It's late. You've been at Coupe's for three hours and now it's time to get some food and call it a night. But Take-It-Away shut its doors at 7 p.m. and pizza just sounds a little too greasy. There seems to be nothing on your way home that will fill you up without making you feel even worse in the morning.
Life is just the pits, isn't it?
Well, actually it is, thanks to the new eatery on the Corner, the Pita Pit.
A Canadian chain of sandwich shops, the Pita Pit prides itself on being fresher, faster and up as late as you are.
The Charlottesville branch opened its doors just as the Virginia football team kicked off its first game of the season against Colorado State. Coincidence? Probably not.
"We're big football fans," explained Mike Stewart, the youngest of the three brothers who own the Pita Pit on the Corner. "We already have tickets, and you can expect to see us tailgating before the games and handing out cups."
According to Mike, the idea to open a Pita Pit in Virginia began as a family joke.
"When we went home to Canada to visit, everyone was talking about Pita Pit, it was like a cult," he said. "We started joking around about opening one in Virginia since we were living in Richmond at the time."
When they contacted Pita Pit's corporate office, they were told that the Pit generally catered to college towns, so Charlottesville would be the perfect place to open a new franchise.
Situated between Subway and Arch's, and down the street from the famous late-night littlejohn's, the Pita Pit entered a market with already heated competition.
But the Pit came armed and ready. They stay open late, catching what the owners call "the bar crowd." They grill your meats right in front of you, then stuff your pita with fresh vegetables, cheeses and your choice of 10 different sauces.
"We have a special way of stuffing pitas, unlike most places who just cut the pita in half," Stewart said. "We slit it open from the side, stuff it in the middle, then roll it -- a style Pita Pit kind of invented and other places have imitated."
They not only target a late-night crowd, but also one that is health-conscious and in a hurry.
"It's a healthy alternative to fast food, and it's something people have never had before," Stewart said. "We keep our vegetables really fresh and the stuffing station really clean, and you can get in and out in 30 seconds."
The Stewart brothers site the lacrosse team as regular customers ("They're in everyday") and often see other athletes looking for a healthy meal option after practice.
"Some college football teams like Colorado even have pita meals as part of their regimented diets," Stewart claimed.
For these brothers, it's all about football and pitas.
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