KINGSTON -- On a day with temperatures in the teens, the only kind of ice most of us are thinking about is the ice in many spots outside. But Italian ice was actually a hot commodity on this cold day in Luzerne County.
It was opening day at Rita's in Kingston and many customers didn't care that it was so cold.
It's a cold treat on one of the coldest days we've ever had in mid-March. Yes, people were actually choosing to get Italian ice with temperatures 25 degrees below normal.
But for some, temperatures don't matter on opening day at Rita's in Kingston.
"We got the text message that they're open. We love Rita's and we're going to go for it," said Joseph Janowski of Ashley. "Even on a day like today."
"I had to get my Rita's," said Chelsea Golightley of Hanover Township. "(But I'm being smart and staying in the car) with the heat on and the heat blasting!"
There's definitely no dilly dallying eating the ice outside.
Rita's had this opening day scheduled for weeks. The staff certainly didn't expect to have the kind of cold we rarely see in March.
"You can't predict the weather, obviously. Two days ago it's 60 degrees and today it's 12 when we woke up, I don't know," said owner Stan Motyka.
Even for the workers inside, scooping up the ice on this cold day can be pretty chilly.
"I'm crazy, it's really cold out!" said Sam Amos of West Pittston.
Crazy, maybe, but with a craving that has been lasting all winter to get this spring and summer time treat. And that's the one warming idea on a cold day with cold ice, this is a sign of what's to come.
"People see the opening of Rita's and they just think spring, that's they're kick off to spring," Motyka said.
"Spring is here on a day like today," Janowski added. "(Even though) it doesn't feel like it today."
Next Thurday, Rita's continues its first day of spring tradition by giving out free cups of Italian ice.