Linda Chadwick is queen of the fast food empire. She may be the President & CEO of the famed Rita’s Italian Ice & Custard currently, but she had very humble beginnings. With a lot of hard work and perseverance, she quickly worked her way up the fast food ladder to now overseeing one of the biggest names in the industry. Get to know Linda better with these five facts.
1. Linda graduated with her Bachelor’s of Arts in Management from Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA. She graduated cum laude.
2. Before Linda started her venture with Rita’s Italian Ice, she was with the Burger King Company for over 20 years. She actually began flipping burgers at 18 years old. However, she quickly moved up the line. She held position of a company business manager, then franchise business leader role and then Vice President Franchise Operations, Southeast Division before she left in 2013.
3. Linda is currently the President and CEO of Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard since 2017 to the present day. A Philadelphia firefighter, Bob Tumolo started the company in 1984 with his mother’s water ice recipe. He started by selling four flavors of ice on his porch. It was so popular, the brand just began to grow exponentially.
4. Rita’s Italian Ice has opened more franchises in 2020 than they ever have, according to the CEO Linda Chadwick. Curious what it takes to open one of these franchises?
| Liquid Capital Requirement: $100,000 | |
| Franchise Fee: $35,000 | |
| Net Worth Requirement: $300,000 |
5. When she was in her 40’s, Linda became a single mom. She had to juggle raising two kids and balance her career at the same time. She admits it was “hard” but when she was told she couldn’t do it, it made her want to prove her naysayers wrong.
Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard will be featured on season 11 of CBS’s Undercover Boss. Chadwick told the Biz Journal she is going undercover in her franchises to, “see how her new initiatives are working and to help franchisees become more profitable.”
Undercover Boss airs on CBS Fridays at 8pm EST and you can catch past episodes on CNBC.
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