Our Story Bassel Osmani, Nelly Kohsok and Fouad Khodr founded Pita Jungle in 1994.
The three were students at the time attending Arizona State University.
The friends often socialized outside of classes, and they all had a similar hard-working attitude and vision for the future.
Upon graduating college, they all recognized a need for more healthy restaurants around the university’s Tempe campus, and set out to make a difference by leveraging their own personal experiences gained by working in the local restaurant industry.
It was then that the vision for Pita Jungle was born.“Pita Jungle was founded on the principle of serving the best quality food at a reasonable price with exceptional customer service,” says Osmani.
“Instead of focusing on profit right out of the gates, we placed bringing people through the door as our top priority.
Another key component and differentiating factor for us was the vegan and vegetarian menu items.
At the time when we started, there was only one nearby market offering these kinds of options, and our team wanted to make healthy, great-tasting food readily available for those leading both lifestyles.”With only $15,000 and a vision, the trio opened the first Pita Jungle location in Tempe in 1994.
They built the location with their own hands, employing the help of only one handyman.The Pita Jungle concept is based on offering a healthful and natural cuisine abounding with vegetarian and vegan options, crafted within the principles of the Mediterranean diet.
The menu flourishes with items that seek to balance greens, grains, legumes, low fat meats and fruits.
