Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

I don't know WHAT has happened to the place - but it is NOT the same experience (or product) that we had all last year. First, the place is dirty. Wipe the counters and the tables, for heaven's sake, on a regular basis. Second, the place is next to a nail or hair salon and it smells WEIRD. We ordered and went outside and had to walk a couple of storefronts down to get away from the smell of hair product or cleaning product or WHATEVER it was. Third, the Italian ice was like a block of ice - and flavorless. I had the cherry - and it had NO flavor at all. My husband had the coconut flavor - and while he liked the flavor - the texture was hard and grainy and WAY too cold. We both ordered 'gleati's. Ice layered with 'custard'. The 'regular' size is an 8 oz cup. We got 1/4 inch of custard on the bottom - then the cup was filled with 'Italian ice' (which melded into a block of ice) - and topped with 'custard' (i.e. soft serve frozen dairy stuff). That was it. Like $4+ for a cup (yes, an 8 oz cup) of colored granular ice? Pul-leeze. The 'custard'? came out of a soft serve machine and tasted no different than Dairy Queen's soft serve - no chocolate flavor at all. Last year we loved the place - but this is NOT the same place and not the same food/sweet treat. Last year a 'regular' was NOT a cup of ice. There were multiple layers of 'custard' and ice - not just a cup of ice topped with 4 oz of soft serve. The consistency and flavor of both were really good. The place was clean. The portions, for the money, were reasonable. Will not be going back here. It's a real shame when a good thing goes...

This place used to be reliable. The other day I came here because their hours on Google, Facebook and their website say they open at 12. Well, we showed up shortly after and the store front says they open at 1. Fast forward a few days later, we show up and they're out of Reeses and cookie dough for the third time in a row. And out of paper to print a receipt (which I don't care but my international guests would have liked a paper receipt). After mentioning all this, the employee just started at me. All this combined, I'll skip this store from now on and go somewhere where I know they have basic ingredients and will be open.

EDIT/UPDATE: I called the owner on 9/8 and we discussed the things mentioned in my review. She was very sorry and apologized. She said she would sent me a text message with a coupon. It's now 9/16 and I still haven't heard from her. I honestly don't care about the coupon, but I care about the lack of commitment for customer care....

Very nice, little dessert place. Staff is friendly and helpful and prices are reasonable. I love their gelatos best. I've tasted most flavors and they are all pretty good. My favorite is the salted caramel... maybe the birthday cake... oh, and the peanut, chocolate, swirl... You know what?... they're all good! I love that they let you mix it up and get multiple flavors. Although, I do feel that they don't serve enough (scoops are very small), but then again, it could be that I just can't get enough of these gelatos! It depends who serves you though. The first time I went, it was like I was getting a sample. Then I went again and it was much better. Nevertheless, that will not stop me from revisiting whenever I feel like...