Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard

Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard

If you’re looking for a frozen treat, but you’re not in the mood for ice cream, we have a great spot for you to check out! Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard is a unique alternative to your basic ice cream stand. This is a great location to get frozen custard in Erie, PA!

Location:

Rita’s Italian Ice is located at 1406 West Gore Rd, Erie, PA 16509. They are conveniently located right off of Peach Street, close to Med Express and PNC Bank. Across Peach Street is Monroe Auto Service, so if you plan according to Rita’s hours, you could always grab a treat while your car is being worked on!

They are open from 2 p.m.-9 p.m. daily. They do close for the winter season at the end of September, so be aware of that.

Property Description:

Rita’s is an outside only Italian Ice and Frozen Custard stand for patrons. You will stand in line and order through a window. Once you get your treats, you can hang out on the benches to the left of the building or eat in your car.

There are quite a few parking spots to the right of Rita’s. Try to stay within the Rita’s parking lot when you park as there are other businesses close by.

Advertisements

What to Do:

Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard is nothing short of delicious. When we go, some of us get the same thing every visit while others like to try new treats each time. A tried and true favorite of ours is the Misto Shake! We can also vouch for the Reese’s Peanut Butter Concrete! Try it with Salted Caramel Custard if it’s available. It may sound weird, but you won’t regret it! The classic Gelati, a mix of Italian Ice and Frozen Custard, is also a fan favorite at Rita’s.

Our littles love to get Frozen Drinks, which is Italian Ice blended into a drink. It really hits the spot on those hot summer days! They’ve also enjoyed a custard cookie sandwich, and we have to say it was pretty delicious as we ended up finishing it for them as it’s pretty large.

Who Can Go:

Rita’s is for everyone, and is accessible by anyone. Although it may appear from the front that you have to walk up stairs to order, that’s not true as there is a ramp to the right of the stand.

Italian Ice can be enjoyed by all, even the little littles! It’s definitely a favorite of most everyone who lives within walking distance; you’ll typically see as many people walking towards the stand from nearby neighborhoods as there are that drove their cars there.

Advertisements

Final Thoughts:

We love the traditional ice cream stands in the Millcreek area, such as Whippy Dip and Creamland, but if you’re looking for something truly different and unique, give Rita’s a try! The Italian Ice is super refreshing on a hot day. We also love that Rita’s allows everyone with differing wants a chance to get something that looks good to them, whether you’re looking for a loaded custard sundae or just a simple Italian Ice drink!

Like what you read? Subscribe below and be notified of new things to do in Erie County whenever we post!

[Editor’s note: Please be aware that we are not affiliated with Rita’s Italian Ice in any way. This is true of all of our posts. We simply enjoy wandering around the Erie area as we know finding what to do in Erie, PA can be hard.]

The Straw Hat Sundae Shop

The Straw Hat Sundae Shop

We’ve shown you a few ice cream stand locations on the west side of Erie County towards Ohio, such as Castle Ice Cream, and even though we’ve been east at the Double Dipper, we decided to head even east even more towards New York, and we ended up at The Straw Hat in North East, PA. And we have to say, it is a really cool place to visit with some great ice cream treats! With over 50 years of service to the North East community, this sundae shop is pretty impressive!

Location:

The Straw Hat is located at 207 South Lake Street, North East, PA 16428. It is right on the main street of town, and very easily accessible.

Property Description:

The Straw Hat is an ice cream stand that is outdoor only for patrons. The area where you order is covered, which is the first we’ve seen of this in the Erie area! You actually feel like you’re indoors because it is covered so well, with overhead lighting included. There are picnic tables outside for you to enjoy your food at.

We found parking across the street, but we think you may also be able to park behind the building as well.

View from the side
Advertisements

What to Do:

The Straw Hat in North East, PA is home to not only Perry’s Ice Cream, but ice cream from the Penn State Berkey Creamery as well! Between the two, we counted well over 30 flavors of ice cream! We tried the Grilled Stickies ice cream, and it was so, so yummy! They also have milkshakes, root beer floats, and soft serve ice cream.

We also love that The Straw Hat has dairy free options, for those who are lactose intolerant or vegan. They also have dairy free shakes!

We found something here that we have never seen before; the Straw Hat has a Mighty Fine Donut ice cream sandwich! We had to try one, and of course it was all sorts of delicious! This insanely good donut sandwich is filled with soft serve ice cream. Fair warning, one might not be enough to fill you up, and in our case took a lot less time to eat than an ice cream cone!

Mighty Fine Donut Sandwich

We also found several “Instagram-able” spots if you enjoy taking photos. On the side of the building, there’s a sign with a giant ice cream cone on it, as well as a vintage Straw Hat sign with a chicken on it. In the very front, near the road and within the picnic tables, there is also a giant rooster statue to take photos with as well.

“Instagram-able” Ice Cream sign

Who Can Go:

We love that this ice cream stand is easily accessible by anyone who wants to stop by. We also really appreciate the covering over the front, which makes it so that you can always get your ice cream, even when it’s raining!

Final Thoughts:

This is a really cool place! We love the amount of seating, the covered ordering area, and the yummy donut sandwiches!

We appreciate the variety of flavors between Perry’s Ice Cream and Penn State Berkey Creamery. If you’re a Penn State alumni or if you live in the Erie area and you’re looking for Penn State ice cream without traveling to State College, this is a great stop for you!

They are open from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m.-10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Like what you read? Join our exclusive list and be notified of new things to do in Erie County whenever we post!

[Editor’s note: Please be aware that we are not affiliated with The Straw Hat Sundae Shop in any way. This is true of all of our posts. We simply enjoy wandering around the Erie area as we know finding what to do in Erie, PA can be hard.]

5 Places to Get Ice Cream in Erie, PA

5 Places to Get Ice Cream in Erie, PA

The weather is warm, sometimes too warm, so we decided to bring you 5 places to get ice cream in Erie, PA. Check one out, or check all of them out!

Creamland

6221 West Ridge Road, Erie, PA 16506

Creamland is typically known for it’s delicious Perry’s Ice Cream! To go along with their ice cream, they offer sundaes, floats, and banana splits.

Click here for more info!

Mr. Shivers

11220 Old Route 19 N, Waterford, PA 16441

Mr. Shivers scoops out Perry’s Ice Cream, boasting 30 flavor choices on our last trip there! We love that this stand also has a menu that’s fit for lunch or dinner, so if you want to enjoy a meal and then go back and get some ice cream for dessert, this may be a great location for you!

Click here for more info!

Advertisements

Main Street Cakery Café

2900 Copperleaf Drive, Erie, PA 16509

If you’re looking for a cold treat, The Cakery offers Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream. On the day we went, they offered 12 flavor choices, including Raspberry Chip Cheesecake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. This is a café style restaurant which also serves meals, with a bakery and coffee counter located directly inside the entrance. The Cakery would be a great choice if you’d like to enjoy a sit down meal before your ice cream treat! Upon walking in, the ice cream selections will be to your left. Seating is located both to the left and to the right, and also outside.

Click here for more info!

The Double Dipper

5320 Buffalo Road, Erie, PA 16510

This is a great place to get ice cream in Erie, PA! They serve Perry’s Ice Cream, and when we visited they had 14 different flavors, so there’s bound to be a flavor for everyone to enjoy! Along with Perry’s Ice Cream, The Double Dipper offers milkshakes, soft serve cones, dippers, build your own sundae, ice cream sandwiches, root beer floats, and slushies.

Click here for more info!

Whippy Dip

2527 Chestnut Street, Erie, PA 16502

They serve fantastic soft serve ice cream! If you enjoy soft serve, this is an awesome location for you to visit. They also have shakes, snowstorms, slushies, and bakery items. And cold desserts are not their only forte, Whippy Dip also serves several savory items!

Click here for more info!

Like what you read? Subscribe below and be notified of new things to do in Erie County whenever we post!

[Editor’s note: Please be aware that we are not affiliated with any of these businesses in any way. This is true of all of our posts. We simply enjoy wandering around the Erie area as we know finding what to do in Erie, PA can be hard.]