Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, which operates more than 600 locations and bills itself as the largest Italian Ice concept in the world, has launched a limited-time collaboration with TBS called A Shirley Good Time, centered on a new Shirley Temple Italian Ice flavor. The promotion runs at participating shops through August 23 and includes a dedicated menu, a traveling Treat Truck Tour, co-branded merchandise, and a consumer giveaway.

The Menu

Four LTO items anchor the co-branded lineup, each tied to a TBS comfort-comedy property. The Bazinga Blast (inspired by The Big Bang Theory) pairs Shirley Temple Ice with a branded "Shirley Sparkle" topping. The Office Favorite layers Vanilla Frozen Custard with Shirley Temple Ice. The Brain Freeze Misto (an Impractical Jokers nod) blends the two together, while the Central Chiller Ice Blender—a Friends reference—spins the flavor into a frozen beverage. Limited-edition co-branded cups and in-store signage will support the rollout while supplies last, giving franchisees a ready-made traffic driver during peak summer weeks.

On the Road and Online

Beyond brick-and-mortar, the brands will take the activation to consumers via a Treat Truck Tour hitting select markets. Specific stop dates and locations have not yet been announced. On social media, fans can enter a giveaway by posting original content featuring the Shirley Temple flavor and tagging @RitasIce with #AShirleyGoodTime and #RitasItalianIce on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok; three winners will receive free Rita's Ice for a year plus an exclusive swag pack.

"Summer has always been about creating memories with family and friends, and that's exactly what this partnership is all about," said Carmela Hughley, SVP of Marketing Insights & Innovation at Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard. "Together with TBS, we're inviting fans everywhere to have A Shirley Good Time."

Melissa Chambless, EVP of Marketing at Warner Bros. Discovery, framed the deal as an extension of TBS's brand beyond television. "The best partnerships create experiences that extend beyond the screen," she said, pointing to the combination of iconic comedies, nostalgic flavors, and fan-focused activations as the connective tissue.

Operator Implications

For Rita's franchisees, the partnership follows a well-worn QSR playbook: a nostalgic flavor anchor, a media brand with built-in audience affinity, and social-media mechanics designed to generate user-generated content at low cost. The Shirley Temple profile—cherry and citrus—fits naturally into summer beverage and frozen-treat trends that have seen non-alcoholic cocktail-inspired flavors gain significant traction across foodservice. Italian Ice as a segment has benefited from growing consumer interest in lighter, fruit-forward frozen desserts, a dynamic explored in recent restaurant menu innovation coverage tracking LTO velocity across chains. Rita's loyalty app also plays a supporting role: new members who sign up and make a first purchase receive one free small treat, giving operators a conversion hook tied directly to the promotion.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.