East Coast Cult Favorite Rita's Water Ice Opens in Mission Viejo

If you've been to the Kaleidoscope this week, you've seen them: wax cups with green and white vertical stripes and the name "Rita's" emblazoned on top.

These cups are heralding in Orange County's first location of Rita's Water Ice, a popular East Coast dessert shop that features custard and flavored ice.

You'll find a Rita's every three to five miles in places like Pennsylvania, Orange County Area Developer Regi Scales said. But in California, there are only four locations: Redondo, Carlsbad, Santa Clarita and now Mission Viejo.

But fast-forward seven years, Scales says, and there will be 50 Rita's south of Tustin in every city in Orange County serving up Blendinis and Gelatis, custard cakes and milkshakes, Italian ice and Philadelphia-style pretzels.

For the East Coast set, the secret's already out.

"I've had all kinds of people coming to me saying, 'What? Rita's is in town? Are you kidding me?" Scales said.

But if you've never had Rita's, what should you expect from cold custard?

"Custard is a soft-serve that's a thicker consistency with a buttery tone—sounds like a glass of wine doesn't it?" Scales said. "It's a thicker consistency than yogurt and ice cream, but it's velvet-smooth."

Rita's opened Sunday for a two-hour private party and about 300 showed up, Scales said. The sweet shop opened to the public Monday with a soft opening and a grand opening is planned for Sept. 11-12. That's good news for Kaleidoscope employees who have been hooked up with plenty of free samples.

Scales, a former Western U.S. president of sales and service for a corporate telecom company, said he expects his employees to learn more than just scooping ice.

"Not only are we employing 20 people in Mission Viejo, we're giving them real life experience," he said. "They're selling, they're managing a small business soup to nuts, they're doing (profit and loss) reports, they're checking inventory, cleaning machines. Really 20 small business owners is who we're hiring."

Dana Point's Lantern Bay Village is the next place Rita's will call home in Orange County, he says, followed by Laguna Niguel, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Aliso Viejo.

So why start out in Mission Viejo? Scales, a Ladera Ranch resident, said he likes the kid-friendly Kaleidoscope's location near the 5 freeway.

"It's a South County destination for all over," he said. "Everybody's coming here. When I survey who's coming into my store, they're from all over South County. Mission Viejo made sense. I know the community."

For the grand opening, the first 50 customers will get free Rita's Ice for one year, he said.