Pita Pit is a quick-service restaurant franchise serving

pita Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...

sandwiches with fresh vegetables, grilled meat and sauces. Worldwide, it has two separate owners. Its franchising rights for the United States and its Territories are owned by Pita Pit USA 4.0, Inc.,Pita Pit USA announces change in ownership
Cision. Retrieved October 15, 2024 headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The remainder of the franchising rights (for Canada and the rest of the world, excluding the US) are owned by

Foodtastic Foodtastic is a Canadian restaurant holding company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 2016 by Peter Mammas, the company has rapidly expanded its portfolio through the acquisition and expansion of established brands. As of now, Foodta ...

, which is headquartered in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

History

The first shop was opened by Nelson Lang and John Sotiriadis in 1995 near Queen's University in

.Our Story
." Pita Pit. Retrieved on July 25, 2020. The restaurant was located near the university and aimed at students in the hopes it would be "recession-proof". The store stayed open until late, providing a healthier and fresher late night food option to conventional fast food. In 1997, Pita Pit started to expand within Canada, and in 1999 they began franchising in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The first Pita Pit location outside Canada and the United States opened in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, in August 2007. The business was set up by Chris Henderson, a New Zealander returning from Canada, and Duane Dalton, the husband of netballer Tania Dalton. By 2011, Pita Pit had expanded to 350 stores in Canada, the United States, New Zealand,

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. By 2020, it had over 500 locations in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Pita Pit Brand Ownership

On April 13, 2005, the Pita Pit Brand for the United States and its Territories was sold to Pita Pit USA, Inc., which located its headquarters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Thereafter, on March 7, 2023, Pita Pit USA 4.0, Inc., acquired the assets of Pita Pit USA, Inc., and became the owner of the Brand in the United States and its Territories. Pita Pit USA 4.0, Inc.’s headquarters is in the same location, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, location as its predecessor Pita Pit USA, Inc. On August 3, 2021, the Québécois restaurant franchiser Foodtastic had acquired the Pita Pit Brand for Canada and the rest of the world (except for in the US).

Pita Pit International

New Zealand and Australia

Pita Pit New Zealand has 85 stores around New Zealand, including 26 in Auckland. This down from about 90 stores in 2020 and more than 100 stores in 2017, but still more than the 65 it had in 2014, and 18 it had in 2011. The business also has nine stores from Australia, down from 14 in 2017. The company is based in

Takapuna, Auckland Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

where it opened its first store in 2007. Pita Pit New Zealand started actively seeking franchises in 2011, and by 2017 the vast majority of stores were franchisees. The chain introduced a

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

-friendly menu in 2016, and introduced a fillings limit in 2019. It started to trial virtual kitchens in 2020, after many of its stores were unable to open during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

External links

Pita Pit site (Canada)Pita Pit site (United States
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pita Pit, The Companies based in Kingston, Ontario Fast-food chains of Canada Fast-food chains of New Zealand Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food franchises Restaurants established in 1995 1995 establishments in Ontario