'Undercover Boss' of Rita's Italian Ice uncovers 'awesome' story in Toms River franchisee

TOMS RIVER - The newest member of Hezrron Gonzales' "Treat Team" at Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard on Fischer Boulevard wasn't who he thought she was.

Marcy Morgan wasn't a retired teacher looking to start a new life as a Rita's franchisee. The film crew wasn't there making a documentary about her experience.

In fact, "Marcy Morgan" was really Linda L. Chadwick, chief executive officer and president of Rita's, in disguise. And Gonzales is to appear on an episode of "Undercover Boss," the reality show where bosses go behind the scenes to see what's really happening at their company. The episode airs Friday at 8 p.m. on CBS and streams on Paramount +.

"It was an amazing experience," said Gonzales, 42, of Edison.

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Gonzales, who came to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2006, worked at a Rita's in Union County before purchasing the Fischer Boulevard Rita's ice shop and a cart from its owners who were seeking to retire.

"His story is so endearing and so awesome that he worked 10 years as a manager in another location ... and he saved all that time to buy this shop," Chadwick said in an interview with the Asbury Park Press.

The show put Chadwick, a former Burger King executive, behind Rita's window, taking orders, serving up ices and frozen custards and taking payments. While the store had a new awning and floor, she had to contend with an old register and outdated credit card machine that still used dial-up internet, causing long customer waits.

A trip to a local field hockey game showcased the limitations of Gonzales' old-fashioned Italian ice cart that he loads onto a pickup truck and brings to events.

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Once the disguise came off, Chadwick offered mentoring and some other things. (No spoilers here.) And for Chadwick, it gave her an inside look to help improve the connection between Rita's corporate brand, vision and future, and its franchisees, like Gonzales.

"It was apparent that franchisees are the experts in their market, they know their community, but our team really needs to guide and help them with profitability because we are 100% franchise owned, so without franchisees, we're nothing," Chadwick said.

Founded in 1984, Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard has nearly 550 shops in the U.S. and Asia. Based in Philadelphia, it has 105 locations in New Jersey, including five in Monmouth County and 12 in Ocean County.

Besides Toms River, Chadwick made undercover visits to shops in Holland, Michigan, and Orlando, Florida. "At the end of the day, they want to be heard and we need to do a better job of overall really getting in and finding out what are the things that would make their lives easier as a franchisee," Chadwick said.

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Gonzales said he knew he wanted to own a Rita's the first time he walked into a store and worked his way up to management.

"I felt this was something I wanted to do, so basically, from the get go, I tried to learn everything," he said.

He discovered the store in Toms River was for sale and made his move in 2018. Coming in the middle of the summer season was tough, as he missed business from the busy spring and start of summer.

But his sales increased 27% in 2019 and 30% in 2020, during the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. (The shop has no indoor seating, so all orders are to go.) "I stuck with it," Gonzales said.

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Now he's a part of the community, selling ices at Toms River East High School football games and donating 20% of sales to the marching band.

"I really enjoy working with the community," Gonzales said. "It's a small town so it's like everyone's for you, for what you're trying to do."

Chadwick said Gonzales is doing well. As with the other franchisees on the show, Chadwick will now become a mentor. "I don't want him to feel like he's on an island," Chadwick said. "He is so passionate about his business, about his family and why he's doing this, and he wants his business to grow, and I want him to grow."

David P. Willis, an award-winning business writer, has covered business and consumer news at the Asbury Park Press for more than 20 years. He writes APP.com's What's Going There column and can be reached at dwillis@gannettnj.com. Join his What's Going There page on Facebook for updates.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Undercover Boss' surprises Toms River NJ Rita's Italian Ice owner