1851

John Crossley was born in Buchanan, Georgia, and didn&#39;t have to travel far to attend college at&nbsp;the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. There, he&nbsp;studied business management and accounting. While&nbsp;a student, Crossley took a trip to Athens and that&#39;s where he got his first taste of Pita Pit.

Upon his return to campus, Crossley realized that there was nothing like Pita Pit&nbsp;in his college town --&nbsp;food that was&nbsp;not just fresh and healthy, but open into the late-night hours for busy students. It was then&nbsp;Crossley told himself if there&nbsp;were no&nbsp;such options in the area&nbsp;by the time he graduated that&nbsp;he would be the one to change that.

It was fate that senior year when&nbsp;Crossley was in an entrepreneurship class and was assigned to learn how to become a franchise operator. Crossley and Pita Pit met again, and he turned this class project into a&nbsp;real-life one and began creating the&nbsp;plans to open the franchise on campus. Almost inevitably, these&nbsp;plans finally came to life when Crossley opened his Pita Pit on March 13.

What were you doing before partnering with Pita Pit?

I was born near Carrollton and grew up a little bit north of there in Buchanan. I studied business management and accounting in Carrollton at&nbsp;UWG. During my senior year, I left the country to work a bookkeeping job with a spring break travel company in Nassau, the Bahamas, from February to&nbsp;July of 2015. I completed my school work there and chose not to attend graduation in April of 2015. I returned to Georgia and began working for Chick-fil-A in Atlanta to familiarize myself with the restaurant industry. Throughout all of this, the plans to open Pita Pit had been in motion for quite some time.

How did you learn about Pita Pit and what made you ultimately decide to commit?

When I was a freshman, I went on a trip to Athens and ate at Pita Pit. When I returned to Carrollton, I realized there was nothing like it -- no fast, fresh option for healthy food that was available to&nbsp;us students during the late-night&nbsp;hours. During my sophomore year, I traveled to Pita Pit locations in Auburn, Nashville, Gainesville, and Columbia. I&nbsp;told myself, when I graduate,&nbsp;if there still wasn&#39;t&nbsp;a place for students to eat at late at night in the bar district,&nbsp;then I was going to open something like that here in Carrollton.

During my senior year, I was in an entrepreneurship class and was assigned a project to go through the mock process of franchising with a business. I looked up some of the top franchises on Enterprneur&#39;s website and there it was:&nbsp;Pita Pit. A lightbulb went off and I began working on the process of opening a Pita Pit in town. After my five-month job in Nassau ended, I came back and picked up where I left off.

How did you begin the process?

I went to my friends and presented them with the idea and a couple of them pitched in to help with the funding. I got some loans from a commercial lender and then also got involved with a group called Impact 252 -- they invest in young, Christian entrepreneurs after an extensive vetting process. They have been a huge help along the way and have acted as business coaches for me as well, as I oversee the day-to-day operations.

What were your perceptions of franchising before starting the process?

I did&nbsp;a lot of independent research and also learned a lot from the class I was in. Other than that, I didn&rsquo;t have much hands-on experience when I began the process with Pita Pit, but I was excited to get started.

Why is the Carrollton the perfect market for Pita Pit?

As a former student of UWG, I understand the demographic and the dire need for something like this locally. Between late nights studying and enjoying other on-campus activities, it can be difficult to find the time to put together a healthy meal. Without restaurants serving these options in the area, it is easy to resort to&nbsp;eating unhealthily. Pita Pit will fill that void and I am confident that the students and, really, the entire community will quickly become fans.

Franchisee Spotlight: John Crossley of Pita Pit

1851 Franchise

John Crossley, a 25-year-old Pita Pit franchisee, is bringing the brand in the area he's always called home.

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

franchisee-spotlight-john-crossley-of-pita-pit

HomeTeam Inspection Service

Photo of HomeTeam Inspection Service representative giving presentation

Strategic Partnerships Fuel Franchise Growth at HomeTeam Inspection Service

hometeam-inspection-service-franchise-growth-partnerships

Express Employment Professionals

What’s in the 2025 FDD? A Closer Look for Express Employment Professionals Franchise Buyers

whats-in-the-2025-fdd-a-closer-look-for-express-employment-professionals-franchise-buyers

petbar

How-petbar-Makes-Pets-and-Their-Owners-Happy-as-Part-of-the-Family-in-a-Clean-and-Fun-Environment

How petbar Makes Pets and Their Owners Happy as Part of the Family in a Clean and Fun Environment

petbar-franchise-opportunity-boutique-pet-grooming

petbar Franchisees Win the $6.89B Global Market With Complete Transparency, Self-Service and Membership Models, Creating the Happiest Place for Dogs

petbar-franchise-opportunity

Why petbar Wants to Be the “Disney World for Dogs” — and a Dream Business for Franchisees

petbar-franchise-dan-ashley-o-loughlin-qa

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Chick-fil-A Tops Customer Satisfaction Rankings for 11th Year as Challenger Brands Gain Ground

chick-fil-a-tops-customer-satisfaction-rankings-for-11th-year-as-challenger-brands-gain-ground

Technomic Releases Annual Ranking of the Top 15 Fast-Food Chains in the U.S.

technomic-releases-annual-ranking-of-the-top-15-fast-food-chains-in-the-us

Rising Jobless Claims Could Signal Challenges — and Opportunities — for Franchising

rising-jobless-claims-affect-franchising

Hardee’s Lawsuit Highlights the Risk of Going Off-Model in Franchising

hardees-franchise-lawsuit-paradigm-investment-group

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores - Agg - 1851 Franchise

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores

hooters-franchise-model-company-owned-closures

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How To Create a Strong Incentive

how-to-build-strong-incentives-to-attract-prospective-franchisees

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Carol DeNembo — Chief Marketing Officer, Mountain Mike’s Pizza

top-25-franchise-marketing-leaders-carol-denembo-chief-marketing-officer-mountain-mikes-pizza

Brian Curin - Little Kitchen Academy - Franchise Marketing Leaders - 1851 Franchise

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Brian Curin — Chief Executive Officer/Chief Marketing Officer, Little Kitchen Academy

little-kitchen-academy-marketing-leader-brian-curin

The Ultimate Guide To Selling Franchises: How to Leverage Franchise Expos

how-franchisors-can-leverage-franchise-expos-to-drive-success

How Vishal Juneja Turned a Family Tradition Into a Paris Baguette Franchise

How Vishal Juneja Turned a Family Tradition Into a Paris Baguette Franchise Built on Heart and Community

Franchisee Spotlight: John Crossley of Pita Pit

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS