Rita’s Water Ice Opens California Locations

Via the Philadelphia Business Journal, Rita’s Water Ice—that mainstay of Philadelphia summer culture—has opened two new California locations, in Santa Clarita and Redondo Beach. Redondo Beach Patch reports the stand there was opened by Joshua Pascua and Jake Cosme, friends from junior high:

“It’s been pretty euphoric,” Pascua said Sunday at a preview party for friends, family and media.

Cosme first discovered Rita’s while attending the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. and later introduced Pascua to the world of water ice and custard. After both men got out of the Marine Corps, they decided to go into business together.

“It’s been a blessing that we found Rita’s when it was expanding to the West Coast,” Cosme said.

The only question, as the Biz Journal’s Peter Van Allen asked, is this: Will they call it “wooder” ice on the beach?