Pita Pit franchise coming to town

Dan and Pam Ryan announced recently that they will be opening a Pita Pit franchise in downtown St. Marys later this year at the southeast corner of Queen and Water Streets.

By Stewart Grant

The “best unkept secret in St. Marys” was finally revealed last week when Pam Ryan announced via social media that she and her husband, Dan Ryan, are back in the franchise business.

The former owners of Little Caesars in St. Marys will be opening a Pita Pit location downtown later this year at the southeast corner of Queen and Water streets.

With the building having sat empty for two years since the closure of Stonetown Coffee, the recent interior construction work was starting to attract a lot of attention from curious people passing by, thus prompting the Ryans to make their big announcement sooner rather than later.

“One day when the builder had the door open there were six different people who walked in to ask what was going on,” said Pam Ryan. “Now that the builders are here, we’ll just keep people in the loop, and if there’s delays, we’ll let people know. We’re a small town.”

Fortunately, many of the delays are already in the rearview mirror. The journey has been met with several challenges, including renovating within the heritage district, solving ventilation issues and dealing with delays due to equipment sourcing and tariffs. Though it is too early to project a specific opening date, the fact construction crews are onsite is evidence many of the most difficult hurdles have been crossed.

Despite the challenges, something that has kept the Ryans in great spirits is the positive reaction from the community. Since making the announcement last week, they’ve been so thankful for all the kind words of support. Not only are people happy to see the Ryans back in the restaurant business following the closure of their Little Caesars franchise, but many are happy to see another food option arrive in St. Marys.

“We knew we weren’t going to do pizza,” said Pam Ryan. “We had to figure out what the town needed and what it didn’t have.”

Interestingly, a Facebook question on that very subject was posed by someone on St. Marys Life a few months back, providing the Ryans with valuable insight from hundreds of residents. From that information, Pita Pit emerged as a top consideration.

“Pita Pit is a Canadian company. That was one of our biggest things when we were looking for a new brand. We were also looking for something fresh and healthy,” said Pam Ryan.

Pita Pit serves pita sandwiches, salads and rice bowls featuring a variety of grilled meats, fresh vegetables and flavourful sauces. The St. Marys location will offer the full menu of Pita Pit offerings, including smoothies and the protein shakes.