The Canada-based franchise chain Extreme Pita is increasing its push in the United States with 40 planned restaurants this year. Sukhvir Sodhi is a large part of the company’s expansion as area developer of Nevada. Sodhi plans to open several Extreme Pita stores in Las Vegas.

Special Report: Restaurant & Food

LAS VEGAS — The landscape is cluttered in the restaurant franchising world and new brands are faced with a difficult task of attracting attention, but Canadian concept Extreme Pita believes it can carve out a niche for itself in descending on the United States — and the company is counting on Sukhvir Sodhi to help lead the charge.

Sodhi and partners Marty Kupper and Joe Roth have acquired the area development rights for Extreme Pita in Nevada through their SKR & Associates LLC.

SKR & Associates has already taken the first steps in opening a food court location in the Meadows Mall in Las Vegas. According to Sodhi, the restaurant is part of aggressive expansion plans that are aiming for about 30 stores in the Las Vegas region in the next five years. He said that three more Extreme Pita restaurants will open by the end of the year in Las Vegas.

Sodhi's plans echo those of Extreme Pita. The company, which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, plans to open 160 new restaurants in the United States by the end of 2008. Currently, Extreme Pita has 20 U.S. locations and, in addition to Nevada, is targeting Arizona, California, Texas and New York.

Extreme Pita was co-founded by Alex and Mark Rechichi in 1997. The company's goal was to develop a product that could compete against traditional fast food concepts focusing on fresh and healthy food by using the traditional bread staple of pita as the main component of its sandwiches and offerings. Extreme Pita features what the company calls a "no rules" menu and can customize every rolled pita to suit the individual tastes of its customers, using a variety of fillings. Only offering non-processed cheeses, meats, and sauces, all pitas are served fresh or sautéed right in front of the customer.

Popular menu items include the Greek Chicken Colossus, Extreme Club (turkey, ham and real bacon), Philly Cheese Steak, Beef Bistro, Grilled Chicken, Chicken Caesar, and Falafel. In addition to a pita sandwich menu, Extreme Pita offers a variety of flat baked pitas, fresh salads, soups, drinks, catering services, and a kid's menu.

Overall Extreme Pita has 200 locations in North America. Alex Rechichi, the company's president, said that 20 more restaurants will open in the United States in the next couple of months, with 40 to open by the end of the year.

Rechichi credits Extreme Pita's growth to the fact that 10 years ago there was no pita category in the franchise industry and as word of its spreads so does demand, so much so that the pita segment now stands on its own.

Extreme Pita also fits in with the increasing push for healthy food, Rechichi pointed out. He also suggested that big chains such as McDonald's and Subway have actually pushed the demand for healthy food by constantly emphasizing that their products are healthy.

	Sodhi

"They have educated the marketplace about the need for healthy food," Rechichi said. "McDonald's, Wendy's and Subway all say, 'We are healthy.' But in reality you have to ask, 'How healthy are they?'"

"Yet, here is Extreme Pita — 10 years in the marketplace — truly serving healthy food since day one," he added.

Still, Extreme Pita held there expansion push into the United States till about three years ago — the first Extreme Pita opened in the United States in Wisconsin in late 2003 — mostly because the company was waiting for the consumer climate to be right for the acceptance of a pita product, which can be sometimes viewed as an ethnic or immigrant food.

"People are more open to trying new things today. The economy is global, their palettes are global," Rechichi said.

"We are certainly excited about doing business in the United States," he added.

In Las Vegas, Sodhi mirrors this excitement and has nothing but good news to report both from the perspective of potential franchisees and customers.

"We already have a lot of demand," he said of those lining up to open stores.

Sodhi is actually running the Meadows Mall Extreme Pita, in addition to his work as an area franchise developer. He said he is doing this so he can be on the front lines, both with customers and for potential franchisees coming to check out what an Extreme Pita store looks like, sample the food and experience operations.

And the concept is scoring high from Sodhi's account. "It is different. It is unique. It has a great flavor profile, people really like it," he said. "It is a healthier alternative to traditional fast foods."

The 33-year-old Sodhi joined Extreme Pita in October 2005 when he finalized the deal for Nevada development rights. He has prior franchise experience with Quizno's. He and his wife, Hardeep, opened a Quizno's location in Fresno, Calif., in 2004 and had plans in place for a second Quizno's location, when Sodhi came across Extreme Pita and quickly became enamored with the concept. He very quickly traveled to meet Extreme Pita leaders and also met future business partners Kupper and Roth in 2005. He then sold his Quizno's and resigned as senior operations manager at America's First Mortgage, where he worked for eight years, rising from college intern to head loan processor to his senior position.

In August 2006 Sodhi moved to Las Vegas to launch his Extreme Pita career.

Sodhi grew up in Fresno in the farming industry, which his family had a background in, both in India and then the United States. He had an early interest in business taking part in contract negotiations, payroll, cash-flow analysis and capital budgeting for his family's farm business at a young age. He pursued these business interests in college, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance from Fresno State University. He joined America's First Mortgage when he graduated in 1998.

He also started a franchising consulting company, Strategic Franchise Development Group Inc., in 2005.

Sodhi said the franchising industry provided a great entrepreneurial opportunity for him, but also provided structure and support. "To get ahead you have to have something where you have control and you are going to get out of something what you are putting into it," he said.

Quizno's was a good start; however, he believes that Extreme Pita represents the evolution he needed to make, as well as a concept he believes in. In particular, he views Extreme Pita as a healthier concept, which he can tout to people with confidence.

He also was attracted to Extreme Pita because it is a small company, with more growth potential. "With Quizno's it is hard to get anyone's attention. You are just another number out there," he said. "You feel separate from the company."

Sodhi made the move from California to Nevada, in part due to Extreme Pita's high expectations for the state.

"We see Nevada as a great opportunity," said Extreme Pita's Rechichi. "There is a lot of money coming in and a lot of development."

Rechichi also believes that Nevada is uniquely positioned as a great place to spread the name and brand recognition of Extreme Pita.

"There is a tremendous amount of tourists and visitors that come into that state. It can give us tremendous international exposure," he said.

Rechichi emphasized that choosing to work with Sodhi and SKR & Associates in Nevada is a no-brainer for Extreme Pita. He said the partnering model for franchise expansion is "vitally important" for the growth of his brand.

"It is essentially the backbone of our development strategy to have local partners," Rechichi said. "Area developers have fingers on the pulse of the market."

In addition, he pointed out that area developers have a strong interest in the success of the company because it will lead to their success — which makes them valuable assets.