the busy summer season, Rehoboth Beach Rita’s franchise owner Tom Reardon is still pushing to get his doors open. Right now he’s shooting for the second week of August.

“Yeah, we’re late to the party, but that’s because of the permit process,” Reardon said. He and girlfriend Teresa Tessitore started the process to open the store on Rehoboth Avenue back in April and have been waiting for various approvals, from the fire marshal to the board of health.

Still, the couple was fully aware of what they were getting into. “It’s a gamble, but it’s a calculated risk,” Reardon said. “The location, you can’t beat it.” 

Not even two blocks from the Boardwalk, the store has a prime location, but with that territory comes competition. Archie’s Ice Cream and Kohr Bros. stand directly across the avenue while Cold Stone Creamery is right next door. Reardon says he’s not worried, because nobody can compete with Rita’s water ice, made with fresh fruit, and he plans to compete on custard as well.

Real estate on Rehoboth Avenue is not cheap, but Reardon thinks the store will pay for itself.  “Knowing the volume that we do in Wilmington, I think this store could do double,” he said.

Reardon has been a co-owner of a Rita’s in Wilmington for almost 20 years. Now he is selling his share of the business so he and Teresa can move to Dewey.

“I’ve been involved with Rita’s since 1999. I grew up in Wilmington,” Reardon said. He also owned a pest control company, which he sold in December, with plans to flip houses into retirement. That is, until he noticed that the Rita’s in Dewey had closed up shop.

Every Rita’s franchise has the rights to the territory within a 3-mile radius of their store, he said. The Rehoboth Boardwalk fell within the zone belonging to the Dewey Rita’s, but according to Rita’s, the Dewey owner had tried twice to move his store into Rehoboth only to have his choice of location turned down by Rita’s corporate.  “I knew it wouldn’t work in Dewey, so I just wasn’t interested in buying the store,” Reardon said. The couple is excited about opening in Rehoboth. “It was like a dream come true,”  Tessitore said. ”We can’t wait to open.”

“We have these big cookies, and you put the custard in between the cookies, and you put it in a waffle iron so the cookies are now hot and the custard is cold,” Tessitore said. The Rita’s will also offer hot Philadelphia pretzels and a new product, handcrafted custard. “We’ll put the actual custard in the batch machine and keep churning it until it turns into a gelato form of ice cream, and then you scoop it out. We have all types of flavors,” she said. “You can put Oreo cookies in it.”  

Next year when the summer season kicks up again, the couple says the store will be ready. They plan on opening back up in March and closing after the Sea Witch Festival in October.

The store is at 47-B Rehoboth Ave.