Nikki and Nick Hagidiakow are already business owners in Niverville—the local Dairy Queen is theirs—but now they’re bringing a Pita Pit to town as well.
The first Pita Pit opened in 1995 and there are now more than 650 locations throughout the world, so the chain has clearly found a winning concept. Pita Pit’s press package describes their concept as “a fresh, healthy alternative to traditional high-fat, high-carb, high-calorie fast foods.”
For those who are unfamiliar with pitas, they are a Lebanese-style flatbread that can be filled with the toppings of one’s choice: veggies, meats, and sauces. Pita Pit allows you to choose your pita rolled up or toasted flat, or you can have all your ingredients in a bowl. Niverville’s location will also serve fruit smoothies.
Nikki and Nick had already built successful careers before going into the food service industry. Nick has a real estate licence and Nikki has obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration as well as a Certified Financial Planning certificate.
After some time, though, they both thought back to their early days of working in food service and decided that this was the direction they should be heading.
“A number of circumstances aligned and the outcome was that we both completely had a change in careers,” says Nikki. “We both learned that we have a love for the food industry, [so] it just made sense that our lives would bring us back to that industry.”
In 2017, the Hagidiakows opened their first Dairy Queen location, and later that year they purchased the DQ at Polo Park as well. In 2019, they opened their Niverville location, and then in 2021 they opened another on St. Anne’s Road.
Nikki says that she and her husband have a number of reasons for choosing Pita Pit as the next restaurant in their budding empire.
“The main reasons being it is a healthy, quick option for the community” she says. “It is a brand both Nick and myself love to consume, and the franchise is a well-run franchise. It just seemed to make the most sense, all things considered.”
The Hagidiakows will open their first Pita Pit nearly next door to their Niverville DQ, in the new commercial strip mall being built on Drover’s Run. They hope to have it ready to serve customers in January of 2023.
“We have absolutely fallen in love with the community [of Niverville],” Nikki says. “The people, the businesses, the schools, the beauty, the community… we love Niverville and feel so welcomed here. It’s only natural to expand in Niverville, this time with a healthy option. We are extremely excited to see how Pita Pit can become part of the community, just like we feel our DQ and ourselves have become part of the community.”
