The Idaho-based Pita Pit is poised to test its mettle anew on how to start a business in Phoenix this 2013. Ranged against competitive fast-casual restaurant franchises, Pita Pit is set to open several outlets for its sandwiches in Phoenix early this year. An Arizona couple, Todd and Blanca Runyan, is at the forefront of this bid, having signed a franchise agreement to bring to the Valley 11 Pita Pit locations.
One outlet is scheduled to open early this year on Mill Avenue in Tempe. In December, the couple opened a Pita Pit outlet in Yuma and is now training their eyes on the Phoenix area. If their plans pan out in the Phoenix market, Todd Runyan said they expect to open from two to four Pita Pits outlets a year in the area for the next several years and eventually exceed their initial target of 11 locations. Once those 11 outlets are operating, the couple hopes to do more, and 22 different locations are already being scouted, he added.
Each of Pita Pit’s Phoenix location will have 15 to 20 employees. The other brand players in the local fast-casual sandwich franchises for sale include Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches and Subway. Pita Pit differentiates itself from competitors by using pita bread on its sandwiches. The healthful feature of the Pita Pit sandwich is one of the major factors which drew the couple to the franchise. This is healthier food, really good, and portable, Todd Runyan said, adding that it is a little bit on the lighter side but is still filling.
Pita Pit’s vice president of franchise development, Corey Bowman, confirms this observation, saying that the key differentiator of his company’s product is its healthful feature. Besides this selling proposition, Pita Pit allows customers ample choice on how to customize or build the sandwich to their own liking, Bowman said on the strength of his company’s franchise for sale.
Prior to the Runyans’ franchise agreement, Pita Pit already has a presence in the Phoenix market. A separate franchisee operates a location in north Phoenix on Happy Valley Road. Another in operation on Tempe’s Mill Avenue has been closed but will soon reopen as the first Valley location for the Runyans.
Other fast-casual restaurants which have recently sprung up in the Phoenix market include Chicago-based Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Delaware-based Capriotti’s, Pennsylvania-based Saladworks, and Wisconsin-based Cousins Subs. Likewise, San Diego-based Fresh Healthy Vending which sells franchises on health-snack vending machines, has begun expanding its presence in Phoenix.