Extreme Pita Enlists to Feed U.S. Armed Forces

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Extreme Pita Opens First Military Concept; Offers Healthy Options to One of World's Largest U.S. Military Bases

June 02, 2010 // Franchising.com // MISSISSAUGA, Ontario - In the battle against high calorie, greasy foods, Extreme Pita moves to the frontline with a mission to feed the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

The Canadian franchisor recently opened the first of two restaurants slated at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, home to one of the military branch's largest regiments. With approximately 30,000 residents on base, Extreme Pita is geared up to feed their need for fresh, healthy and convenient options.

Located at Desert Winds Golf Course on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, the new restaurant is the Canadian franchisor's first of two locations opening on base. The second restaurant is slated to open at the base's Home Store Building in early July.

"As we continue to grow our brand in various markets across the United States, Canada and internationally, we are thrilled to open our very first military concept," said Alex Rechichi, Co-Founder and CEO of Extreme Pita. "We look forward to providing our healthy options to the men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces."

Positioned in a niche between monster fast food outlets and fast casual dining environments, Extreme Pita continues to offer increasingly busy Americans convenience and value with its large selection of fresh and nutritious pita sandwiches assembled from the freshest ingredients.

Unlike traditional fast food restaurants and sub shops, Extreme Pita does not offer foot-long loaves of bread with just the typical options for filling. Instead, they offer a 2,000-year-old traditional bread staple - the pita - and feature a "no rules" menu that customizes every rolled pita to suit the individual tastes of its health conscious customers. Only offering non-processed cheeses, meats, vegetables and sauces, all pitas are served fresh or sautéed in water, not oil, right in front of the customer.

The Twentynine Palms restaurants are owned by Ketan Parikh, and developed with the assistance of area developer Eric Simon. Boasting more than 35 years of experience in the franchise industry with one of America's most recognized and reputable brands - UPS Stores - Simon is responsible for developing the Extreme Pita brand in Orange County and San Diego County for as many as 20 new locations in the next three years.

"With the large amount of troops and personnel residing on base, it is important we provide healthy options that are easily accessible," said Simon. "Extreme Pita provides customers the foods they crave without sacrificing freshness, nutritional value or taste."

To augment the market's growth, Extreme Pita is seeking single- and multi-unit franchisees, as well as area developers, to develop the local Extreme Pita network. The average cost to open an Extreme Pita is between $200,000 and $270,000 with a franchise fee of $20,000.

About Extreme Pita

Extreme Pita was co-founded by Alex and Mark Rechichi in 1997. Their desire was to provide a product that would compete against traditional fast food concepts. Right from the start their idea was simple - sell fresh and healthy food. After a great deal of research and experimenting, Extreme Pita became the answer to this quest. Today the company boasts more than 235 locations in North America and is experiencing a double digit growth rate.

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