Rita’s Italian Ice

If you are looking for some water ice to cool yourself off or just want a cool treat, then Rita’s is where you’ll want to stop in. They have quite a few flavors that they rotate around. Our personal favorites are the Mango and Birthday Cake as well as Alex’s Lemonade. They serve other things like custard and milkshakes and gelati, but we haven’t tried any of those and always seem to stick with the standard Italian Ice. Note that they do have a kids size cup, but it’s not very well advertised. The regular at 12 oz is just too much for our little ones and I don’t really need the extra calories finishing it off, so I go with the kids size for them, which is 7.5 oz.

«The world needs more Rita’s.»
Truer words were never spoken. I wish they had Rita’s where I came from (SoCal), so I’ll just have to enjoy them while I’m living here in PA for another year.
I went on the first day of spring when they were giving out free water ice. I got the Swedish Fish flavor, which was very good, and my friend got the mango flavor which was excellent. That was my first time at a Rita’s ever, and now I’m hooked.
This place is a little far from me, but if I’m ever up in the Limerick/​Royersford area, I’d definitely drop in.
Yum!

Our daughter suggested that we all go to Rita’s after dinner. I didn’t know they had Rita’s in these parts. There used to be a Rita’s in Herndon. I was so excited to see it open. Plus, there was one in Ashburn. Both franchises were owned by the same couple. Then one day, we noticed that the Herndon one had a «closed for the winter» sign. Then along came spring and this Rita’s disappeared. Shortly thereafter, so did the Ashburn one. Now, if we want Rita’s, we need to go to Centreville. Since we haven’t had another reason to go to Centreville, well… no more Rita’s for us :(
Anyway, I digress. This Rita’s is strictly an old-​time take-​out place — the kind where you go up to the window, then, weather permitting, sit at the picnic benches or park-​type benches outside.
I was pleased to see that they had «Alex’s Lemonade» which is my favorite Rita’s water ice. The lemon flavor is excellent plus it’s just sweet enough. The downside — the story as to how this water ice got its name is very sad…
I haven’t tried Rita’s custards. However, our daughter and son-​in-​law and the grandsons did try them and all enjoyed them very much. It’s just that, for me, Alex’s Lemonade always calls to me.
Service was quite good and the staff was friendly. Even though the place got busy right after we got there, the lines moved very quickly.