Rita's Italian Ice Partners with Sandella's Flatbread Cafe to Bring Guests Extended Menu Offerings

Nation's Largest Italian Ice Concept Celebrates the Opening of its First Store with New Partnership

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Apr 23, 2015, 09:00 ET

TREVOSE, Pa. and NEW CITY, N.Y., April 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Rita's Italian Ice, the world's largest Italian Ice concept with more than 600 stores, announced its partnership with Sandella's Flatbread Cafe, a leader in the fast-casual market with more than 130 locations. The company will formally announce its partnership and the first-ever Rita's Italian Ice featuring Sandella's Flatbread Cafe at its grand opening celebration, bringing Rita's guests a dining option in addition to its signature "cool treats."

"We were looking for a delicious and fun, yet contemporary, food concept to add to our Italian Ice portfolio and help franchisees grow," said Jeff Moody, CEO of Rita's Franchise Company. "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 offer guests fresh and delicious artisan wraps, paninis, quesadillas, and grilled flatbread pizzas all prepared on Sandella's proprietary brick oven baked flatbread and will provide guests with a casual 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 Cafe. "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 historic Rockland County and is the first of four store locations in the area by franchisee Mark Pavlicek of County Clare American Desserts, LLC.

With more than 30 years in business, Rita's Italian Ice has been aggressively expanding across the United States and internationally with innovative new concepts and locations now open in the Philippines and coming soon in Canada and the Middle East. For more information on purchasing your own Rita's Italian Ice franchise, please visit www.ownaritas.com.

About Rita's Franchise Company

Ranked #1 in Nation's Restaurant News "Consumer Pick's 2014" for Service and Value in the Frozen Treat category and 14th overall in the Limited-Service category, Rita's Franchise Company is the largest Italian Ice concept in the world with more than 600 stores in the U.S. The company is aggressively expanding internationally with an operating location in the Philippines, and stores planned for Canada and the Middle East. Rita's, headquartered in Trevose, Pa., was also named one of the Top 25 Franchise High Performers by the Wall Street Journal's "Startup Journal" and ranks #81 on Entrepreneur Magazine's "2014 Franchise 500" list. For more information about Rita's franchise opportunities, please visit: www.ownaritas.com.

About Sandella's Flatbread Cafe

Sandella's Flatbread Cafe is an international fast-casual restaurant concept, founded by Michael J. Stimola, known for its proprietary flatbread. It is headquartered in Redding, Connecticut and has over 130 locations in the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, India and Saudi Arabia.

SOURCE Rita's Franchise Company