Be part of a Canadian success story – and have fun along the way.

Pita Pit began in Kingston, Ontario in 1995, in a tiny storefront near the Queen’s University campus. The concept was the brainchild of two friends with a fresh vision: serving up delicious, healthy food¬ – fast – with a side order of fun. They created a unique menu of hot and cold pita sandwiches: grilled lean meats and veggies, heaped high with super-fresh toppings and sauces, then rolled in a pocket pita and wrapped in waxed paper, ready to eat sitting down or on the go. They worked hard, gave great service, and stayed open late, delivering pitas to student residences.

Just two years after they began, friends and relatives began clamouring to open Pita Pit restaurants of their own—and some of them did so in the USA. It was the start of the chain’s gradual global expansion.

Today, Pita Pit is the largest pita franchise in the world. We rank #124 overall (and #1 in our category) on Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2011 Franchise 500 listing, and we’re #51 on Franchise Direct’s list of the Top 100 Global Franchises. Already, there are more than 350 Pita Pit restaurants worldwide: in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Panama the Republic of Korea, with plans in the works for Europe, Asia and South America. Now is an exciting time to grow with a leader.

Our increasingly popular fresh thinking, healthy eating approach is key to our – and your – success.

From the start, Pita Pit was a hit with the college/university “fun food” crowd. Today, we’re just as big a hit with the “eat healthy” crowd, which is why we’re thriving in both the suburbs and downtown cores. As the healthy eating trend grows—and there’s no sign of it abating—our popularity is growing, too.

• One-third of our regular pita sandwiches contain just 6 grams of fat or less and 450 or fewer calories. Almost all of our smaller Petitas™ do, too. And since the sodium counts of our school lunch offerings fall within acceptable norms, we meet the tough nutritional standards that organizers need to follow.
• For vegetarians and vegans, we have several great options: both hot and cold pitas as well as fresh, crisp salads.
• Our Fresh Fuel Smoothies are getting rave reviews. Made with low-fat yogurt, real fruit and 100% juice, each provides three full servings of fruit. And any Smoothie can be ordered with extra protein.
• Our new breakfast pita program is making waves across the country while opening up a whole new daypart for franchisees.
• Our food quality is unsurpassed. Our whole-muscle chicken breast, for example, contains up to 36% more protein, 42% less fat, and 566% less sodium than the chicken used by some of our competitors. When we’re asked to add protein to Smoothies, we use the highest-graded protein supplement available on the market. With us, quality matters and our customers can tell.

Grow with a chain that’s doubling in size.

Pita Pit Canada is expanding fast. Here at home, we’re adding a new store every two weeks. By 2014, that rate will have doubled. And as awareness of the importance of good nutrition continues to rise, we’re bound to double again…and again as our formula for success gains momentum.

Right now, we have room for new locations across the country without infringing on other franchisees’ protected territories.

If you have the right attitude, we’ll help you succeed.

You don’t need restaurant experience. You don’t need a business degree. You need to have common sense, be willing to work hard, be trustworthy and like people. Those are fundamentals. Everything else, we can teach you.

• We give you formal training before you begin.
• We help you get up to speed when you open your store.
• We check on your progress and give you feedback on how you’re doing.
• We answer your questions and give you advice.
• We send you twice-monthly newsletters on marketing matters (in addition to regular communications on other aspects of the business).
• We provide you with a whole toolkit of marketing materials to build your business.
• We give you one-on-one assistance in marketing and sales.
• We hold an annual franchisee conference with seminars and workshops, providing you with an excellent opportunity to network with others.
• We have a program designed to help you succeed in operations, human resources, marketing, finance and “fresh thinking.” If you can follow guidelines, you can operate a Pita Pit.

Even more reasons you’ll love owning and operating a Pita Pit.

• With Pita Pit, you’ll pay a flat fee for royalties – a fee that we cap at $2000 a month. You never pay more. So the harder you work, the more money you keep. And as far as we’re concerned, that’s the way it should be. (On sales of $350,000, our royalty equals 5.14%; on $750,000, just 2.4%.) Combine that with a modest up-front store build-out cost of $235,000 on average and your business will pay for itself sooner than you’d expect.
• We understand you. The executive team at head office consists of former Pita Pit owner-operators. When you talk to us, we “get it” because we’ve been in your shoes. We’re not ivory tower “suits” telling you what to do.
• We weathered the last recession better than many other quick-service chains. Since 2007, Canadian franchisees have experienced average same-store sales growth, year over year, amounting to 9.13%.
• You’ll love your store. It will have an inviting – and proven effective – modern décor with appealing colours and textures, and a floor plan to please both customers and staff. The new store design was tested in 2007 and immediately boosted sales by 25%. All our franchisees have been converting to it ever since and they love what it’s done for their business. By the middle of 2012, this transformation should be complete.