IN THE NEWS

September 2004 - Mississauga, ON

Extreme Pita Goes Over the Century Mark

It took seven years for the Mississauga-based Extreme Pita chain to grow to 100 restaurants in Canada, but president and co-founder Alex Rechichi figures it will only take two more to go over 200.

This is because the company he founded in 1997 with his brother Mark started signing area development agreements about a year ago, and now has them in British Columbia, Alberta and the Atlantic Provinces. The Extreme Pita Inc. is also working on Quebec where one store opened recently. In B.C., as well as in Alberta, the area developer has the whole province as his territory. Currently there is only one developer in the Atlantic, but the company will be signing a second agreement for that area.

There are about 20 stores now under the area developer in the Maritimes, 40 in Alberta and about six in B.C. In Ontario, the Rechichi brothers are handling franchise sales themselves.

Out of home province, it's better to have someone who knows the territory checking out the real estate and supporting the franchisees, while in turn getting back-up from head office, says Rechichi.

Extreme Pita is also expanding south with its concept of fresh, healthful sandwiches. Starting with a single unit in Virginia last year, the company now has five in the U.S. and expects to open another half dozen this year.

Last year the company signed an area development agreement for the entire state of Arizona, and last month it was working on deals for Texas and northern California, as well as a couple of states in the northeast U.S., said Alex Rechichi. He said that most area developers were originally Extreme Pita franchisees.

However, the man who bought the franchise for the 100th Canadian store, which opened in Mississauga in July, had no foodservice experience. Robin Agnihotri was an insurance broker before taking up a new career behind the counter of a fast food restaurant. He told ORN last month that he made the switch because he wanted to be in his own business. The thing he liked about Extreme Pita, he said, was "fast, healthy food."

Also, as befitting someone from the insurance industry, he is a cautious individual and wanted to invest in a business with a good track record. "Extreme Pita is definitely a proven concept," he said.

A month after the 100th store started operation, seven more had opened across Canada. Extreme Pita is riding two popular trends at the moment, sandwiches and food that is good for you.

The addition of salads and chicken items to burger chain menus, along with the explosion of low-carb and trans fat-free products testifies to the health concerns of consumers. Extreme Pita is quick to capitalize on its healthy image.

Pitas are stuffed full of fresh vegetables and other healthful items such as low-fat chicken, the thin pitas allowing the sandwich to be mostly filling inside a thin shell of bread.

The chain re-does its menu every two years, and the most recent makeover came about four months ago when it added items such as Beef Bistro pita, Tossed Traditional Chicken Caesar pita, Bombay pita, and couple new salads and pita pizzas as well as two new turkey pitas. To spice up their sandwiches, customers can order from a choice of three different spreads as well as 13 different sauces that are either low in fat or light in calories.

This is a concept that fits in very well with vegetarian tastes, and one side of the grill is reserved exclusively for vegetables so that no hint of meat ever get into a vegetarian sandwich.

When they first opened for business, the Rechichis found that seven out of 10 customers who walked through their doors were female, in the 17 to 24 age group. Since then, the market and the concept has evolved considerably, and now the clients tend to be expanded to encompass the 16 to 49-year range.

This year a kids' menu was added, to please parents who bring in their children, wanting to feed them something healthful.

Published in Ontario Restaurant News

September 2004, Volume 19 No 8

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