PITA spelled backwards is A TIP

Picture this: A bright-eyed 18 year old girl, sitting in a big auditorium in the middle of campus learning the Greek alphabet. This mid-western girl was wearing her cutest Old Navy shorts and tee and looked into a sea of blonde hair and beach tans wondering what sorority she would join and hoping to make at least one friend in the process. As people grouped with their Bright Future friends to discuss their favorite houses, she looked to her only friends (the Pi Chis) for a sense of direction, leaning on them for survival tips in Gainesville.  

• What to wear – Reefs are appropriate for Round 1, but not Rounds 2, 3 or Prefs. Sidebar: Reefs are not the same as Old Navy flip flops.  
• Things to do – If you love Country music then you have to go dancing at :08.  
• Where to eat – Swamp is a great place to go with your family, but for a great sandwich-type spot try Pita Pit.

Ok – you got me. This mid-western girl with no friends was ME! And I listened to anything the ladies in the orange hats told me to do. So that week, I only wore flip flops to Round 1, I went dancing at :08, and I tried Pita Pit.

I had no idea at the time what a difference the week of rush Recruitment would have on my 4 years at UF. I hurried through orientations and chose Advertising as a major, enthusiastically joined Pi Beta Phi and met some nice girls on the bus to the Pink Palace, and had my very first Pita Pit Experience. Since that week, I have considered myself a bit of a Pita Freak Connoisseur. 

A few Pita Pit facts about me:

See? Healthy!

• My freshman year I tried to get a job at Pita Pit as a cashier and made up that I was my class treasurer in efforts to try and impress the potheads that work there.
• I have been to at least 13 different locations (Rankings available upon request). 
• I once asked a friend’s parent to invest in me opening my own franchise location.
• When I studied in Mexico, Pita Pit honey mustard was on my Top 5 list of things I missed.
• I once drove almost 2 hours while hungover to Athens for a pita, only to find they were closed on Sundays.
• I have written a letter of complaint on the Pita Pit website that the Honey Mustard in Chicago is not the “real Pita Pit honey mustard.”
• Despite my feelings on the PPHM in Chicago, I still have drunkenly ordered 2 pitas by myself in order to meet the minimum price for an “out-of-area delivery.”

Ok, this guy is kinda a Baldwin

I know this sounds really sad….wow, this actually sounds REALLY sad, but I think part of the reason I love this place so much is that it takes me back to college. Back to a time where you couldn't afford the Chicken Caesar pita, so you sneakily ordered a Chicken pita and just added Caesar dressing. A time where I can meet my best friends for lunch between classes, or at 3am in the Pi Phi kitchen. It reminds me of sunny days, sleeping in, advertising campaigns and late nights at Gator City. 

But what really changed my life that week was not trying Pita Pit, but actually joining Pi Phi and studying Advertising…they took me from being the girl with no friends in the auditorium, to having some of the best friends in the world. And that trumps a Pita any day.    

You know what goes great with a Pita? BFFs.