Huckleberries Online

OTV Review: Pitas Not The Pits

March 6, 2009 11:58 p.m. • 27 comments

Pita Pigsty? Pita Purgatory? Pita Pity Party perhaps? There are certainly worse names possible than Pita Pit, but I do think they’re kind of selling themselves short with a name that evokes both snake-filled crevasses and dark, shadowy underarms. Far from being “pits”, the interiors of every Pita Pit restaurant I’ve had the pleasure to visit have been quite nice and clean. Maybe Pita Palace is overstating it a little, but certainly something more akin to Pleasant Pita Parlor would be more representative of reality. Whatever, the name doesn’t at all seem to hinder the expanding popularity of this Coeur d’Alene based national chain of fresh eateries. It’s a winning concept, brought to North Idaho in 2005 by former Idaho Lieutenant Governor Jack Riggs, who purchased the fledgling chain and soon relocated the company’s national headquarters and training center here. Opening a Pita Pit is a hot business prospect for folks looking to invest in something that has an established, relatively risk-free form’/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.

Question: Which downtown eatery do you frequent most?

27 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

cantyoureadthesigns on March 07 at 12:13 a.m.
Hudson’s.

Are there others?
Liz on March 07 at 1:04 a.m.
Pita pit, actually. And occasionally Paul Bunyan. But not often due to the serious cholesterol factor at PB. But every so often, it’s worth it.
OrangeTV on March 07 at 9:15 a.m.
btw, if all goes well, I’m finally tackling a review of Hudson’s Hamburgers for next week’s column. I’ve been kinda scared to actually take on that sacred cow (sorry for the bad pun), but my visit yesterday reminded me why the place is quite worth all the hype.
Cindy_H on March 07 at 10:12 a.m.
What I love about OTV’s columns is they remind me not to overlook the obvious. I’ve never eaten at Pita Pit, though I drive by two of the franchises each week.
Today, I’m going to stop in.
Rosalind on March 07 at 10:48 a.m.
Pita Pit is a catchy name. A name that’s representative could come out pretty lame.

Does Moon Time count as a downtown eatery?
EagleKeeper44 on March 07 at 2:17 p.m.
“WingStop” for the BEST Wings in town………

((WingStop))
idawa on March 07 at 3:08 p.m.
Just a point of clarification, Dr. Riggs did not bring the Pita Pit to N. Idaho, unless you don’t consider Moscow part of N. Idaho. Moscow was the 2nd location to open in the nation and it opened in the the late 90’s. True, the Riggs did buy the company in the early part of this decade and have expanded it greatly, but they did not bring it to Idaho. That said, it’s an okay place and a good concept. It was a nice change of pace when it came to Moscow when the only choices for fast food were burgers, pizza, or tacos. It also help that it is on main street and was strategically positioned to get the bar hopping crowd :)
Sam on March 07 at 4:44 p.m.
Idawa - I read it as bringing the headquarters to North Idaho, since there was no U.S. headquarters and the Canadian owners managed both companies from Ontario, Canada. Maybe I’m wrong.
OrangeTV on March 07 at 6:50 p.m.
Technically Moscow is part of “North Central Idaho”, but that’s getting pretty nitpicky. I hadn’t realized the Moscow store was so early in the history of things…
Sam on March 07 at 7:06 p.m.
So it turns out I was wrong. Dang it, OTV, fact check! :p
mia on March 07 at 10:43 p.m.
In the day, we used to be regulars at JimmyD’s and then the Wine Cellar. We no longer live full time in the area, and things have also changed quite a lot since those days. Moon Time is always great.
Hudson’s is tradition! May it live forever! I find it interesting that collectively, no one mentioned any of the restaurants that are CdA Resort run/related. That says a lot without saying anything.
JIMMYMAC on March 07 at 11:14 p.m.
San Fran Sourdough, Olympia, Toro, Pita Pit. I don’t consider Moon Time to be downtown but it is my favorite lunch spot.
jazzyvandal on March 08 at 10:18 a.m.
Pita Pit is certainly one of my favorites!
Stickman on March 08 at 7:01 p.m.
I’m with Jimmy. Moon time is great for an afternoon delight and maybe to watch a game. But, San Francisco Sour Dough, even for a vegetarian, such a treat is that.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.