News

Rita's, Sandella's partner to create new cafe

Rita's Italian Ice has partnered with the fast casual brand, Sandella's Flatbread Café, to provide its guests with a dining option.

April 23, 2015

Rita's Italian Ice has partnered with the fast casual brand, Sandella's Flatbread Café, to provide its guests with a dining option in addition to its “cool treats,” said Jeff Moody, CEO of Rita's Franchise Company.

"We were looking for a delicious and fun, yet contemporary, food concept to add to our Italian Ice portfolio and help franchisees grow," he said. "As soon as we came across Sandella's, we knew it was the perfect fit to offer our guests a complete dining experience and since opening last month, guests have been enjoying lunch and dinner and topping it off with a Rita's Gelati."

The cafe will serve artisan wraps, paninis, quesadillas and grilled flatbread pizzas prepared on Sandella's proprietary brick-oven baked flatbread and will provide guests with a dining area — all in the same location as Rita's Italian Ice, which will continue serving its signature Italian Ice and Frozen Custard treats.

"Now that our first cafe with Rita's has officially opened its doors, we can't wait to see where this partnership takes us," said Michael Stimola, CEO of Sandella's Flatbread Café. "Partnering with Rita's was an obvious choice for us from the beginning, as we knew their treats would be the perfect complement to our menu items. We're excited for the expansion of this power duo and look forward to bringing more Rita's and Sandella's cafes to cities and towns across the country."

The new store, which opened last month, is located in the Clarkstown Plaza Shopping Center in Rockland County and is the first of four store locations in the area by franchisee Mark Pavlicek of County Clare American Desserts, LLC.