Pita Pit restaurant to open in Post Falls

Kootenai County will get a new Pita Pit restaurant next month in River City Center at the northeast corner of Highway 41 and Mullan Road in Post Falls.

The 1,750-square-foot eatery will include a drive-through window and employ about 20 people. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The franchise is owned by Darren Miller.

Pita Pit features fresh ingredients and grilled meats in a variety of pocket breads. It also offers breakfasts, soups, salads, chips, smoothies and beverages.

What makes Pita Pit doubly interesting is that the national headquarters for the company is on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene.

And what makes it even more exciting is how successful the company is.

Pita Pit started in 1995 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Jack Riggs and 20 investors, mostly from the Coeur d’Alene area, bought the U.S. rights with 79 stores in April of 2005. Since then the company has grown by 32 stores, with 45 more planned. Check www.pitapitusa.com.

A graduate of the University of Idaho and University of Washington Medical School, Riggs also owns the five North Idaho Medical Care Centers.

Sangria Grille coming

A new cosmopolitan touch in cuisine will come to Coeur d’Alene in the coming year. Expanding from its original location in Moscow, the Sangria Grille will feature Peruvian, Mediterranean and American dishes in the elbow of the existing L-shaped building south of Regal Cinemas in Riverstone.

With a 200-item menu, the restaurant will offer a variety of meats, seafoods and pastas as it has in Moscow for two years. Favorites are the Peruvian dishes, especially Sangria Saltado, which combines a choice of meat, seafood and veggies sautéed in a soy-based sauce.

The restaurant here will seat 160 customers and have more than 50 employees serving lunch and dinner.

“We project an upscale image with everything made from scratch,” said Carly Lilly, who owns Sangria Grille with George Skandalos. “Who we are surrounded by really affects our concept. The mix of shops and restaurants in Riverstone really sets well with what we’re trying to do.”

FrameX open on Appleway

With one-hour framing among its choices, FrameX has opened in the former Lake City Fast Photo space (next to FedEx Kinko’s) on the northeast corner of Appleway and Government Way, Coeur d’Alene.

Other framing options include overnight and five-day completions of custom orders. The store offers more than 30 sizes of ready-made frames in a variety of woods, colors and types of glass.

“We have the most competitive prices anywhere,” said Irene Curran, who helps in the shop with her son Joel. He came to North Idaho from Calgary, where he also was in the framing business.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and until 4 p.m. Saturdays. Phone (208) 667-1734.

Tidbits

“More than 22 businesses will be searching for employees at the Autumn Job Fair from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Coeur d’Alene Commerce and Labor Office at 1221 W. Ironwood Drive.

Bring resumes and dress for interviews. Employers there include Buck Knives, US Bank, Coldwater Creek, The Coeur d’Alene Resort, Safeway, Riley Creek Lumber, Verizon, Shopko, Sears, Center Partners, Red Lion Templin’s, Personal Care, Triple Play, Fred Meyer, Honey Buckets, Idaho Transportation Department, Life Care Center, Humanix, CNL Design, AES, Ground Force and MOR Manufacturing.

“K.C. Home Furnishings at 1717 Northwest Blvd. is having a going-out-of-business sale. It will close its doors in about three months.