Pita Pit opens 500th restaurant in Niagara Falls, Ontario

Kingston, ON – As a reflection of the growing demand for a healthier alternative to fast food, Pita Pit, a provider of deliciously convenient pitas, will be celebrating the opening of its 500th store worldwide on Saturday June 28, 2014. The international franchisor’s milestone store is located at 7025 McLeod Road, Niagara Falls, Ontario, and will be spearheaded by multi-unit Pita Pit owners, Alan and Rana Matukaitis. To date, Pita Pit has stores in 11 countries including Canada, United States, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Brazil, Panama, South Korea and France.

“We’ve come a long way since our first opening in Ontario almost 20 years ago. We’ve experienced outstanding growth in the past few years, and I am extremely excited about the opening of our 500th store worldwide,” said Nelson Lang, Founder of Pita Pit. “Thanks to the passion and dedication of our customers, franchisees, corporate team and staff, we have been able to reach this remarkable milestone, and we look forward to further building on our success on a global scale in 2014 and beyond.”

To celebrate the momentous occasion, Pita Pit plans to reward fans while also giving back to the community—the first 500 guests of the Niagara Falls location that bring a donation for the local food bank, Project Share, will be rewarded with a free pita. The festivities will be documented by a 500 minute live radio broadcast on-site, during which the local radio station will give away a $500 gift card. Moreover, to satisfy thirsty event-goers, Pita Pit will set up a smoothie sampling station outside the new restaurant.

In order to get Pita Pit fans involved nationwide, followers of the global pita brand are being asked to declare their love for Pita Pit by sending a written submission, photo or short video to biggestfan@pitapit.com. Five loyal fans will be rewarded for their pita fanaticism with a $500 gift card.

As the brand continues to grow across Canada and internationally, the healthy-eating concept cites an increased focus and enhanced support for both multi-unit operators and multi-unit buyers as the catalyst to reach the 1,000-unit mark.

Based on the efforts of its business-savvy entrepreneurs such as Alan and Rana Matukaitis, Pita Pit is poised to achieve its development goals. The husband and wife team first joined the growing brand in 2012 after resigning from their office jobs, and have since experienced tremendous success at their two initial locations in St. Catharines.

“We are grateful for each and every customer who walks through our doors. Without our loyal guests, we wouldn’t have experienced the success that we have been able to generate thus far,” Alan said. “With our Niagara Falls location, we look forward to giving back to the community on two levels: by serving a healthy alternative to greasy fast food, and by providing jobs and strengthening the Niagara Falls community.”

Pita Pit has found a niche by providing top quality, healthy and fresh fast food options among college campuses and cities. The brand offers diners a personally-customized experience with their choice of freshly grilled meats, vegetables, zesty sauces and a pita rolled into a unique and delicious package.

“Through the support of our franchisees across the globe, we have been able to continue to serve healthy and fresh products to a growing number of Pita Pit fans around the world,” Lang said. “This is an incredible achievement for Pita Pit and we are very excited to continue to feed our pita fanatics as we add units in new and existing markets globally.”

ABOUT PITA PIT
Founded in 1995 in Kingston, Ontario near Queen’s University, Pita Pit was a QSR restaurant with a new and unique approach. The goal was to offer quality, healthy, fresh food fast. After seeing great success, franchising began across Canada in 1997 and in 1999, the brand expanded to the United States. With more than 500 stores globally, Pita Pit connects healthy food with people seeking alternatives to the typical fast food choices. Pita Pit’s motto is “fresh thinking – healthy eating”, and features a menu based on the customer’s choice of grilled meats, fresh vegetables, zesty sauces and a pita rolled into a unique and convenient package. For more information about Pita Pit, visit www.pitapit.ca/consumer or www.facebook.com/pitapitcanada.