HUNTINGTON -- Established in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, in 1995, The Pita Pit may be one of the most popular Canadian imports with college kids since the television show "The Kids In the Hall."
The fast food chain currently has about 220 restaurants in North America. They are commonly found in college towns. The Huntington location, at 1216 4th Ave., first opened its doors in March 2007.
"We recently celebrated our one year anniversary," said owner Nathan Myers. "This building used to be an optometrist's office before we turned it into a restaurant. We did all the construction ourselves, and now it's a hot lunch spot."
The Myers family is currently planning to open a second location in West Virginia, most likely in the Teays Valley area.
As the name would suggest, The Pita Pit specializes in serving a variety of sandwiches wrapped in flat bread. Customers can choose between Greek favorites such as gyros and falafels, or they can sample more American-style wraps such as the Philly cheesesteak.
Most sandwiches are priced in the $5 to $7 range. A wide variety of vegetarian options are also available. One unique aspect of The Pita Pit is that each shop is encouraged to create a "local" sandwich using their own recipe. The Huntington location offers a buffalo chicken pita made with Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Recently, breakfast pitas were added to the menu. In addition to pitas, the restaurant also offers a large selection of freshly-made salads. Otis Spunkmeyer cookies are severed fresh every day.
"After I graduated from Marshall in 2004, I lived in Charleston, S.C., for a year selling computer software," Myers said. "I was traveling down South to some of the larger college campuses where I discovered this chain. I always had in the back of my mind that something like this could really go over well in Huntington. It could also educate people in the area about some more healthy choices in their dining experiences."
The Pita Pit makes deliveries in the downtown area, offering customers an alternative to pizza deliveries. The restaurant also does catering orders for local businesses.
"The support has been phenomenal," Myers said. "I wouldn't be able to do it without the people who supported it through world of mouth, family, friends, etc. I let the food speak for itself. I tried to create a clean restaurant with good customer service, and it seems like it's really taken off. It seems like every hospital and every health department in town has requested catering from us."
The Pita Pit also was recently awarded a business of the week award from the Huntington Chamber of Commerce.
The Pita Pit is open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m.. to 3:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Cash and all major credit cards are accepted. Checks are only accepted on catering orders. To place an order or for more information, call 304-781-7482.
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