This Pita Land in Toronto is more than just an affordable eatery

I recently visited Pita's Place at 720 Spadina Ave to satisfy my craving for chicken shawarma wraps.

You may know Pita Land as a Middle Eastern food franchise with more than 50 locations across Canada—about 30 of which are in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but this is different.

This Pita Land is run by a family of four. Mahnoor Bhatti, who goes by Noor's side, works here with her mother. Both of them coordinate their work schedule with Nur's father and brother. They are trying to make this Pita Land a space for their additional community.

Although Pita Land as a company operates using a franchise model, this particular location is completely family-run. There are no employees here except for a family of four.

Noor said that it was her mother's dream to open her own business. “He was a teacher for more than 20 years. That's why he wanted to open his own restaurant,” he added.

Thus, Nur and his brother made it their main task to “fulfill (their mother's) dream”.

They opened the business in March 2020, 10 days before the pandemic forced a nationwide shutdown.

Like all restaurants, they turned around quickly and relied on takeout services to survive. Despite the challenges, their business lives on today and continues to cater to students, professors and others near the corner of Spadina and Bloor.

But running a restaurant as a family of four with no other employees poses some challenges. The lack of additional staff makes it difficult to work at night.

This Pita Land is open until midnight most days except Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when they are open until 3am.

Noor told me that it can get crowded with lots of customers and long hours, but “human contact is very important in the store and we try to keep it going.”

“We're a community center, so we have a lot of knowledge and people just want to talk to us sometimes. They don't buy anything, they want to talk (with someone) that day, – explains Nur.

From donating food to a local homeless shelter to posting brochures about community events on corkboards, Pita Land strives to support everyone in the community.

Noor's mother tells how students come to Pita Land to participate in virtual interviews. He placed a table in the back corner of the restaurant to create a quiet space for the students. He also prepares some prayers if they want to pray while there.

Because many students are far from their families and homes, Noor notes that “creating a family-like, home-like feeling is important to our business.”

Although Noor and her mother prefer not to be photographed, you will recognize them as a family that cares about the community in the form of Pita Land.