News

Pita Pit Canada entering cannabis market

January 14, 2019

Pita Pit Canada is getting into the weed business. The 600-unit fast casual has partnered with WeedMD Inc., a federally licensed producer and distributor of medical-grade cannabis, in Canada, to launch Pioneer Cannabis Corp., a company that will help Canadians operate their own cannabis retail stores, according to a company press release. 

"Pioneer brings an opportunity to those entrepreneurs interested in joining the cannabis industry, but who may not have the financial backing or the operational experience to pursue opening their own retail cannabis store," said Pioneer President Kristie Smith, who has served as Pita Pit's director of Development for the past eight years. "Through this collaboration of established Canadian companies, we are paving the way for small businesses to participate in the emerging retail cannabis space that will promote local economic growth and opportunities."

The company will provide retailers with a variety of services including but not limited to identifying locations, providing assistance with licensing and security processes, point of sales and payment systems, marketing services, and training platforms that will include cannabis educational programs - each in accordance with the unique regulatory environment in each province and municipality, according to the release.
Pioneer's other leaders include:

• Chief Executive Officer Jordan Schwartz, who has experience managing start-up businesses and has held several executive roles, including most recently a managing director at Serruya Private Equity, where he oversaw acquisitions, investment and asset management of several retail, real estate and consumer product businesses.
• Alexander Liszka, chief development officer, who has more than 12 years of experience advising private and public clients across the globe on acquisitions, commercial arrangements, project development and regulatory compliance. Most recently he was senior legal counsel at IBI Group Inc., a global architectural, engineering, design and technology company.

"The partnership between Pita Pit, which has helped many small business owners realize their dreams through proprietorship, and WeedMD, a trusted premium cannabis producer and distributor, will help entrepreneurs start up and operate their own stores safely and effectively," said Keith Merker, CEO of WeedMD. "We are excited to be a part of this opportunity and, together with Pita Pit, we look forward to Pioneer setting the standard for the Canadian cannabis retail experience."

Chris Fountain, CEO of Pita Pit, said he's grateful to be a part of the emerging cannabis industry.

"We care about our communities where we live and do business. We are excited for the opportunity to step up and be responsible stewards within a system that will benefit from participants who are of the highest integrity and are committed to the well-being of the people within these communities," he said.

Pioneer will pursue retail opportunities province by province in accordance with prevailing cannabis retail regulations, according to the release.