John Aguilera

 

 

Since 1995, Ontario-based Pita Pit has been serving up Mediterranean style sandwiches. The growing business expanded into the U.S. in 1999 and was soon feeding pita fans in 11 countries. In 2006, two brothers, Juan and Jesus Hernandez, emigrated from Mexico and began working at the Flagstaff, Arizona Pita Pit under Doug Hanna, a ten-year Pita Pit franchisee. The brothers worked their way up to managerial positions and are now proud owner/operators of the Flagstaff Pita Pit location.

 

It was a long road for the brothers, who often pulled 60-80-hour workweeks en route to reaching their ownership goal. “My brother Jesus and I worked extremely hard to save up money and invest in Pita Pit,” says Juan. “After eight years of working as employees, we became the owners of our location in December 2014.”

 

Having freshly arrived from Mexico in 2006, the brothers initially struggled with the English language. Knowing how crucial it would be to their success, they enrolled in the local high school to take ESL courses, although they both say they learned just as much working on the job by communicating with customers and coworkers.

 

Now in solid command of the English language, the brothers faced an even more daunting communication challenge; how to act and talk like the boss. “Since taking over there have been some minor challenges that we have been working through. I had to learn how to act like an owner and learn the subtle nuances of how to talk to my employees and manage from an elevated position,” says Jesus. “We are constantly looking to improve so I think this will continue to be less of an issue as we grow the store.”

 

Navigating the hurdles of buying the business was also a challenge. “One of the greatest challenges was working through all of the steps and paperwork that needed to be complete to make the transfer and officially become franchisees,” says Jesus. “We have been in the system for a long time so we are extremely knowledgeable with how the brand operates.”

 

The brothers hope their story – and their transition from employee to owner – will inspire and drive others to follow in their footsteps. Juan offers some advice and encouragement to future business owners looking to make it. “My advice to people looking to make a similar challenge would be, don’t be afraid of taking the leap of faith and following your dreams,” he says. “If you have an opportunity to became an owner of a franchise like Pita Pit, take it.”