Over by the batteries, ladies’ clothing, and produce section is where you’ll find Pita Mediterranean Street Food. The Georgia-found chain recently opened a location inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama.
The food Pita serves here is better than OK. Tasty, handmade, solid value.
The Pita Mediterranean at this Walmart, address 11610 Memorial Parkway on Huntsville’s Southside, is family owned and operated. In a space about the size of a two-car garage, Dhara Patel works the register, and her dad Sanjay Patel and mom Jayshri Patel run the kitchen.
Pita Mediterranean Street Food inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)Matt Wake
Their bestselling menu items include gyros and shawarmas, Dhara says. “We don’t have anything premade,” she adds. “It’s all made fresh. I love working here. Good food, good customers, good feeling, you know?”
Most orders are carry-out and pickup. But for those who want to dine-in there are three four-top tables and three two-tops.
Dhara says the reception so far has been positive. “We have some regular customers who are coming every single day. We have good reviews on Google as well.”
On a recent Thursday, I gave the Huntsville Walmart location of Pita a go. You order at the counter. Dhara is friendly and helpfully answers questions about the menu.
Red pepper hummus at Pita Mediterranean Street Food inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)Matt Wake
About 10 minutes later, our food hit the table, starting with a red pepper hummus app. Smooth zesty hummus served with cloud-soft pita wedges.
Also had the chicken gyro pita meal with a premium side of Greek fries. Big pita generously stuffed with seasoned bird plus tomatoes, lettuce, onions and herbaceous sauce. As good handheld food often is, it’s a messy eat. The Greek fries? Shoestring-cut, crisp and topped with luscious sauce and feta. Dug ‘em.
A chicken gyro meal with Greek fries at Pita Mediterranean Street Food inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)Matt Wake
We also did a Greek bowl with chicken added. Their bowls are served in pie tins covered with a sheet of restaurant paper. Contents include black olives, garbanzo beans, pickled onions and sauce. Lots of flavor. Lots of food on the plate.
Greek Bowl with chicken at Pita Mediterranean Street Food inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)Matt Wake
Way better eats than you might expect served within view of bulk-sized sodas and snack chips. And clear step up from other Walmart-embedded chains past, like Subway and McDonald’s, in my opinion. Other recent years’ dining options inside some Walmarts include Uncle Sharkii Poke Bowl.
Besides gyros and bowls, and different protein options thereof, Pita’s menu extends to salads, kid’s meals, and desserts like baklava.
Clanton, Clara, Columbiana, Montgomery and Millbrook number among the chain’s other Alabama locations. According to Pita’s website, Auburn and Birmingham are in the cards, too. More info at pitastreetfood.com.
Pita Mediterranean Street Food inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)Matt Wake
Previously, the Patel family opened another Pita franchise, this one in a shopping center about a 30-minute drive away in Madison, Alabama, Dhara says. Madison launched about four-and-a-half years ago, she says. They opened in the Huntsville Walmart about four months ago.
Huntsville is home to quality long-running mom-and-pop Mediterranean options. Jamo’s Café over on the local food hotspot of Jordan Lane. There’s Big Papa Gyro on University, too. There are multiple locations of Birmingham-headquartered chain Taziki’s Mediterranean Café here.
Pita doesn’t make any of the above suddenly obsolete. But it’s a solid addition to the South Huntsville restaurant mix, which continues to expand.
The Walmart they’re in isn’t far from a gate for Redstone Arsenal, the military base that employs many Huntsville-area residents.
After my lunch, I walk back to the counter. Introduce myself to Dhara Patel and talk to her for this story. Asked what she likes about Mediterranean food, she smiles sweetly and says simply, “Everything.”
Dhara Patel, left, her mom Jayshri Patel and dad Sanjay Patel. The family owns and operates a Pita Mediterranean Street Food franchise inside a Walmart in Huntsville, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com)Matt Wake
Dining and Cooking