Heroes in Business - Bassel Osmani co-founder Pita Jungle

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

Bassel Osmani co-founder of Pita Jungle is interviewed by David Cogan of Eliances Heroes in Business radio. They discuss the inception of Pita Jungle, the first vegan Arizona restaurant inspired by a co-op market in Tempe Arizona. Arizona State University graduates combined experience and dreams to create a healthier eating experience.

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Alliances Heroes. Alliances is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups. We're our heroes in business aligned. leaders, celebrities, and startups. We're our heroes in business aligned. Now, here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. An incredible morning it's going to be today. That's right, David Kogan with Eliance's. Let me tell you our hero lineup because you're going to have to really listen very carefully. Before I introduce our first hero, let me tell you about the rest of the show. We're going to have the President of the United Nations. That's right, President of the United Nations General Assembly coming on. We also have the CEO of the franchise brands like Marble

Slab, American Cookie Company, Hot Dog on a Stick, and so much more from Global Franchise Group. And we'll be wrapping up the show today with the son of Senator Ted Kennedy, nephew of President John F. Kennedy. That's right, Patrick Kennedy. So make sure you listen. But oh my, listen real carefully because this morning and our first guest, I got to tell you, I like fast food, but I'm also, I like healthy food that tastes good, quick to order and receive. And our next hero has mastered that by opening up restaurants called Pita Jungle. Now these are in Arizona, some in California, and I'm sure he's got plans to expand. We have the founder of Pita Jungle, Basil Osmani, and he could be reached at pitajungle.com.

Right, the co-founder of pitajungle.com. Now, Basil, I've got to ask you, in a crowded restaurant industry space, how did you find a niche that became so successful? Well, we have started, first of all, thank you so much for having me in your show, David. That's awesome. We have started about 21, 22 years ago. And when we have first started, no one was occupying that space, the space of the healthy food. So we were able to come in and, you know, have a, you know, delineate a strong footprint and grow from there. And we owe our longevity for being like one of the first concepts in this valley of the sun to actually push forth with healthy food and healthy eating. I mean, it's incredible.

I mean, you've grown it to over $40 million in revenue. You've got a number of locations, like I mentioned, Arizona, California. I believe a number of them, too, are franchise locations. You're going to continue to grow because I could tell you, my family and I eat there multiple times per week, so you're guaranteed to grow just along with that. Thank you. But how do you manage it all?

How do you put controls in place to ensure the output of quality is the same across all your locations? Because I've been to a number of them, and they're the same. Well, this is a sketchy part in any food operation, but our recipes are super simple. They draw from super fresh ingredients. And this is really our secret sauce. We buy every day. We produce every day. we do everything from scratch, our hummus, our chicken marinades, you know, and the recipes are not pretentious. We use for guidelines the Mediterranean diet, so we use tons of olive oil, you know, grains, nuts, fruits, fresh produce and fruit. And we minimize processing, which means minimize cooking, which means less opportunities for someone to make mistakes. And then, you know, obviously we have boots on the ground in all our stores to make sure that

everything is done right. And, you know, you got to have systems in place. Sure. How did you come up with this concept, though? You mentioned about the Mediterranean diet. Is that diet so much more healthier than other diets? And we have the, it's the founder of Pita Jungle right now we're talking to. I believe so. And a lot of people seem to believe that as well. Both my partners and myself were college students at ASU, you know, in disciplines like engineering and broadcasting. You know, two of us are engineers, actually, and one is a broadcaster. And we went through the trial and tribulation of, you know, navigating through a college diet of fast food and cheap food and this and that. You know, we cooked at home a lot.

We worked in restaurants. this and that, you know, we cooked at home a lot. We worked in restaurants. And back in the early 90s, there was really nothing like it in Phoenix. You could see, you know, there was the co-op, the gentle strength co-op in Tempe, who was attracting a lot of like mainstream customers, you would say. And that kind of like put a question mark on our heads, like there's something to be done there. And this is where we started, you know, we took fresh ingredients under the guidelines of the MED diet. So it's not necessarily Mediterranean, right? We have a lot of Mediterranean dishes, but we use those same principles of the Mediterranean diet to do Southwest foods. We have Pan-Asian entrees. We have, you know, everything.

But, you know, the delineating factor is going to be, you know, nuts, grains, fresh produce. Sure, absolutely. Fruit, high-quality proteins. Very nice. And you're listening to Alliance's Heroes. Be a hero. Go to where entrepreneurs align. Be part of the community. Alliance's.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com.

Now, you also mentioned, Basil, about partners. You've got a couple other partners and you've had them for quite some time. Now, I know, you know, one of the challenges is, is what are the two to three secrets to select and more importantly, get along with partners for the long term? It's honesty. You know, that's the most important thing. You know, we trust each other blindly. Of course, we disagree and it's healthy, right? And that's how you progress by putting forth, you know, notions that are challenged and, are challenged and dissected and judged and tried and removed or adopted. But through it all, there's a certain level of trust.

They trust me. I trust them. We all trust each other mutually. others mutually. Financial issues, which seem to be the Achilles heel of business alliances or partnerships, were never a factor for us. There was always trust. And they're very nice people, my partners. And I was lucky. We were all lucky to have each other. And you've been partners for how long with them? 22 years from the get-go. Before that, college roommates and, you know, friends, college friends.

I mean, did you ever think being college buddies now, look at where you are today? No, we were lucky. I mean, amazing. In your first year of Operation 2, this is amazing, you were awarded the Best Vegetarian Restaurant by AZ Republic newspaper. Many believe owning a restaurant is very glamorous, okay, and many dream about opening their own. You're a family man. Share some advice you would have, though, for children that have this dream. Maybe they're in college right now thinking they want to grow up, they want to find success in the restaurant business, or for that matter, really any business, right? What should they be doing

now to increase their odds? You know, in the restaurant, and I suspect in a lot of other businesses that cater to customers' needs or whims or demand, you got to win them one customer at a time. Every single customer that comes through your doors, whether you're selling falafels or microchips, needs to leave happy. And every single one of them that leaves unhappy, it's a loss not only to them, but to you. And the repercussions in terms of word of mouth are tremendous. I mean, our first five years were relatively marketing free. All our marketing was word of mouth, you know, grassroots marketing, you know, very organic. But I mean, I remember myself chasing people in the parking lot, trying to reconcile, you know, whatever

irked them, you know, here's a gift card, here's this, here's that. You know, sometimes people, you know, if the food doesn't come out in a timely fashion. So it was like that. Boots on the ground, one customer at a time. It's certainly an entire learning process to be able to get that down. And you've mastered it. I mean, and continue to open up locations. I hope you continue and continue. The problem that I have though is, is when I go there and this is a complaint, I always order the same thing. We've got about 30 seconds left. What, what do you suggest for somebody like me going there? I love the one thing so much, but being able to try other things. Well, we'll make proponents of customization.

So whatever you take, what is it that you take? Let's say the hummus is chicken. Well, next time around, change the hummus out for baba ganoush. Change the chicken for gyro meat or tofu. We welcome customization. I love it. I love it. Someone who follows his dreams, helps make a reality for the dreams of others, helps the community lead healthier lifestyles. Basil, you're a hero, and Petal Jungle is awesome. We love your place. It's an Arizona icon. And when we return, we're going to have the president of the United Nations General Assembly, David Kogan with Elyances.