Make 2015 Your Best Year Yet with Pita Pit

Pita Pit was recently featured in Nation’s Restaurant News.  The article focused on comfort foods that have taken a healthful turn and included Pita Pit’s Resolution Solution lineup of six pita-based sandwiches under 500 calories. This includes the popular Philly Steak Pita. According to Benjamin Drake, vice president of research and development, the brand wanted to choose one of its most popular offerings to show customers it could be more healthful. You can read the entire article by clicking here, or you can continue below.

“Comfort Foods Take a Healthful Turn”

What is it about winter’s abbreviated days and frigid temperatures that trigger our cravings for heavy, high-calorie foods at the very time of year when we’ve just resolved to swear off them? We classify cheesy-starchy casseroles, rich and meaty stews and gooey hot sandwiches as comfort foods for a reason: once eaten and inside us, all just seems well.

Fortunately, chefs have succeeded in reducing the negative nutritional impact of our beloved comfort foods — cherished dishes like Grandma’s multi-meat, multi-cheese lasagna. They have found that by replacing meats with vegetables and other lower calorie ingredients they can offer a new version of an iconic favorite that is both savory and smart. In addition, these wholesome remakes have led to further experiments with bolder sauces, varied cooking techniques and artful plate presentations.

Read the full article here. 

Pita Pit Featued in Nation's Restaurant News

Pita Pit was recently featured in Nation’s Restaurant News about its recent appearances on the morning show FOX & Friends every Friday this summer. The article discusses the way Pita Pit is using this PR tactic as a way to build the awareness for the brand in New York City and connect personally with customers and potential franchisees along the east coast. Pita Pit has also been able to feed the people of New York for free every Friday for the past 7 weeks, generating product trial throughout the region. The article discusses these segments and also includes a link to each of the segments on YouTube. Here is a portion of the article and below you will find a link to read the entire article:

Pita Pit pop-up building franchise buzz
By Mark Brandau

Pita Pit has no locations in New York City, but that hasn’t stopped the 180-unit chain from generating some Big-Apple-style media buzz through a pop-up restaurant it temporarily operates outside the building where Fox News Corp. broadcasts its “Fox and Friends” morning show.

For the past five Friday mornings, the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based chain has been serving breakfast pitas to passersby from the makeshift restaurant and plans to continue service each Friday through the end of August. Vice president of corporate business unit Peter Riggs also will be interviewed on each broadcast.

Riggs said the intent of being featured so prominently on television for eight straight weeks was to spread awareness not only to potential Pita Pit customers, but also to franchisee candidates.

“Ultimately, we’re hoping to get to potential franchisees, but the more blunt-object attitude we have is just trying to get the Pita Pit name out more,” Riggs said. “Any time you can increase brand recognition, that’s what we’re after.”

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Pita Pit Featured in Nation's Restaurant News

Pita Pit was recently featured in an article in Nation’s Restaurant News, entitled, “Nearing Showtime in the Windy City.” The article was built from an in-depth interview with Peter Riggs, discussing expectations and issues at top priority when attending the convention in Chicago. The article discusses the fact that Riggs and the Pita Pit team will be looking into menu labeling and the technology that goes along with that at the Chicago convention. Below is a sample of the article along with a link to it in its entirety.

Nearing showtime in the Windy City
Operators search for equipment, suppliers and franchisees at annual event

Peter Riggs of Pita Pit will have menu labeling—and calorie posting in particular—in mind as he explores the show.

Riggs, vice president of corporate business for the Cour d’Alene, Idaho-based quick-service sandwich chain, said he’s specifically looking for digital menu boards that can accommodate changes required by the new federal labeling law.

“We’ve got about 175 stores across the U.S., and every time we introduce a new menu item there’s a lot of logistical planning that goes into how best to display that,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of research on the new menu-labeling laws, and we want to see what other concepts are doing and figure out what the best execution is.”

As far as the digital menu boards go, “my IT guys have been bugging me to take more meetings about it,” he said. “The technology has been out there for a while, but hasn’t gained much traction yet. But given the legislation, we’ll look at it and see if there’s practical application for our brand.”

He added that the menu boards also would appeal to the chain’s main demographic: 18- to 24-year-old males. Roughly half of Pita Pit’s stores are located around college campuses, and the flash animation on the computer screens would make for “a more immersive experience for them,” he said.

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