Fifteen years ago, Karim Budhwani, Salim Bhiwani and Prakshay Kapoor moved to Sudbury and bought a series of gas stations.
Now the three men, originally from India, are the owners of 705 Pita at the Silver Hills shopping development in New Sudbury. You can find it at the former Extreme Pita franchise location.
The partners describe the food as a Mediterranean and Indian fusion.
While pitas are popular in the Mediterranean, many of these pita options will offer you a taste of India.
“My favourite is the paneer tikka. It is made fresh daily with farmer’s cheese from India, marinated the night before in Indian spices and then cooked on the grill,” Bhiwani says.
He’s not the only owner in love with the paneer tikka. All of them love it along with the butter chicken pita, the chicken schwarma and the chicken tikka salad bowl.
They recognize that not all customers are adventurous with their palettes, so still have options for everyone, including the buffalo chicken, and shawarma and souvlaki.
All three owners feel 705 was the perfect ring for the restaurant name.
“We chose the name with 705, because Sudbury has shown us a lot of love in the last 15 years. We love the area and wanted to make another investment in our community,” Budhwani said.
705 Pita opened just under two months ago, offering something unique to those who enjoy Indian food, vegetarian food and exploring new cultural treats. To date, there are about 15 creations on the menu, including paneer tikka, falafel, chicken tikka and more.
The trifecta has already done some demographic work. They say the shop is most often visited by people ages 25-34. Many are Canadians and others are international students looking for different options.
“We are also recognizing that we want to feed the 705 community without putting a real dent in their pockets,” Kapoor said. “We wanted a good price point.”
A full meal size pita is around $11 with the small pitas averaging between $5 and $7.
They are willing to take risks with the menu and try new things. Taking risks is nothing new to them as they opened up 705 Pita during the pandemic.
“If you don’t take risks, you often don’t see a result,” Budhwani said. “We enjoy pitas and saw a niche here in the 705 district.”
Budhwani says neighbouring businesses have staff who have become regulars and the response from the public has been great citing the flavour of the food and the authenticity of it.
705 Pita doesn’t just offer food to sink your teeth into; they also offer ‘lassi’, a traditional sweet East Indian yogurt-based drink.
Not only does lassi taste good, it is loaded with good bacteria for your gut. Enjoyed daily in India, lassi offers cool relief on a hot day. 705 Pita offers lassi in two flavours: mango and sweet lassi with crushed pistachio on top.
Uber, Skip the Dishes and Door Dash all offer 705 Pita. For more information, visit 705 Pita’s Facebook page.
705 Pita is located at 1299 Marcus Drive in the Silver Hills shopping area.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
