- President and chief executive officer, Extreme Brandz Inc., Mississauga, Ont.
Entrepreneurial by nature, Alex Rechichi and his brother Mark ran several businesses during high school. In one venture, they cleaned and sealed interlocking brick driveways, which put both through Queen's University in Kingston. Then, in 1997, they launched Extreme Pita, a fast-food chain that depends on the Middle Eastern pita for its staple.
"People get a chuckle when they hear I'm Italian. But I always had a passion for food and knew I would always run my own business," says Alex, who focused on the rapidly growing sandwich market after reading about it in Entrepreneur magazine.
"A light bulb went off in my head and I realized how big an opportunity there was: We could set a bar in healthy dining in the sandwich category and be more focused on the fillings and less on the bread."
After eating a lot of pita sandwiches in Montreal and Toronto, and winning the support of their contractor father, Gaetano, the brothers raised $60,000 and built the first outlet in Waterloo, Ont.
For the first two years, Alex also worked in sales for an industrial supply company. In late 1998, he quit to concentrate on Extreme Pita, whose name, he says, expresses the brothers' sense of living life to the fullest. Mark, a chartered accountant, joined the company full-time a year later.
They haven't looked back. They channelled profits into new stores, and Extreme Pita has grown to more than 200 franchises in Canada and 30 in the United States. The chain differentiates itself from such competitors as Subway and Quiznos by sautéing meats and vegetables on a grill and using no cooking oil, he says. No processed meats or cheese are served, and all sauces are low in fat.
"We are all fighting for share of stomach," he says, noting that Extreme Pita was a leader in posting nutritional information prominently. "Today's society is very much on the go. Our promise to our customers is that we offer a wide range of great-tasting, healthy food."
With an eye on other areas of the market, Extreme Brandz, the parent company of Extreme Pita, launched its first Mucho Burrito outlet, a Mexican-style eatery, in June, 2006, in Mississauga. Today there are five locations in Ontario, one in Alberta, and 22 franchises in development.
"We are leveraging our franchise platform and a lot of the resources and relationships that we developed over the years," says Mr. Rechichi, who is married and has two young children.
"It's an opportunity to introduce a different brand that is in a similar category but is focused on a slightly higher ticket."
Special to The Globe and Mail