Our Story

Five years later, James Rizza opened a confectionary and ice cream shop in Aberdeen. The brothers continued to open businesses in the North East — with Domenico opening a shop in Huntly and James moving to Banff where he installed one of the first soda fountains in this region of Scotland.

In 1975, both James and Domenico passed away — mere months apart. 

With Mary (James’ daughter) and her husband Gordon Morrison keeping a close eye on Lossiemouth while running the Huntly shop, it was then left for Philip Morrison (Mary’s son and third generation of the Rizza's family business) to begin wholesaling and distributing Rizza’s Ice Cream from the Upperkirkgate premises in Huntly. 

A few years later, Philip took a gamble and moved from Rizza's original premises to a purpose-built ice cream factory, converted from an old SPAR warehouse — the North East's first ice cream factory! Philip’s vision was to introduce Rizza’s Ice Cream to as many towns and cities as he could, and with the new production facility, he had much more space to make ice cream for the masses — especially when compared to making ice cream in the back of the shop in Huntly! 

In 1979, Philip married Nora. A primary school teacher by profession, Nora became a director in the firm in 2002 and took responsibility for Quality Control and BRC accreditation — which Rizza's still hold to this day.

From starting out supplying nearby towns and villages, Philip continued to steadily grow the business. With the Upper Kirkgate premises beginning to feel crowded with the introduction of sundries such as cones, mix and ice lollies, he made the move to Huntly’s industrial estate in 2002. 

Rizza's now manage our own distribution, from John O'Groats to Perth, and west as far as the Isle of Skye — with a fleet of three 7.5 tonne lorries and two refrigeration vans. The business works with trusted third-party distribution partners to supply other areas.