A new design rollout across several Pita Pit locations is helping the quick-service brand prepare for the future.
Around “half a dozen,” locations in the system have the new design, Pita Pit USA president Peter Riggs says, which includes new tables, paint, and lighting changes, along with a change to the food counter to increase store throughput.
Riggs says the new counter design faces the food better so it’s easier for customers to pick toppings as they walk down the line. The new layout coincides with Pita Pit testing new menu items and a more curated approach to its pitas.
“What we’re going to do is give customers more of a jumping-off point to say, ‘here’s this build and if you want to get it as it’s listed on the menu board, it’s going to be a knock-your-socks-off pita, but if you don’t like onions or mushrooms or you want to add tomatoes or something like that, you still have that option,’” Riggs says. “We’re trying to give customers more guidance.”
With the new design, Pita Pit is also installing interchangeable stations that will allow for prep for smoothies and sandwiches to switch depending on which item is receiving more orders.
“Especially in the summer, stores get a lot busier selling smoothies,” Riggs says. “And so we’ve designed a counter to be interchangeable so the smoothie station can move up front and the sandwich station can roll toward the back depending on the traffic flow.”
Pita Pit will discuss the new design with franchisees at its upcoming annual conference before rolling it out to several more of its 250 U.S. units.
“We’re trying to combine all these efforts, from design to menu construction, to really optimize the throughput of the stores and give people an awesome experience with a killer pita quickly, to their specifications and their unique personal tastes,” Riggs says.
