New franchisees sign up top cyclist for business venture

Barbara and Devon Barron have moved into the role of franchisees of Pita Pit and are targeting July 29 as the opening day of their new outlet at 183a Victoria Ave.

Pita Pit specialises in Lebanese-style pita sandwiches packed with fresh veges, grilled meats and zesty sauces.

Friends of the Barrons introduced them to Pita Pit and there has been no turning back. They saw a gap in the market in Wanganui and the rest, as they say, is history.

Mr Barron runs a successful tiling business and intends to keep that going and from the start, Mrs Barron will manage the store Monday to Friday and he will step in for the weekend shift.

Pita Pit Wanganui will open next door to Blank Kanvas Concepts in the refurbished Victoria Dental Building.

The Barrons will be supported by 13 staff with the outlet open 9am-9pm Monday to Friday and from 10am to 9pm on weekends.

One of the more familiar faces working part-time will be champion Kiwi cyclist Cassie Cameron. And as well as giving her some work when she's back in her hometown, the local franchise will be sponsoring her.

Cameron said she was "really excited" about getting sponsorship from the new Wanganui store.

She sees it as a classic win-win for her. Not only does she get help with her cycling career but she also gets to eat the product.

"Our national team was eating plenty of Pita Pit food when we were in Invercargill. I loved it, and I've been waiting a long time for it to come to Wanganui," she said.

Mrs Barron said backing Ms Cameron was a way of helping her get as far as she could with her personal sporting goals.

The first Pita Pit was opened in 1995 in the university town of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and was an immediate success. Within two years, franchised stores had begun opening across Canada and two years later, it was in the US. Now it has gone global.

The stores are governed by an Auckland-based outlet which has the master franchise licence for New Zealand.

It decides who can own and operate stores.

New franchises vary in price, due to a range of factors such as the size of the site, fit-out costs and landlord contributions.

New franchisees receive an assistance package covering site selection, opening of the store and ongoing support, draft lease agreements, operations manuals, training and an exclusive franchise territory.

There are about 40 outlets already around the country and more are planned.