Water ice school
is pretty cool

By Jon Campisi
Times Staff Writer

For close to a quarter-century, the folks at Rita’s Water Ice have done their part to ensure a smooth, comfortable transition to the warmer months.
Rita’s Philly tradition of Italian ice with a twist can now be enjoyed in 17 states across the country, although regional diction dictates the cool treat’s pronunciation around here (it will always be wooder ice to us).
But just how do potential Rita’s franchisees learn the ins and outs of a business that has helped to cool off the masses?
Simple. They go to class at Cool University.
Franchise operators, you see, don’t merely open for business armed with a scooper to start piling cherry ice into the distinctive red-and-green cups. For close to a year now, Rita’s — started in 1984 by Bob Tumolo, at the time a Philadelphia firefighter — has been training its future partners through real-world experience in a series of six-day workshops.
Cool University, as it’s called now, started out as Rita’s University, a crash course for budding entrepreneurs who took part in training held at a mock Rita’s store in a warehouse near the company’s Trevose headquarters.
That education has grown more slick. Cool University classes now takes place in an actual 5,000-square-foot Rita’s store built specifically with the training program in mind. The store, open year-round, is in the Showcase Plaza Shopping Center on Street Road in Bensalem.
"We train every franchise partner, if they come into the system," Kelly Banaszak, Rita’s public relations manager, said of who is required to participate. "It’s pretty intensive, and they learn everything that they need to succeed as a franchise partner."
During the daily classes, which last from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., new franchise partners learn everything from product design and reg-
ister operation to open-and-close procedures for Rita’s stores, among other essential elements of operating the water-ice business.
"They’re usually very happy and they feel well-prepared, especially after working at a real store," Banaszak said of the trainees. "They feel confident because they are able to learn what is going on."
The number of attendees varies from workshop to workshop, with a maximum of 16 in each training series. As springtime approaches, Banaszak said, the turnout tends to increase as the stores prepare to open for another season.
Bob Hollawell, senior education specialist for Rita’s, said the ages of franchise partners vary broadly, with participants as young as 17 and as old as 70.
Rita’s Water Ice has been a major success story since founder Bob Tumolo started his modest business more than two decades ago to supplement his firefighter salary. The very first store, opened in Andalusia across from the old Woodhaven Mall, was followed by one at Academy and Red Lion roads. Two more Northeast Philly locations came next.
Tumolo, who lived in Somerton during those early days of growth, decided to franchise the Rita’s concept in 1989. Three years ago he sold the booming Rita’s operation to McKnight Capital Partners, a firm with a strong background in business franchising.
Cool University opened April 13, 2007, with the first class taking place three days later. Twenty-eight sessions were held last year, Hollawell said, and eight have taken place so far this season.
Among the most important lessons taught by the team of education specialists is how to make the tasty ices. After all, Rita’s wouldn’t be Rita’s without its signature flavors, which include old staples like lemon and chocolate, as well as occasional specials that can change from week to week, and locale to locale.
With 500 Rita’s Water Ice stores operating across the country, franchisees travel from all over to attend the Cool University workshops. Some of the franchisees own and operate just one store; others have invested their money in amassing a small empire of multiple Rita’s locations.
"We treat this like a real university," said Hollawell during a tour of the water-ice school on March 12.
Prior to attending Cool University, he explained, franchise partners are required to take a series of online classes to prepare them for what lies ahead.
"It gives them a background of all our products," Hollawell said.
Last week, Leroy Fisher, of Landenberg, Del., and his two sons, Leroy III and Jacob, were working to perfect a batch of chocolate water ice. It took some time to get the consistency right, but once they did, the creamy product looked hard to resist.
"It was all my son’s doing. It was all Leroy the Third," Fisher said of what landed him at Cool University in the first place.
Next month the family plans to open a Rita’s location in Charlotte, N.C., which is where Leroy III attended college. He will pretty much run the store, while brother Jacob will work there part-time while taking his own college classes in Charlotte.
And although dad runs his own construction business in Delaware, he doesn’t rule out moving south at some point.
As far as the training all three are receiving, the Fisher family gave high marks to Cool University.
"It’s great," Fisher said, with Leroy III adding, "It’s very helpful."
During the tour of the store/classroom, Hollawell, the education specialist, noted that Rita’s employees make the product fresh daily; whatever is not sold is tossed at the end of the day.
At Cool University, franchise partners learn to perfect their technique so that whatever is made ends up in the mouths of customers and not melting in the trash.
Beyond mastering the recipes of Rita’s wide-ranging flavors, franchise partners learn how to ring up sales on the cash register, decorate the storefront and log sales on the computer at the end of the business day. They even receive a textbook and have homework assignments.
But these business students also get to enjoy themselves.
"They get to have fun with all the partners who are in the same boat as they are," Banaszak, the company public relations manager, explained.
Many franchise partners started as customers who frequented Rita’s stores. "They want to get in (the business) because they love the product," she said.
Like any university, Rita’s franchise partners have to pass a written test, and upon graduation, they receive a diploma. Then it’s off to the real world and the job of making customers happy.
Which brings to mind one question about Cool University. Is there such a thing as a master’s degree in water ice? ••
Report Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com