NJ Rita's Italian Ice Store To Appear In 'Undercover Boss'

TOMS RIVER, NJ — What would your company's owner see if they worked beside you for a few days?

Hezrron Gonzales, who owns the Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard on Fischer Boulevard, learned the answer to that question when his store was selected for an episode of the CBS show "Undercover Boss" featuring the Rita's chain.

The store was one of three that were highlighted in the episode that is set to air at 8 p.m. Friday. Rita's CEO Linda Chadwick went undercover to see what problems the franchisees encounter as they try to grow their businesses.

Rita's has been sharing sneak peaks on its Facebook page.

"It was a great experience, it was amazing," Gonzales said in an interview Thursday afternoon.

Gonzales, 42, who lives in Edison, said he was approached about participating in a reality show about life after a career change.

"At first I was hesitant," he said. "They weren’t giving me a lot of information. But I embraced the whole thing."

Gonzales, who came to the United States from the Philippines in 2006, has owned the Fischer Boulevard store since 2018. He decided to become a Rita's franchise owner after working for the company for 10 years.

"When I got in there (working for Rita's 10 years ago), immediately I recognized I wanted to do this," he said. When he felt prepared, Gonzales contacted the corporate office about buying an established franchise that was for sale.

"I was looking for turnkey existing stores that someone was looking to sell," Gonzales said. Initially that search led him to a store in California. So he and his wife, Anna, got in the car and drove cross-country — only to run into a complication: The landlord of the property where the Rita's was located didn't want to extend the lease.

"It was due to expire in two years, and the landlord wouldn't agree to a five-year extension for us," Gonzales said.

As that deal was falling apart, Rita's corporate offices called him again: There was a store in Toms River that was up for sale.

"So we got in the car and drove to Toms River," Gonzales said with a laugh. "We took it like a vacation. It felt like it was part of our journey and we tried to embrace it."

He bought the franchise in mid-summer 2018 and called the first year "really a disaster. I was putting all my eggs in one basket and not making any money."

The following year, his first full spring-to-fall year of ownership, sales rose 27 percent, Gonzales said, and he was thrilled.

The second full year was 2020. "At beginning of the season it was a ghost town," he said. "The first two months were dead."

But as pandemic restrictions were eased, people took advantage of the fact that his store had walk-up service, rather than inside seating, and sales went up 30 percent in 2020, Gonzales said.

"It was much easier to practice social distancing," he said.

Gonzales has 11 employees at the store, and said his wife and son sometimes help out, such as the first day of spring when many Rita's franchises participate in the "Free Ice Day" promotion.

The last free ice day they had was hectic — "We gave away 3,500 cups of free ice," he said — but he's hoping this year, which will be his fourth full year as owner, will continue positive growth.

For now, he's getting ready to watch the "Undercover Boss" episode and enjoy his moment in the sun — until the sun warms all of us up again.

You can get a sneak peek here:

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