Immigrant family biz grew to six restaurants while investing in workers, delighting customers
Thanks to generations of Greek-rooted family restaurants, chicken souvlaki is as much a Buffalo staple as beef on weck. Pita Gourmet, the local family-run chain of quick-serve Greek-Lebanese restaurants, is an island of reliable chicken souvlaki in a town awash in leathery disappointments.
Seasoned with garlic, pepper, onion, and oregano, then grilled, chicken souvlaki replaces bacon in many a Buffalo diner breakfast, next to the eggs, homefries, and toast. The “open faced chicken souvlaki” crowns Greek salad with grilled bird. Even Williamsville’s Glen Park Tavern, justly noted for its destination beef on weck, has a chicken souvlaki salad on the next page of its menu.
Pita Gourmet rocks because its people get the details right. As a result, customers get practially identical dishes at all six locations, a minor miracle in scratch-cooked meals.
This has made Pita Gourmet my latest exhibit in the case against owners treating restaurant workers as a supply column in their business plan. Fast food restaurants source employees wholesale at lowball prices, then plug them into a system that wears them out and discards them. No wonder the industry reports a 150 percent annual employee turnover rate.
Launched in 2005 by Samira Mahfouz, born in the northern Lebanese village of Mazraat al Toufah, Pita Gourmet is run by her children Farrah, Monique, Mark, and Joseph. The company has about 110 employees at its six stores, said Joseph Mafouz. Nearly a quarter have remained with Pita Gourmet for more than four years.
Every worker can take advantage of its 401K with 5 percent match. Its managers are promoted from within, and get paid vacation days and health insurance. Workers are trained extensively before facing customers. That costs the company, but pays off in the long run, said Mahfouz, in both worker and customer satisfaction.
The original, at the Niagara Falls Outlet Mall, is the only location open on Sundays. Otherwise, the customer experience is remarkably similar at each store.
Customers order, then slide down the line where a counterperson works with them to dress the sandwich, salad, or box to their liking. Housemade pickled turnips, and 20 more salad ingredients, cheeses, sauces, and dressings are applied as they watch. A little more tomato? No problem.
At a restaurant, if your food is produced by a changing cast of characters, how can you expect the plate to stay the same? Trained to take the time to make each customer happy, no matter how long the line, Pita Gourmet workers hand over consistent meals of superior quality.
To say I am persnickety about chicken souvlaki rather understates the case. One week a year for two decades, I was part of the CanalFest of the Tonawandas Holy Protection Church souvlaki crew. In 2017, its last year, the operation sold about two tons pounds of chicken, four ounces at a time.
What a relief it was to find Pita Gourmet.
Most importantly, its souvlaki uses tenders, not breast. Tenders are a single muscle that lies under the chicken breast, notable when you disassemble a whole bird. That’s why they’re still juicy after cooking, while breast tends toward cotton-ball dryness.
Beef souvlaki is fired to order. Most high-volume souvlaki operations pre-cook beef, which gets it out the door faster, more like jerky than steak.
The finishing touch is a cook responsible for personalizing your meal who takes the time to get it right. They’ve been trained that satisfying each customer is more important than how fast they can take their money.
Scan the online menu to get ready for your choices. “The Open” starts with rice, salad, or half-and-half. Then chicken ($14/$17.50), beef ($15/$18.50), gyro, or falafel.
Adorn to your liking. Feta, parmesan, shaved cheddar? Dill sauce, tzatziki? Besides lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, how about roasted peppers, pickled turnips, pepperoncini, Kalamata and black olives? A grilled warm pita, too.
Vegans and vegetarians should note “The Tour” ($17), with rice-stuffed grape leaves, hummus, babaganoush, tabouli, and a grilled pita.
Vegans and vegetarians should note “The Tour” ($17), with rice-stuffed grape leaves, hummus, babaganoush, tabouli, and a grilled pita.
Wraps ($11.50) include gyro, chicken or beef souvlaki, and falafel. Pita Gourmet’s Buffalo chicken wrap delivers grilled chicken, spicy Buffalo sauce, and shredded cheddar. A fried fish version ($11), with American cheese and tartar sauce, has your Fridays covered.
At the original Niagara Falls location, the line can stretch during shopping season. That’s because it’s become a minor-league holiday tradition Canadians and Americans share.
At Pita Gourmet, the secret sauce is happier cooks. See if it makes you a happier customer.
Niagara Falls: 1930 Military Road, 716-298-8015
Orchard Park: 3144 Orchard Park Road, 716-599-1411
Hamburg: 5565 Camp Road, 716-599-1300
East Amherst: 6031 Transit Road, 716-799-1222
Amherst: 3122 Sheridan Drive, 716-599-1111
Williamsville (Depew): 6733 Transit Road, Suite 600, 716-633-3303
Prices: Greek fries and sides $5-$7.50, pita sandwiches $11.50, souvlaki meals $11-$17
Hours: Niagara Falls is open on Sunday.
Parking: lot
Wheelchair accessible: yes
Gluten-free: anything without bread
Vegan: “The Tour”: dips, salads, bread
#30#
