How much does a Rita's Ice franchise cost?
Opening a Rita's Ice franchise takes a total initial investment of $315,233 to $712,542, according to the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. The FDD's Item 19 reports median gross sales for tier of $515,160 across 177 outlets.
Rita’s Ice franchises Standard Shops, Express Shops, Satellites, and Mobile Units. Category: Food & Beverage.
Item 7
What it costs to open a Rita's Ice franchise
The franchisor's own estimated initial investment, as disclosed in its 2026 FDD. The total is $315,233 to $712,542. Each line below carries the FDD page it was read from.
Where the money goes
The largest costs are Leasehold Improvements ($125,000 to $359,664), Equipment ($104,744 to $168,257), and Additional Funds (3 months) ($20,000 to $30,000). Together they make up about 78% of the high-end estimate.
The initial franchise fee is $35,000, about 11% of the low-end total.
Our arithmetic from the Item 7 table below.
| Expenditure | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $35,000 | $35,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Lease Deposit2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $0 | $12,500 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Leasehold Improvements2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $125,000 | $359,664 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Equipment2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $104,744 | $168,257 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Permits & Licenses2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $1,239 | $17,578 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Signage2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $5,500 | $26,123 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Insurance2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $200 | $3,920 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Initial Order2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $8,000 | $17,500 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Minimum New Shop Marketing Expenditure2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $12,000 | $12,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Training2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $50 | $5,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Architect and Attorney Fees2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $3,500 | $25,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Additional Funds (3 months)2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $20,000 | $30,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
| Total estimated initial investment2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 | $315,233 | $712,542 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18 |
Source Rita's Ice, 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 18, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-10-28.
Item 19
What Rita's Ice franchisees actually report earning
Median Gross Sales for Tier
$515,160
Rita's Ice's 2026 FDD, Item 19, for the 2025 calendar year; the 2025 Season started March 1, 2025 and ended September 30, 2025. Basis: The Top Tier of the 2025 Sample: the 177 highest-grossing of the 530 Shops Systemwide that operated continuously during at least the 2025 Season and reported Gross Sales for it. Table 1 prints no median across the whole Sample. The Middle Tier's median was $340,963 over 176 Shops and the Bottom Tier's $228,195 over 177.
Sample size: 177 outlets. The FDD also reports average gross sales for tier of $558,103. We lead with the median because an average is pulled upward by the strongest outlets; the median is the middle outlet.
What the franchisor excluded from this figure
- Table 1 excludes 45 Shops that operated for the 2025 Season but closed at some point in 2025 or were terminated at some point in 2025.
- Table 3 excludes 4 Shops that only have pickup windows, not a full drive-thru setup, and 2 Shops that had extended temporary closures during the 2025 Season.
- Table 4 includes only Shops with at least 26 weeks of sales.
This is a disclosure of what some existing outlets reported, not a projection of what a new Rita's Ice outlet would earn. Your results will differ.
Source Rita's Ice, 2026 FDD, Item 19, p. 56-57, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-10-28.
Item 20
How many Rita's Ice outlets there are, and how many closed
Rita's Ice ended 2025 with 569 franchised outlets and 9 company-owned outlets. In that year 22 franchised outlets opened and 17 left the system.
Three years at a glance
From 2023 through 2025, Rita's Ice opened 85 franchised outlets and 44 outlets left the system. That is a net gain of 41, from 528 to 569 franchised outlets. Of the outlets that left, 29 were terminated, 8 were not renewed, 2 were bought back by the franchisor, and 5 closed for other reasons.
On average, about 2.7% of franchised outlets left the system each year, roughly 1 in 37.
Our arithmetic from the FDD's Item 20 table below. "Left the system" counts every outlet the franchisor reports as terminated, not renewed, bought back, or closed for other reasons.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 564 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 569 | 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 66 |
| 2024 | 546 | 30 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 564 | 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 66 |
| 2023 | 528 | 33 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 546 | 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 66 |
Source Rita's Ice, 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 66, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-10-28.
Compare
How Rita's Ice compares with other Food & Beverage franchises
Measured against the 256 Food & Beverage franchises on this site, using each brand's own FDD.
- Cost to open. The middle of Rita's Ice's estimated range is $513,888. It costs less to open than 58% of Food & Beverage franchises here.
- Outlets leaving each year. 2.7% for Rita's Ice. That is lower than 76% of the 165 Food & Beverage franchises with at least 10 outlets.
- Three-year growth. Rita's Ice's franchised system grew 7.8%. The typical Food & Beverage franchise here grew 4.4%.
- Earnings disclosure. 152 of the 256 Food & Beverage franchises here publish earnings figures in Item 19. Rita's Ice is one of them.
Our arithmetic from each brand's Item 7 and Item 20. Growth and departure comparisons leave out brands with fewer than 10 outlets, where one opening or closure distorts the figures. See every Food & Beverage franchise side by side.
Alert me when Rita's Ice files a new FDD
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