Restaurant industry expert Nour Rabai, founder and CEO of PITA Mediterranean Street Food, has created a prosperous franchise model that continues to grow. Since 2016, he has continuously monitored the market for trends, and in these post-pandemic months, has carefully developed a successful franchising strategy for the future.

“Coming out of the pandemic, we saw a much slower transition into franchising from prospective franchisees,” says Rabai. “Now, we see current franchisees getting more involved in purchasing other locations, and they have a general interest in growing as multi-unit franchisees within our brand.”

Rabai and his team seek out a certain type of franchisee. “The most important quality that we look for in a prospective franchisee is one that wants to be both owner and operator. Owner/operators in our current franchise model are the most successful in the company.” Rabai goes on to say that PITA puts a heavy focus on owner/operators for prospective franchisee opportunities and then single-unit owners for new and upcoming franchisees.

Rabai and his team adapted their franchise program to fit the current customer climate, and technology plays a big part. PITA’s team heavily guided its consumer base to use technology to order. He notes that PITA’s new POS system which was developed during the pandemic has been a lifesaver. With everything coming into one system, there is a 99% success rate that the order will be processed, which in turn reflects positively on the franchise.

Rabai has advice for anyone wanting to expand. “Do your due diligence on every operator coming on board. Having a successful partnership with a franchisee will drive your success as a concept,” he says. “With a little strategic planning and taking the time to seek out good owner/operators, there will be a better success rate when you open new locations,” Rabai adds.